Our Management Training Courses

By introducing our Management Training courses 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 courses. 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 courses please contact us.

As a part of our management training courses, 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

 

Project Management Training Courses: Your Project's Progress

So - you've approved your project. In a few weeks or months, the new process (or IT system/ acquisition/ office move/quality standard) will be delivered.

On time, to specification, and below budget. Right...

Except that right now, the project is already one-third of the way through, and there's little sign of real action. Could it be the planning phase, and things will burst into life soon; could it be that foundations are being built; could it be that a lot of background work is happening;

Or, could it be that you should be concerned because, well, there are many reasons... The cost of correcting an issue is many times the cost of preventing it. Hidden or emerging problems can go undetected or be ignored because the project team has faith that if they just follow the plan the benefits will materialise. Yet 70% of projects fail...so how much 'faith' can one have?

Whether you're a Chief Exec, a business owner, or a Project Manager, there are times when some insights, or a sounding board, would be helpful. Essential, even...

Call on Project Assurance, and have a Project Health Check - which is... a reflective learning exercise, a snapshot of the status of a project or programme in order to identify what is going well and what areas need improvement. Project managers, sponsors and the project team are often so involved in the day-to-day activities that they fail to recognise the true status of a project.

Having someone undertake Project Assurance gives an independent assessment of how well the project or programme is performing in accordance with its objectives, including time, and cost.

So - who does Project Assurance?

Often, independent assessors who are free from internal politics, and don't carry the can for organisational failure. They can be from inside or outside the organisation, so long as they are outside the project itself. They're people who can provide a balanced view, provide an objective assessment, and where appropriate, make recommendations which are more likely to be accepted and acted upon. The last thing you want to do in a health check is to wander in and just start poking around in a random fashion.

When is a good time to let PA loose?

The reactive way, of course, is to wait until the project is in trouble, and then identify what needs to be fixed. It's a painful way of proceeding, and inevitably includes retribution, reputation, and reaction. Often in a negative, blaming, manner.

In our view, a more sensible way is to make it part of a planned project review process, which can identify problems before they occur. Proactive checks ensure the project begins and runs as efficiently as possible, but a reactive check can set an over-budget or late project back on track.

Project Assurance touchpoints

OK. So the principle of having Project Assurance is a good one - but how will they know what to look for? Well, a good PA will have a body of knowledge (in Project Management circles, the PMBOK) which carries the collective wisdom of the profession, guidelines regarding the various issues which will help achieve - and crucially help rescue, projects. They will carry years of experience in managing, leading and approving projects - and ideally will have years of business leadership and management experience to be able to switch between keeping the big picture in mind, and the details in view.

1. Reviewing and validating the Business Case

Projects are done for many reasons, including increasing customer satisfaction, enhancing efficiencies or developing a new product. However, too often they are begun on a whim or vision, without really assessing the contribution this piece of work will take, and considering the costs and benefits of its implementation.

A check of the strategic and operational reasoning, and including measures within the project, will help

2. Project Control

A regular review of the project and its plans, milestones and interim deliverables is a good way of checking whether the project remains on track, and identifies shortfalls and overruns which could impact on future achievements or progress.

It also helps identify contingencies, where failure or variances affect other areas of the business - hence the benefit of having a business manager, or someone with that experience, taking the role

3. Best Practice - or Right Practice

There are ongoing debates about 'Best Practice' and we've blogged before about the difference. Good Project Assurance allows for what is right for the project - and ensure consistent project management standards across an organisation.

4. Risk and Issue Review

It's not uncommon for managers to perform the 'obligatory' risk management and leave the plan on the shelf until the project is complete. The check examines the risk management plan, identifies top risks and whether they have been appropriately addressed and if not, issues recommendations for action.

Good PA ensures this is reviewed and acted on. Regularly...

5. People - the great unknown

Project management is about teams. And, a good project manager needs to be concerned about relationships among the various project stakeholders, which can either enhance or threaten success. Relationships need constant nurturing.

A good project manager will be a great communicator, for gas in awareness lead to all kinds of misunderstandings and problems.

Project Assurance reviews this human factor of project management, including how the team functions, how deep project sponsor commitment is, whether client satisfaction is considered often and deeply enough, and any other human factors that could adversely impact the project.

It's also essential to include the PA resource within regular communications and reports, as this allows some regular temperature checking - early warning signs are easier to manage.

John Wade: link

Subject: Management Training Courses

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