You're a manager now: what next?

The training is intended for

New managers and experienced specialists who have the new experience of managing a team.

 

Value of the training

On the day we are appointed to manage a team for the first time, none of us know what responsibility and what challenges await. The first excitement about a successful career path gradually subsides when we encounter the numerous challenges that are typical of a manager’s position but are yet unknown to a good specialist:

• What should I do differently now that I am a manager, and what are a manager’s functions?
• What should I say and how should I manage people who were my colleagues yesterday?
• How do I increase my authority without undermining relationships?
• What is my responsibility for other people’s work? Should I do everything myself or should I allow employees to be fully autonomous?

These are only some of many questions, and the main purpose of the training is therefore to help you understand the manager’s role.

We will dedicate three days to finding answers to those things:

• We will analyse others’ and our own experiences;
• We will consider both the manager’s and an employee’s point of view;
• We will study management and relationship psychology.

We will practice with each other and in this manner create a unique process for becoming a manager for each of us.

Content of the training

About ourselves: each change begins with ourselves

• A manager’s roles: how is the new activity different from what went earlier? What should I understand for myself? What attitudes do I encounter and how have they changed after the situation changed?
• The manager’s identity and role: how can I keep an appropriate distance from my colleagues, grow my authority, and at the same time not undermine good relationships with employees? How should I deal with employee resistance and prejudices? What “powers” does a manager have?
• Situational management: what are the different management styles, what determines them, what is my management style? What should I do with all this information?
• Setting goals for oneself and for the team: what are good goals? How can I ensure that the personal goals of the entire team are oriented towards the common goal? What do an employee’s goals mean to them, how can a team task be prioritised, and how do I encourage employees to pursue goals?

About employees: how can I encourage them to change?

• Personal communication with employees: what do employees value? Is it sufficient to praise them when I meet them near the coffee machine, or should I perhaps dedicate special time to praising them?
• Feedback: how should feedback be provided? What do employees hear, and why do they refuse to accept criticism? What complex situations related to communication with employees can be encountered and how should I deal with them?
• Employee motivation and development: how can I encourage employees to assume more responsibility and be more autonomous? Is money the only thing that motivates? How can I become a good listener and satisfy employee needs and opportunities, and what should be offered to very talented employees? How can I motivate the team as a whole while also promoting diversity?

About the team: what should I do to prevent changes from ruining the team?

• Communication is one of the key tools to implement changes or encourage the team to pursue goals. What is appropriate communication with employees and why do employees sometimes fail to hear or do what we expect them to hear or do? How can tasks be delegated without fearing that they will not be performed?
• Effective meetings: are they outdated since we have a variety of other communication methods (chats, groups, etc.)? How can a meeting be more than just formally ticking boxes, i.e. how can they become a useful time for team building? What does a manager’s body language tell people (not only during meetings)?
• Creation of a long-term relationship with a team: charisma is something that can be learned, and is not rocket science. Persuasive communication is also helpful, but how do you avoid becoming a manipulator (and what should you never manipulate)?