Supervisory Leadership

Fundamentals of Leadership creates and implements a leadership development plan for the participant, bringing together elements of various assessments tools. Each week, individuals will incrementally build leadership skills through practical, in-class (case studies, role modeling, etc.) and workplace exercises. In addition, participants will identify mentor(s) to further develop the skills required of new leaders. Using best practice approaches for recruiting and retention, participants will learn to effectively build and maintain a team within their organization. Upon completing the course, participants will understand and have outlined a performance and succession track to further their career goals.

This unique course provides participants with an understanding of the specific competencies and business issues that make up the supervisory framework for how effective supervision is implemented at various organizations. In addition, students use various assessment tools to receive feedback from peers and those in reporting relationships, on their skills in the elements of that framework. Participants receive individual coaching on understanding the feedback report and begin the process of creating individual development plans.

Participants explore and identify the competencies and skill needed by an individual to fulfill the responsibilities of a leader in an organization. With individual competencies and skill as the focus, participants compare these critical elements to the feedback received in the Elements of Supervision and Assessment course. These components are used to create an individual development plan.

The role of management is being significantly redefined by the accelerating rate of change impacting organizations, the escalating unpredictability of the competitive environment, and the increasing significance of the customer as a key stakeholder. Survival and success of the organization will depend much more on management's ability to inspire initiative, involvement, and commitment by people at all levels of the organization and much less on the decisions of executive management. You will establish a systematic process for planning work and setting expectations, monitoring performance, developing a capacity for performance and rating and rewarding performance. Through dialogue, assessment, hands-on and team problem solving, and feedback, you will solve of puzzles of defining the job, setting standards, giving feedback and aligning performance measurements for individuals, teams, business units and entire organizations.

Managing change in an organization is a dynamic process. Effective change maximizes the alignment between an organization's strategies, structure, systems and culture. It requires an understanding of the systemic interrelationships among these factors and how changes in one can affect another. This course focuses on planning and implementing change in organizations, with an emphasis on the role of leadership within an organization. Participants examine the role of leadership and the competencies and skills required of individuals who initiate, manage, and are affected by change.

This course provides a conceptual framework for approaching problem solving and decision-making situations with clarity and confidence. Participants build competence in making effective decisions based on the accurate assessment of the problem and preparing creative alternative solutions. Students learn how to use analysis, synthesis, and positive inquiry to approach individual and organizational problems, develop and evaluate objectives, and assess likely consequences. Using case studies and on-the-job situations encountered by the class, students explore successful models and proven methods that are readily transferable to their own situations.

Virtually everything that we do in business involves working with people in person one on one, in groups, in writing, by phone or through a myriad of other electronic means. In today's highly competitive business world, it is more important than ever to recognize and study the significant role communication plays in our lives. As employees at all levels, how well we communicate in a large part determines how successful we will be on the job, and our level of personal job satisfaction. This course is for individuals at all levels in all types of businesses/organizations who desire to polish and/or develop additional communication skills in formal and informal settings. Through interactive discussions, role plays and activities the following areas are covered: verbal and nonverbal communication; defensive/supportive communication; assertiveness, submissiveness and aggressiveness; active listening; receiving and providing criticism; team building; delegation of responsibilities; empowerment; management and sales strategies; leadership; customer service; interviewing/recruiting; conflict resolution.

This course will focus on performance management and performance leadership as distinctive and complementary systems of action. The course emphasizes the importance of interpersonal awareness as a competency, and provides opportunities to practice and heighten interpersonal awareness skills as a foundation for influencing and coaching others. The course also explores motivation and concentrates on individual needs and differences, enabling a manager/leader to effectively deploy the unique strengths and skills of individual organization members. It focuses on observation and communication skills and their relevance in building trusting relationships. It does not promote the idea of "changing" the nature of individuals, but rather aligning the behavior of the individual to the requirements of the job. It also aligns the job experience with the life and career goals of the individual.