Mastering Leadership Skills

The Changing Role of The Supervisor

The fundamental skills of managing people and resources are more vital than ever. At all levels of business, industry, and government, today’s supervisors are expected to do more and with fewer resources than ever before. Therefore, it becomes imperative that contemporary supervisors understand that their role is changing. Leaders must focus on outcomes. This requires that supervisors and managers learn to develop, train, and trust employees to get the job done right – the first time. To meet today’s challenges, supervisors and managers must discard some of the traditional management practices that have alienated employees, damaged morale, diminished performance and ultimately productivity.

Our future growth and survival are directly related to our ability to lead our employees and not to manage them. Today’s supervisor must depart from the traditional supervisory role of cause and effect. They must develop a working environment which promotes innovation, team work, and supportive interdepartmental cooperation. They must learn to build upon the strengths of others while developing their recognized performance shortfalls.

Managers and supervisors must recognize that when they accept a leadership role they also accept the responsibility of channeling the behavior of others toward achieving results. The key to effective leadership lies in the leader’s ability to create an environment in which the employee is willing to trade behaviors to meet the needs of the organization as well as their own personal needs. Additionally, the leader must help the employee find a sense of personal fulfillment and satisfaction from their work. This is accomplished by the leader crafting an environment which challenges the employee, creating a personal desire to excel.

In business, the difference between a successful and effective operation and one which barely meets minimum standards is largely determined by the interpersonal skills of the leader. To bridge the gap between “hit-and-miss success” and long term effectiveness, contemporary leaders must develop a clear understanding of what the function of leadership is all about. This course examines the fundamental tenets of leadership and provides the leader with a clear insight into his/her duties and responsibilities.

Long term leadership success requires that the leader:

• Clearly understand their role and functions as a leader.
• Understand an employee’s past behavior; why the employee acted in a given manner. What motivated him/her and evoked the behavior that helped or hindered their success or failure?
• Can predict future behavior; understanding why people behaved in a certain way is not enough. The leader must be able to predict how the employee will behave in the future under similar as well as changing conditions.
• Develop communication and listening skills. It’s critical that a supervisor learns to listen to an employee’s problems and respond appropriately.
• Communicate required changes in employee performance or behavior, and to ensure that they understand what is expected of them.
• Confront problematic behavior; the leader must have the confidence and skills to confront unacceptable performance or behavior, early, before the employee becomes entrenched in that pattern of behavior.

Mastering Leadership Skills is a multi-phased leadership training process. Each seminar ranges from a half to full day training events.

Mastering Leadership Skills

1. The Leader as a Linking Pin to Management.
2. Coaching, Counseling & Confronting.
3. Making Performance Appraisal an On-going process       .
4. Using Positive Progressive Discipline and The Termination Process.
5. Becoming An Extraordinary Leader
6. Lawful, Legal & Effective Interviewing.
7. Working With Difficult Employee Problems.
8. Crafting, Communicating, and Executing Strategy.
9. Creating a Healthy Work Environment
10. Workplace Harassment, Bullying/Incivility, and Bystander Intervention