Our Management Training Classes

By introducing our Management Training classes to your staff we help ease the negative effect of change on both managerial and supervisory personnel. The change in job responsibilities, the change in personnel, job duties, and the rising challenge of developing subordinates are specific goals of our learning systems classes. We are highly successful at helping Managers and Supervisors learn and adapt to the necessary skills and proper behaviors to be successful at work as well as in their personal lives.

For more information on our management training classes please contact us.

As a part of our management training classes, Managers and Supervisors will learn how to:

• Minimize the chance of miscommunication by understanding what people are really saying, and why
• Deal with difficult people, manage tense situations, and resolve conflict
• Make use of proven active listening skills to improve your ability to gain helpful information
• Be able to facilitate, guide, and close discussions in one-on-one or group settings
• Improve understanding and communication by giving and receiving good feedback
• Use ideas submitted by a member of the team without causing other members to be defensive
• Develop a comprehensive team building strategy that improves productivity of the whole team
• Emphasize the value of working toward common goals without devaluing individual accomplishment
• Define and set up a method to track staff activities
• Be able to manage time and work assignments effectively
• Conduct team meetings that capture and hold the audience’s attention
• Interview and hire the right person for the right job
• Save time and work more effectively through the use of a clear time management plan
• Understand and comply with proper hiring and managing requirements
• Communicate effectively with both superiors, peers and subordinates
• Become effective coaches for their work team
• Conduct accurate and difficult performance appraisals

 

Management Training:
Giving Feedback to My Employees - Management Class

Giving performance feedback can be a traumatic experience for managers. Ok, traumatic is a bit of an overstatement, but it is a question I am often asked when I am working with team managers.

Throughout our lives, feedback has enabled us to learn and develop our knowledge, skills and abilities. It is, in fact, a fundamental component of learning. And almost everyone wants to know how they are doing even if the feedback is uncomfortable to hear. Feedback gives us the information we need to make a decision on what to do next - it offers us a choice. And when feedback is given effectively it is one of the most powerful tools in a manager's toolkit for building trust, performance, and motivation in their team.

There are countless models for giving feedback, such as STAR, AIM, SBI to name a few. All of them are useful, but what I have found works best is when managers adopt and adapt the principles below. These suggestions are loosely linked around the GROW coaching model:

When to give feedback - performance feedback is best given fresh, not months down the road when it may have been forgotten. Find time to provide feedback often - e.g. over a cup of coffee, in the cab on the way back from a meeting, in a weekly/monthly catch-up meeting etc.

Frequent feedback also helps to catch performance problems early rather than make it a once a year "dump" and avoids the performance appraisal "surprise".

Try to be balanced with your feedback addressing both positives as well as negatives throughout the year.

Who goes first? - Ask your employee to tell you how they think they performed. A couple of starter questions might be:

"So how do you think that went?", "What has gone well this year?"

"Is there anything that you could have done differently?", "What would you like to improve on for next year?"

Asking an individual to express their own views first helps them feel more comfortable with the process and establishes some common ground around which you can base your own observations. It also gives you as the manager some information about where the individual places their performance. Is it in line with your expectations? Below or above? And also helps you gauge how they will respond to the feedback you need to give. If there is a big discrepancy, it may signal a defensive response that you can plan for.

Recognize the positives - Recognize where your employee has improved or done well since your last feedback conversation. Stay focused on providing concrete examples of observed behavior and importantly the impact of the behavior. This helps to reinforce behaviors that are valued and helps to set a positive tone for the rest of the conversation.

Just the facts please - feedback should be very specific and factual. Avoid giving generalized feedback based on personal opinion or biases. If the feedback is potentially contentious, employees may interpret this as a personal attack and react defensively. Instead focus on actual events that are factual and supported with behavioral evidence. Linking this with the impact of the behavior allows employees the opportunity to understand the feedback more clearly. This in turn will enable them to respond more openly.

Focus on behavior - In performance feedback, the goal is to change or reinforce the behaviors that impact performance; it is not about changing the person. Focusing on behavior during your feedback meetings also helps to de-personalize feedback. A defensive response probably means they've taken it personally.

Focus on person - "You're problem is you're not a team player"

Focus on behavior - "On several occasions, I have observed one of the team asking you for help and you refusing. Today was an example."

If the feedback consists of situations where the individual clashes with others and they feel that they are not at fault ask the individual to say what they felt they contributed to the clash and what they might have done differently to avoid it.

Feedforward - There is a tendency at times to dwell on the negative. Move the conversation forward as quickly as is appropriate to keep the discussion focused on positive next steps e.g. what can be done by the employee to improve performance. Ask the individual to contribute their own view about possible solutions. Explore options and ways in which the individual could be helped. Be prepared to give positive advice and guidance to the individual if they are having difficulty in finding a way forward.

Plan your next steps - towards the end of your feedback discussion always seek to secure agreement on a concrete way forward. Establish an action plan and agree timescales to revisit. This plan should contain specific things that the individual will do differently and any support you will provide. When will you meet next to update?

Happy Endings - always try and end on a positive note. Remind the individual again of the positive aspects of the feedback and what you value about their contribution. Encourage them to take the actions necessary to overcome any difficulties and remind them of your willingness to support them in this process.

The key is to use feedback regularly and to make it a two-way conversation that recognizes the employees part in the process. It is most powerful when it is given regularly, honestly and constructively even if it is uncomfortable for all those involved. But practice does help and the more you do it, the better you'll get. Good luck!!

Anna Lambe: link

Subject: Management Class

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