Management Skills for New Supervisors

Organizational change is constant. You are accountable for managing your own productivity as well as that of your team. Your daily work may require you to interact with colleagues, your supervisor, and senior leaders who each have distinct priorities, interests, and viewpoints.

This comprehensive seminar provides you with time-tested supervisory techniques and strategies that you can implement immediately in your role. The practical skills that effective supervisors use to plan, organize, communicate, and monitor become part of your professional toolkit, enabling you to manage everyday workplace interactions more effectively and with greater ease. You will learn how to combine your technical expertise and interpersonal skills to face your new challenges with heightened confidence, earned respect, and professional authority.

Intended Participants:

• New supervisors with fewer than five years of supervisory experience
• Process and production supervisors seeking foundational management and supervisory skills training

Benefits You Will Gain:

• Develop clarity about your role and responsibilities as a supervisor
• Build understanding and appreciation for workforce diversity and individual differences
• Recognize your legal responsibilities and obligations as a supervisor
• Foster an ethical workplace environment. Conduct difficult conversations effectively.
• Develop effective communication skills, including active listening and strategic questioning
• Establish a work environment that motivates employees through feedback and recognition
• Enhance employee performance through structured coaching
• Use delegation as a development tool to engage and motivate employees
• Develop a comprehensive plan for your ongoing professional development

Topics and Content Areas:

Supervisory Styles and Approaches

• Learn about the three primary supervisory styles
• Practice applying each style in appropriate situations

Managing Up

• Understand and adapt to your manager's communication and leadership style
• Anticipate your manager's priorities and meet their expectations
• Build the strongest possible working relationship with your manager

Managing a Diverse Workforce

• Understand how diversity and inclusion affect your team, your department, and your organization
• Integrate inclusive practices into your team management

Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

• Understand the Equal Employment Opportunity laws, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hostile work environment standards, and other critical legal concepts
• Recognize your ethical responsibilities and develop your approach to ethical decision-making

Creating a Motivational Work Environment

• Identify the primary motivators and reinforcements in the workplace
• Apply the rules for reinforcing and rewarding productive employee behavior
• Create a strategy for addressing a specific employee motivation challenge

Communication Skills Development

• Develop active listening skills to demonstrate understanding and verify information
• Ask strategic questions that gather important information and strengthen working relationships

Coaching and Performance Development

• Learn to give and receive feedback in a constructive manner
• Assess your own strengths and development areas as a coach
• Ask questions that build employee self-awareness and accountability
• Apply the AMA coaching model in your coaching conversations

Managing Performance Reviews

• Understand the importance of regular performance alignment discussions
• Conduct effective performance appraisal meetings and maintain documentation
• Prepare for and address various employee reactions appropriately

Delegation as a Motivational Tool

• Determine what can be delegated, select the right person to delegate to, and execute effective delegation conversations

Planning Your Growth

Course Outline and Learning Objectives

• Understand your role and responsibilities as a supervisor
• Recognize and value diversity and individual differences in the workplace
• Understand your legal responsibilities and obligations as a supervisor
• Establish a motivational work environment
• Improve employee performance through coaching
• Use delegation to engage, develop, and motivate your employees
• Create a plan for your ongoing professional development

Supervisory Styles

• Understand the three primary supervisory styles
• Determine when and how to apply each supervisory style

Managing Up

• Understand and adapt to your manager's style
• Anticipate your manager's needs proactively
• Build the strongest possible relationship with your manager

Managing a Diverse Workforce

• Analyze how different types of diversity affect you, your team, and your organization
• Identify strategies to apply inclusivity to your team

Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

• Explain the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hostile work environment standards, and other critical legal concepts
• Discuss your obligations and responsibilities regarding key employment laws
• Describe your ethical responsibilities as a supervisor
• Make ethical decisions in your supervisory role

Creating a Motivational Environment

• Explain the key elements of a motivating work environment
• Discuss the relationship between behavior and its consequences
• Apply rules for reinforcing productive behavior
• Avoid common mistakes in reinforcement and recognition
• Address a current employee motivation challenge

Communication Skills

• Use active listening to demonstrate understanding and verify content
• Ask strategic questions that reveal important information and strengthen relationships

Coaching for Performance

• Give and receive feedback in a constructive way
• Assess your coaching strengths and development areas
• Ask questions that develop employee self-awareness and accountability
• Apply the AMA coaching model

Performance Appraisals

• Maintain detailed and accurate performance records
• Conduct regular performance alignment discussions
• Execute an effective performance appraisal meeting
• Address various employee reactions professionally

Delegation

• Identify what responsibilities can be delegated
• Select the appropriate person to delegate to
• Execute the delegation conversation effectively

Continuous Growth and Development

• Identify development opportunities for yourself
• Create a personalized developmental growth plan