Essential Skills for the New Manager and Supervisor

Introduction

Competent people demonstrate technical excellence in their chosen field and this expertise is often recognised and rewarded by promotion into a supervisory or management role. However, frequently little training is afforded to those given the responsibility.  Managing people is no easy task and the early experiences of newly appointed managers can be marked with anxiety, stress and insecurity as to how to what to do and how to do it. This programme offers a pragmatic overview of good management practice for those new to supervision. It recognises that there are a variety of skills needed to be effective and offers insights into the critical competencies, which assist the transition into management.

Getting off to a good start is important particularly in today’s increasingly competitive business climate and the skills acquired in this programme will “fast track” delegates to manage effectively. A variety of tools, techniques and frameworks will be presented enabling "new" managers to understand their role and responsibilities function effectively and get the best performance from those they lead. If you are new to supervision or management this course offers a compendium of good practice which will impact your practice immediately.

Objectives

The programme highlights:

• Managing the performance of self and others; planning personal and team priorities
• Building a high performing team using the power of diversity
• The manager as a communicator, coach and developer of people
• Time Management, Delegation and Communicating with Impact 

The Goals

• To equip delegates with a wide range of tools and techniques which will enhance management capability and ""fast track"" performance
• To ensure delegates have clear definition of the role and responsibilities of the manager.             
• To identify each delegate’s unique management style, recognising  personal strengths, whilst identifying areas for potential development
• To appreciate the value of performance management as a tool for personal, team and organisational improvement and establish  priorities of action
• To manage different personalities and appreciate that diversity is a strength to be harnessed within a team for productive and collaborative outcomes    
• To increase personal power base, through good communication and influencing skills                      
• To create a personal SWOT analysis and transfer action into the workplace

The Process

This programme will be conducted in a risk free environment in which delegates can practice skills in a non threatening environment. Tuition will utilise a combination of presentations, videos, class discussion, group and self reflective exercises in order to examine all the elements of content. It is designed to accommodate all styles of learner the active, the reflector, the theorist and the pragmatist. Psychometric tools are employed to offer objective feedback on performance and utilised to target future areas of potential improvement. The emphasis will be on creating an in depth understanding of the skills of management and equipping each delegate with the tools and confidence for success.

The Benefits

Delegates will benefit from exposure to and interaction with a management toolkit to improve performance. Delegates will learn how to:

• Develop an understanding of role and the key people management skills to ensure success.                         
• Appreciate and expand their current managerial strengths and identify areas for improvement
• Learn key skills in time management, prioritisation of tasks, meeting skills, delegation, motivating others, team leadership,  communication and presentation.
• Learn techniques for managing conflict and change
• Appreciate the fundamental value of performance management and performance review as tools for managerial success and organizational output 

The Results

How will my organization benefit when sending employees to attend this programme?

•  Observe an enhanced level of management skills and capability in the organisation
• Recognise greater confidence in their managers through consistent application of tried and tested tools that work
• Identfiy tangible improvement in the utilisation and implementation of performance management process
• Observe improved levels of communication, better presentation skills and more productive meetings.                                                      
• Managers will demonstrate greater clarity in prioritisation of tasks and delivery of organisational goals.                                            
• Teams will have clearer “line of sight” regarding their role in the wider organisation
• The organisation will identify a body of managers who deal constructively with workplace conflict and change

Training Methodology

This is an interactive course. There will be open question and answer sessions, regular group exercises and activities, videos, case studies, and presentations on best practice. Participants will have the opportunity to share with the facilitator and other participants on what works well and not so well for them, as well as work on issues from their own organizations. The online course is conducted online using MS-Teams/ClickMeeting.

Who Should Attend?

This programme is designed for those professionals across all functions or disciplines. More specifically it will be of value to:

• Those who may be moving into supervisory or management positions.
• Professionals who are interested in further enhancing their management skills
• Professionals who have had no formal training or those seeking a “refresher” of good team practice  
• Employees identified as "high potential" for "fast track" management posts in the near future

Course Outline

Day 1: The Foundations of Management: roles, responsibilities and personal style

• Understanding the wider working environment that impacts the organisation
• Identifying the characteristics of good management
• Making the transition to management: new skills, fears and expectations
• What Managers Do? Key competencies, behaviours and activities in the manager’s role
• Psychometric assessment of personality and impact on management style
• Identifying your management styles, blind spots and adapting behaviour to achieve maximum benefit
• What mistakes do new managers make and how to avoid them

Day 2: Managing the performance of self and others: planning personal and team priorities

• A focus on Continuous Improvement: Kaizen: improving, self, team and organization
• The role of performance management in organizations
• Communicating team purpose and clarifying personal priorities and contributions
• Establishing SMART objectives for individuals / team and how to measure them
• How to plan and prepare for successful performance reviews
• Understanding the implications of assertive, passive and aggressive management behaviours and their outcomes  

Day 3: Building High Performing Teams using the power of diversity

• Identifying the characteristics of Highly Effective Teams and of Dysfunctional Teams
• Stages in team development and the managers role
• Appreciating team and harnessing diversity: team roles and their identification and application
• Team audit: exercise to evaluate current team performance and identify strength and potential areas for action
• Problem solving in teams; Making structured and creative decisions
• Managing people through change - the impact of change on the individual and it management  

Day 4: The Manager as a Communicator, Coach, and Developer of People

• Building trust: a critical in managing effectively
• How to give feedback:  a tool for development and progression 
• Using a feedback planner for difficult conversations and managing potential conflict
• Coaching for personal and team success using a model
• Key communication skills for coaching and management: listening, Influencing and Written communications
• How to Motivate and your people

Day 5: Time Management, Delegation and Communicating with Impact

• Managing Time Effectively: Reviewing the most common time management failings and determining priorities"
• Delegation for empowerment: How to delegate to motivate staff and raise performance
• Communicating with impact: the characteristics of powerful presentations - guidelines for good practice   
• Personal SWOT review of learning.
• Action plans. What objectives and actions do I seek to implement/achieve on return to the workplace