Powerful Leadership

Learn the critical skills needed by all supervisors and managers, including communication, motivation, coaching, performance evaluation and leadership. This can be designed as a two, three, four or five-day program. The shorter design serves as an introduction for new supervisors and/or an opportunity for experienced supervisors to sharpen their skills in a few specific areas. The longer design provides a complete training in the critical supervisory skills all supervisors and managers need. The workshop can be customized to address some or all of the topics listed under this section.

The following is an example of a 4-day design. The program length and topics presented can be adapted as needed. The program is best when presented one session every week or two, allowing for on-the-job application between sessions. Sessions can run full or half-days.

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop you will be better able to:

1. Be a successful leader
2. Promote and maintain high productivity
3. Effectively manage typical workplace challenges

Workshop Outline:

Day 1: Key Supervisory Concepts

• Roles and Responsibilities of Front Line Supervisors
• Common Challenges Facing New Supervisors
• Understanding Your Personal Leadership Style
• Communication Skills on the Job
• Key Principles of Effective Supervision

Day 2: Key Supervisory Skills

• Maximizing Employee Motivation
• A Coaching Approach to Supervision
• Performance Management
• Evaluating Performance
• Situational Leadership – How to Read and React to Specific Situations

Day 3: Challenging Situations

• Conflict Management
• Dealing With Difficult People
• How Teams Work
• Team Building

Day 4: Advanced Topics

• Leading Change
• Promoting Employee Growth and Development
• Mentoring and On-boarding

This can be run as a series of half or full day sessions spread one to two weeks apart. The specific topics and be adapted to meet the needs of your team.

Designed for new or highly experienced supervisors and managers, this workshop clarifies the art of leadership and helps sharpen the skills and awareness needed to be successful. In the high performance workplace, the leader succeeds based on his/her ability to effectively engage and motivate the work team. Powerful leadership requires self-awareness, awareness of others, and skills and strategies to interact effectively with others. This workshop can be customized for new or highly experienced supervisors and managers.

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop, you will be better able to:

1. Understand and use the power of leadership to lead staff to high performance
2. Understand and incorporate qualities of effective leadership
3. Use and adapt their own leadership style for maximum effectiveness
4. Analyze and act in a variety of challenging situations
5. Communicate more clearly, including giving effective feedback and evaluating performance
6. Delegate work assignments more effectively

Workshop Outline:

1. Understanding key elements of leadership
2. Understanding leadership styles
3. Motivation strategies
4. Situational leadership
5. Communication skills
6. Delegation

This can be done as a full or half day program. The full day allows for more in-depth discussions and for action planning – how to take these strategies back to work. The program can also be compressed into a one-hour webinar or conference presentation touching on highlights of the key concepts.

Gain key insights into what motivates people to do their best (or worst) work and learn strategies to maximize positive employee motivation. This workshop combines a solid understanding of how people become motivated with the core skills needed to actively motivate a work force.

The workshop is a practical approach to motivation based on a few simple, fundamental theories of motivation. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach that will work, but there is one key strategy that unlocks an employee’s highest potential. How to customize this strategy to work with a diverse work force is the focus of the workshop. The workshop reviews key motivational theories, the role of perception in motivation, effective use of core interpersonal skills, and understanding the essential differences in people.

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop you will be better able to:

1. Understand what motivation is and what moves people to action
2. Work with important differences in individuals
3. Develop realistic strategies that promote higher productivity

Workshop Outline:

• What is motivation and what is a supervisor’s role in motivation?
• What causes / promotes positive motivation? Motivational theory
• Understanding differences in individuals – personal styles, values and needs
• Applying theory to reality – case studies
• Skills and strategies to promote motivation
• Action planning – apply new learnings to a specific employee / work situation

This is best run as a full day program. It can be a half-day program if the case studies are reduced and less time is spent planning how to implement these strategies on the job. The program can also be compressed into a one-hour webinar or conference presentation touching on highlights of the key concepts.

This is our most requested supervisory course. Difficult employees present a special challenge, undercutting productivity and morale and draining supervisors’ and managers’ time and energy. Prevention strategies are presented that focus on building motivation to prevent difficult situations. Intervention strategies are also presented to address difficult employees’ behavior and to limit their negative impact.

This workshop addresses a wide range of topics, including listening and feedback skills, understanding and resolving conflicts, work behavior styles, motivation and problem solving. The strategies focus primarily on dealing with employees, but also help in dealing with a wide range of difficult people; from customers to co-workers or supervisors. The focus of the workshop is on understanding why people act in a difficult way and how to reduce the negative impact of the difficult person’s behavior. The design can be adapted to build on prior interpersonal skills training the participants have received, making this an “advanced” program.

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop, you will be better able to:

1. Identify what leads to people acting “difficultly”
2. Develop strategies for changing or managing the behavior of difficult people
3. Develop strategies for defusing emotionally charged situations
4. Develop strategies for managing/changing their own emotional behavior when responding to emotional situations
5. Communicate and problem solve with difficult people to resolve conflicts

Workshop Outline:

• Clarifying the supervisor’s job in dealing with a difficult and emotional employee
• Understanding why people act difficult – what motivates them to act that way?
• Critical communication skills – listening and giving feedback
• Understanding communication and work styles
• Conflict management:
  • How to approach and change/manage a difficult employee
  • How to defuse and successfully manage an emotional situation
  • How to move towards problem solving
• Case studies / role play / worksheet for a real person on the job
• Handling your own emotions: how you respond to difficult and emotional people and how can you deal with this more effectively?

This can be done as a one or two-day program. The two-day program allows for more in-depth discussions, more case studies, hands-on skill practice and action planning – how to take these strategies back to work. If participants have had advanced communication skills training this can be reduced to a one-day or half-day program. The program can also be compressed into a one-hour webinar or conference presentation touching on highlights of the key concepts.

Find out how to use the performance evaluation process to improve performance, build motivation and enhance communication! Performance evaluation can really work to everyone’s advantage if a few key points are fully understood. This workshop can be tailored to address any performance evaluation system.

The performance evaluation process can be a positive and valuable process. Many employees and supervisors view performance evaluation at best as a necessary evil, and at worst as a complete waste of time. A well-executed performance evaluation is an important tool for organizational success. This workshop will demonstrate the value of performance evaluations and will provide the skills, strategies and knowledge you need to conduct performance evaluations that really work.

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop you will be better able to:

1. Fully appreciate the value of the performance evaluation process
2. Develop and plan an effective performance evaluation process
3. Conduct effective performance evaluations and give constructive feedback
4. Use these new skills and strategies in the context of the existing performance evaluation system in their organization
5. Identify barriers to an effective performance evaluation process and design strategies to overcome them

Workshop Outline:

• The true purposes of a performance evaluation process (and it’s not to make people miserable!)
• Evaluating the current performance evaluation process and participant skills/comfort levels
• Core communication skills – listening and giving constructive feedback
• The 5 key steps to conducting an effective performance evaluation:
  1. Define tasks and standards – setting measurable objectives
  2. Gather data on performance
  3. Assess/analyze the performance
  4. Hold an evaluation session – give effective feedback (including tips and strategies to reduce anxiety and increase comfort with the process)
  5. Follow-up – promoting and developing effective future performance; promoting employee growth and development and developing corrective actions plans where needed
• Strategies to manage barriers to effective performance evaluation
• Application – using the new strategies on the job

Performance evaluation has a poor reputation and this is best run as a full day program so people can get past their bias and see the real value. It can be run as a half-day program if the discussions are reduced and less time is spent with skill practice or planning how to implement these strategies on the job. The program can also be compressed into a one-hour webinar or conference presentation touching on highlights of the key concepts.

Hiring interviews can be intimidating to the interviewer as well as the candidate. Interviewers often feel they are getting “snowed” and don’t get the truth. An effective interview requires thoughtful planning and skilled execution. This workshop is designed to give interviewer the skills and strategies they need to design and conduct a successful interview.

The interviewer should always feel in control of the interview and be fully aware of the information s/he needs to collect or uncover. This workshop addresses the key elements of interview planning and facilitation to maximize success. There are three essential components to conducting an effective interview:

• Fully understanding and carefully analyzing the qualities needed for the position
• Designing a set of questions that will elicit high quality and relevant information
• Creating an interview environment and strategy that promotes full disclosure

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop, you will be better able to:

• Prepare for effective interviews by:
  1. Clearly understanding the purpose and process of an employment interview
  2. Analyzing the skills and competencies needed in the positions for which they will be hiring new employees
  3. Developing a strategic set of behavior-based interview questions that are legal and appropriate
  4. Creating a constructive interview environment
  5. Prescreening and preparing candidates for the interview
• Conduct effective employment interviews by:
  1. Using effective listening and questioning techniques
  2. Recognizing and avoiding common interview errors
  3. Evaluating interview results and selecting the best candidate(s)

Workshop Outline:

• Preparation – getting ready for an effective interview
  • What an effective interview can do / how interviewing fits into the overall hiring process
  • What to look for in hiring a new employee – job analysis / job specifications
  • How to identify the skills, qualities and expertise needed for a specific job
  • Pre-screening candidates / resume review
  • Developing a set of questions that provide useful answers – behavior based interviewing
  • Practice designing a set of questions
  • Setting up the interview environment
• Conducting an effective interview
  • Effective listening and questioning techniques – probing and following up
  • Moving from question to question – pacing
  • Developing a strategy and staying in charge of the process
  • Common interview errors, including legal and illegal questions
  • Practice interviewing skills
• Evaluation/Selection – choosing the best candidate
  • Checking references
  • Second interviews
  • Tools for working with a team/committee to make a decision on a final candidate

This is a one-day workshop. It could be expanded to a two-day workshop to allow for in-depth practice in conducting interviews, including videotaping participants as they practice. It can be compressed into a half-day or one hour program by touching on highlights of key concepts.

For many, this is a very different way to lead. Many supervisors learned their techniques from older supervisors who were from the “my way or the highway” school of leadership. That approach no longer works with the modern workforce.

Coaching provides supervisors and managers an opportunity to motivate while holding employees accountable. These strategies promote high performance. This program helps change the perceptions supervisors have of their role and gives them the tools they need to succeed as a coach. It identifies when and where the coaching strategy is most appropriate.

Through case studies and small group activities, supervisors see the linkage between motivation and coaching. They learn a six step coaching technique and develop action plans to use it on the job with specific employees. They also will sharpen the communication skills they need to be successful coaches.

Workshop Goals:

By the end of the workshop you will be better able to:

1. Understand the differences between coaching and a more traditional approach to supervision and management
2. Use coaching as a supervisory style to improve overall performance
3. Build the motivation of their staff
4. Use and adapt their work style to fit with a coaching approach
5. Improve key supervisory skills including: feedback, listening, problem solving and performance review

Workshop Outline:

• Overview of coaching
• Understanding work behavior styles
• Understanding motivation
• Communication skills for effective coaching
• Coaching case studies
• Developing individual action plans for coaching employees

For many, coaching will be a very new concept of leadership and in that case, this is best run as a full day program so people can get past their bias and see the real value of coaching. It can be run as a half-day program if the discussions are reduced and less time is spent with skill practice or planning how to implement these strategies on the job. The program can also be compressed into a one-hour webinar or conference presentation touching on highlights of the key concepts.

Being promoted to a supervisor is an exciting and challenging opportunity.  Too often, new supervisors are not given much training in how to effectively supervise.  This workshop will help new supervisors successfully transition into their leadership role and develop strategies to be an effective leader and manager.

Workshop Goals:

Upon completion of this program, participants will be better able to:

1. Clearly state the roles, responsibilities and key strategies of supervisors
2. Successfully navigate the transition from “peer” to “leader”
3. Motivate staff to higher performance
4. Hold staff accountable and intervene effectively when performance is not satisfactory
5. Build a workplace that maximizes team work and collaboration and minimizes conflict
6. Address and resolve conflict

Workshop Outline:

• Three key supervisory roles and strategies
• Techniques for establishing a solid leadership presence
• Effectively communicating with and motivating workers
• Setting clear expectations and holding employees accountable
• Ways to respond to common challenges for new supervisors
• Strategies to successfully navigate the transition from co-worker to supervisor
• How to supervise more experienced employees

It is designed for new supervisors or those who would like to brush up on the core strategies supervisors need to master. This is best delivered as a multi-day session spread over several weeks. It can be delivered in full day, half-day or webinar formats. It can be compressed to a one-day classroom program or a one-hour webinar by focusing on a few key points and presenting the rest as a high level overview/introduction.