Management Essentials

The purpose of Management Essentials is to build your management and leadership skills and to help you make the most powerful contribution possible to our workplace. We may have people here with different levels of tenure and experience, but we all have a common goal: to become great managers.

WEEK 1

What are Management Essentials?

This week is about getting started. During this week, you will meet and get to know the other members of the cohort group. You will begin working with your Peer Coach and start to understand how you manage conflict by completing the Conflict Dynamics Profile. You will also share who you are and what you want to accomplish on the Insight Sharing Board.

 

WEEK 2

Managing Myself: How do I prepare for a leadership role?

A manager works with other people to accomplish the goals of the organization—and we’ll spend a lot of time in the course focusing on how you work with other people. But for a manager to work effectively with others, he or she needs to understand their own preference and styles. This week is about you; how do you manage your time? How do you communicate your ideas and goals? What do you want to accomplish during Management Essentials that will prepare you for the next step in your career? During this week, you will explore techniques for getting the most out of your day in the module Managing Time Effectively. You will learn how to get your message across in the module Communicating Effectively and Touch base with your manager on your Action Goal Project. You will also share your Action Goal Project on the Insight Sharing Board and provide insight on great leadership by sharing your response to the topic “A Leader I Admire” on the Insight Sharing Board.

 

WEEK 3

Managing the Work: How do I accomplish work through others?

Being a manager is very different from being an individual contributor. An individual contributor succeeds based on what he or she can do; a manager succeeds through the success of others. That’s why this week is focused on the skills and behaviors you need to accomplish goals through the work of others. During this week, you will get more insight into your own preferences in managing others by participating in a debrief session on the Conflict Dynamics Profile. If you have questions about your results, this is a great opportunity to get answers. You will identify the role that motivation plays in working with others, as well as how you can learn what motivates other people, in the module Motivating. You will be able to determine when, why, and how to delegate work to others in the module Delegating to Empower. If a manager accomplishes work through others, how do you decide what to delegate, and what to handle yourself? You will share your ideas about how Motivation and Conflict may be connect, on the Insight Sharing Board.

 

WEEK 4

Managing the Team: How do I manage the challenges of working with a team?

What is a manager without a team? A team is much more than a collection of individuals; with clear direction and common goals, a team can be the most powerful force in a business. But working with a team presents unique challenges; how do you keep the team focus when different members may want different things? During this week, you will learn how to facilitate differences between team members in the module Managing Interpersonal Conflict You will determine the unique challenges of conflict within teams in the module Managing Team Conflict. You will also meet with your Peer Coach and track the progress on your Action Goal Projects. Finally, you will have the chance to get your questions answered during a free-form Question & Answer Session with your facilitator.

 

WEEK 5

Managing Team Development: How do I develop team strength and growth?

This week continues the theme of working with a team. Last week we explored managing conflict on teams; this week we’ll look at growing the skills and capabilities of the people on your team. People are an important asset to an organization. Good people are hard to find, and hard to keep. A good manager helps his or her people build great careers. We’ll focus this week on getting the most from the people on your team, and providing great career paths and opportunities so the people on your team get the most out of their jobs. During this week, you will identify how to find, hire, and retain great people for your team in the module Managing Talent. You will determine how you can help your team members can use their skills and potential to build great careers in the module Developing People. You will also touch base with your manager on your progress and on your Action Goal Project, and work with your Peer Coach on a presentation for the Graduation Session next week.

 

 

WEEK 6

Bringing it all Together

This is a special week! This week, we’ll bring all the themes of Management Essentials together, and prepare you to graduate! This week will center on a single event: presentation of Action Goal Projects. Each Peer Coaching pair will present together, and talk about how the insights they’ve gained during the course will help them implement their Action Goal projects.