Course Outline - Management Development Skills

Management Development Skills

Course Duration: Five Days

Course Objectives:

Increase knowledge of the nature of management work and the strategic activities of managers

Develop skills of leadership and team working in order to achieve organisational goals

Develop effective meetings management techniques

Be able to manage staff performance using appropriate approaches

Develop change management skills for organisational change

Develop understanding of key aspects of approach to influencing techniques

Develop knowledge of own interactive style profile

Develop skills in handling people interaction and behaviours including conflict

Be able to communicate effectively with all staff and customers in various media formats

Be capable of dealing with informal and formal disciplinary issues according to procedures

Develop personal time management and work organisation techniques

Course Outline:

Introduction to the Programme

Objectives, Content and Expectations

Exercises and Case Studies

Extensive use will be made of exercises and case studies to practice techniques and learn from experiences

Strategic Management Process

Taking the big picture perspective as a manager
Setting and clarifying organisational goals − Mission and Vision
Developing organisational strategy for area operation − Understanding strategy
Developing organisational strategy for area operation − Developing strategies
SWOT analysis − Organisational assessment
SWOT analysis − Identification of areas for improvement
Strategic planning − Setting objectives
Strategic planning − Building action plans
Setting targets and performance measurement criteria

Primary Functions of Management

Management and operational work
Management work activities
Planning and organising process
Leading / motivation of people
Monitoring and controlling activities
Setting objectives and goals for area of responsibility
Establishing measurement criteria for managing performance

Team Building and Teamwork

Formation of groups and development into teams
Stages in team formation
Development of team structures
Consensus seeking techniques
Intact teams, cross functional teams and self directed work team operation
Measuring team performance

Team Leadership Skills

Developing of task and people focused approach to leadership
Leadership styles and profiling
Action centred leadership approach using a series of structured exercises practising leadership techniques with analysis and feedback
Role of manager as facilitator and coach in the modern working environment

Effective Delegation

Identifying appropriate tasks to delegate
Ensuring necessary resources and skills are available
Planning task transfer
Monitoring progress

Meetings Management Techniques

Importance of meetings
Mechanics of meetings
Use of agendas, minute taking and action planning
Role of chair and minute taker
Meeting process
Effective action planning

Managing Performance

Setting and communicating standards
Motivation at work
Modern approaches to motivation at work
Performance management and appraisal systems
Developing performance management effectiveness

Concept of Change

Handling the process of change
Identifying the causes of change
Addressing resistance to change and overcoming problems
Management of change through dialogue and consultation
Supervising change implementation

Principles of Effective Personal Communications

Basic factors in communication
Evaluation of key processes involved through exercises with discussion
One-way and two-way communications effectiveness
Developing feedback processes
Using various methods of communication including body language
Effective and active listening techniques

Key Communication Contact Points

Meetings participation
Making presentations and contributions at meetings
Recording information and action plans
Telephone techniques
Barriers in telephone interaction and ways to overcome
Use of e-mail – Opportunities and barriers
Use of e-mail – Developing codes of practice

Effective Report Writing

Purpose of reports
Various types and formats
Planning and preparation of reports
Formats and structure – Layout and content
Effective use of language
Visual representations

Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills

Introduction to negotiating and influencing skills purpose and objectives
Completion of questionnaire on interactive style
Influencing skills exercise with feedback and analysis
Use of moving skills for influencing others
Interactive skills profile and questionnaire results with feedback and discussion
Handling different behaviours and reactions
Dealing with conflict and aggression
Using transactional analysis principles to deal with conflict / disarming anger
Understanding of assertiveness, aggressive and passive behaviour
How to be assertive in interacting with others
Use of practical role-plays with analysis and feedback

Discipline Handling

Need for discipline
Informal and formal approaches
Management / supervisory roles
Types of discipline issues
Taking the informal approach initially
Steps in conducting a formal disciplinary process
Handling difficult responses including conflict / aggression and emotions

Effective Time Management

Managing scarce resources
Lost time as waste and identification of key time waste factors for participants
Analysis and development of techniques to reduce time waste
The time planning process – Short, medium and long term
Setting objectives and priorities – both work and life focused
Use of diaries and practical day planners for achieving priority / pay-off tasks
Project planning for personal workloads
Selecting appropriate methods of communication to minimise time-wasting
Desk and file management
Handling modern electronic media for reduction of time-wasting