The Leadership Series Overview

Leadership Essentials &
Leadership PLUS

 Course Title

 Course Objectives

Course Skill Points

Essential Skills of Leadership

Delivery Methods Available: Classroom, online, blended learning

• Deal with team members on a day-to-day basis in such a way as to maintain and enhance their self- esteem
• Base discussions about performance and work habits on behavior rather than on personalities and attitudes
• Involve team members in goal setting, problem solving and decision- making

• Maintain or Enhance Team Member Self-Esteem
• Focus on Behavior
• Encourage Team Member Participation

Essential Skills of Communicating

Delivery Methods Available: 
Classroom, online, blended learning

• See that communication is a two-way process
• Construct clear, concise messages in the interest of the listener
• Manage nonverbal behaviors to reinforce the intent of messages
• Listen actively to improve communication
• Create a climate of open communication, which increases team members’ motivation and commitment

• Create a Climate of Open Communication
• Design Clear, Concise Messages
• Manage Nonverbal Behaviors Effectively
• Listen to Communicate

• Define goals, objectives, and performance standards
• Identify and set performance standards that are specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time-framed, using concrete active language
• Establish time limits for all performance standards
• Involve team members in creating their own individual performance standards
• Negotiate to develop performance standards for team members that address both desired results and team members’ capabilities
• Monitor team members’ progress toward their goals by holding individual review meetings

• State broad goal of the plan
• Ask team member's view of what his or her performance standards should be within the plan
• Negotiate by modifying unrealistically high or low performance standards
• Agree on a set of performance standards that are clear, specific, and measurable
• Confirm team member’s commitment and set up review

Providing Performance Feedback

• Base assessments on facts and behavior
• Assess performance
• Use positive feedback to motivate team members
• Gain team member participation in assessment
• Gain team member agreement with the assessment
• Gain team member commitmentto the change needed to improve performance

• Ask for team member’s evaluation and give your evaluation of performance
• Identify what would help maintain or improve performance
• Ask team member to identify how improvement can be achieved
• Agree on plan
• Get commitment and set up review

Improving Work Habits

• Recognize the difference between job performance and work habits.  Managers will understand that a work habits discussion is not coaching and requires different skills for successful resolution
• Understand that unsatisfactory work habits must be dealt with quickly and effectively before they require disciplinary action
• Explain clearly and specifically the nature of the team member’s unsatisfactory work habit while focusing on behaviors rather than attitude
• Use an action plan and ongoing reviews to help team members improve work habits and demonstrate personal accountability

• State problem clearly and specifically
• Ask team member’s view
• Ask team member for solution
• Agree on plan
• Set up time for review

Resolving Conflicts

• Accept conflict as an inevitable part of all work situations and deal with it in order to maintain individual and team focus and productivity
• Recognize the positive and negative impacts of conflicts and leverage conflict to everyone’s advantage
• Distinguish between the two major sources of conflict so that they it can be resolved fairly and effectively
• Establish a cooperative atmosphere to resolve conflicts when they arise

• Ask each team member to state problem
• Ask each team member to state other’s view of problem
• Ask each team member to confirm accuracy of other’s restatement
• Focus on objective facts, areas of mutual need or mutual goals
• Ask each to suggest solutions
• Bring both to agreement on specific steps to resolve conflict and set up time for review

Effective Discipline

• Use the techniques of effective discipline to eliminate problem behavior
• Communicate concerns in terms of behavior rather than perception or opinion
• Minimize defensiveness and focus on solutions
• Reduce conflict avoidance behaviors that undermine team morale, impact perceived fairness and impede overall productivity
• Review performance to make sure the problem is resolved
• Recognize the importance of team member participation in defining the problems and solutions

• State Performance Problem
• Ask Team Member’s View
• Ask Team Member for a Solution
• Agree on Plan

Supporting Change

• Understand why change happens, how people react to it, and how to support team member’s struggles with change
• Involve team members in a change initiative by promoting their understanding and ownership of the change and its benefits
• Plan for individual or group follow-up sessions that support the change process and reinforce personal and organizational goals

• Detail coming change and explain reason for it
• Let team member ask questions, express opinions and concerns
• Respond to team member’s questions and concerns
• Get commitment and set up time for review

Delegating

• Understand the role of delegation in time management, resource utilization, job satisfaction and overall team productivity
• Use a delegation process that ensures team member participation, involvement, and success so that what needs to be done gets done – properly and on time
• Establish a team member’s responsibility and authority for a delegated task – creating a framework for accountability and personal growth

• Explain need for delegation
• Use delegation of task to motivate
• Explain task and ask team member’s view
• Specify responsibility and authority
• Confirm team member’s understanding and set up time for review

Communicating Up

• Understand the importance of framing all communication with their manager in terms of his/her self-interest
• Enter meetings with their manager armed with a well-thought-out and clearly stated objective
• Clearly link their objective with facts that support their plans and goals
• Work with their manager to uncover any questions or reservations he/she may have concerning their message
• Move conversations toward agreement with questions that focus on the benefits to be gained when the objective is reached
• Clearly and concisely restate the decisions that results from Communicating Up and insure that those decisions are mutually understood

• State objective concisely in terms of the needs and interests of their manager
• Detail objective and support it with facts
• Ask for and/or respond to questions
• Probe for agreement
• Summarize and confirm conclusion

Managing Complaints

• Understand why all team member complaints must be dealt with rather than ignored or dismissed
• Be more sensitive to all the problems-minor or trivial, real or imagined-that can lie behind complaints
• Understand techniques used to determine underlying problems, which are not always the same as those the team member thinks are responsible for his/her difficulties
• Use various techniques to solve such problems while maintaining a positive relationship with the team member

• Ask team member to detail complaint
• Get agreement on substance of complaint
• Ask team member for solution
• Schedule time for investigation and agree on action plan
• Set a date for follow-up meeting 

Coaching Job Skills

• Understand what coaching is, why it is important, and how it supports individual and company goals
• Prepare for a coaching session by using observation and analysis to build a plan for a successful dialog
• Hold a coaching conversation that improves an individual’s performance and increases productivity
• Use coaching as a way to build a valuable sense of teamwork between the team leader and team member through communication, shared goals and collaboration

• Observe and Analyze Performance
• Identify Area of Performance that Needs Improvement
• Demonstrate How Task Should be Performed and Ask Team Member for Questions
• Have Team Member Demonstrate and Give Team Member Feedback on Performance
• Set Up Time for Review

 Course Title

Course Objectives

Course Skill Points 

• Describe the scope, severity, and cost of attrition
• Determine the risk of attrition for each team member
• Identify which retention factors motivate each team member
• Increase each team member’s engagement and commitment
• Apply the STARS research to build and implement an effective Retention Action Plan for their entire team

• Understand the hidden costs of attrition
• Reasons people might stay or leave
• How to identify who is at risk
• Recognize the connection between team member retention and goal achievement
• How to make selective retention decisions
• Be alert for early warning signs
• Identify and apply retention strategies and tactics
• Surface team member retention needs – what motivates each team member?
• Create a retention plan for your team

Leading Successful Projects

• Understand the four phases that every project goes through
• Assessthe probable impact of a project on business goals
• Determine the roles, tasks and activities needed to complete any project
• Ask the right questions in each phase of a project
• Use a clear system to track project progress and update stakeholders
• Motivate project team members to maintain their commitment and support

• Assess the situation by identifying problems and opportunities and determine the priority
• Determine feasibility by identifying alternatives and determining benefits, costs, risk, and choose best solution
• Write goal statement, create objectives, and define roles and responsibilities
• List all tasks required to achieve the objectives
• Identify resources required to complete tasks and assign responsibilities for each task
• Prepare project schedule
• Identify risks and the impact that the risk can cause to a project
• Monitor project and modify project as needed
• Formally close out project by measuring performance against expected performance

Motivating Team Members

• Improveyour team member’s performance
• Understandthe factors that motivate team members to perform effectively
• Understandhow motivation varies from team member to team member
• Distinguishbetween motivators and dissatisfiers
• Learn how to create a work environment for each team member that will motivate higher performance

• Identify factors that motivate team member
• State team member’s positive accomplishments
• Ask team member’s view of what would enhance or maintain performance
• Respond to team member’s suggestion(s) and/or offer your own
• Agree on the next step and set up review

Solving Workplace Problems

• Followan orderly, step-by-step, problem-solving process
• Writeproblem statement that clearly define problems encountered in work situations
• Assessthe contexts of problems
• Analyzethe likely root causes of problems
• Involveteam members in evaluating root causes and possible solutions
• Create plans to implement solutions to problems

• Identify the problem
• Identify the cause
• Select best solution
• Implement the solution
• Feedback and follow-up

 Developing and Coaching Others - Team Leader Version

Classroom - 4.0 hours

Online - 1.5 to 2.0 hours

• Effectively lead the ongoing development of their team in order to continuously build the capability of each member
  
• Successfully handle “coaching moments” in a manner that ensures improved performance on-the-job
  
• Significantly impact on the job performance by being committed and knowing how to coach and support team members through and beyond a learning process.

 Coaching Moments

• Ask individual's view of what happened
• Ask why it happened the way it did (good or bad)
• Ask what the consequences were
• Ask what lessons were learned and what the individual will consider doing differently next time
• Ask what the individual's next step will be

 Developing and Coaching Others  - Senior
Management Version

• Effectively and successfully develop and coach others to become better and more consistent performers.
• Managers will be provided with skills and strategies to guide their people through a learning process, with specific tactics to help them "before," "during," and "after" training to ensure that behavior change is achieved.

• Ask individual's view of what happened
• Ask why it happened the way it did (good or bad)
• Ask what the consequences were
• Ask what lessons were learned and what the individual will consider doing differently next time
• Ask what the individual's next step will be