D.L. Podeszwa & Associates
Focusing Human Energy on Business Results
INVEST IN YOUR LEADERS TODAY FOR SUCCESS IN YOUR BUSINESS TOMORROW
2020
Open Supervisory Skills Series
Includes all training materials and 6 assessments
Two Convenient Locations
Beloit– 10 Day Series – $3,360.00
Meets at Eclipse Center every other Monday.
Begins March 2, 2020
Fond du Lac – 13 Day Series – $4,095.00
Meets at Radisson Conference Center on 3rd Thursday of each month
Begins March 19, 2020
Call 1-414-545-8890 and Enroll Today!
Serving Beloit, Fond du Lac, Madison, Milwaukee, Waukesha & More
Coaching
Leadership Development
Team Building
Facilitation
Training
Invest In Your Leaders Today
When you consider the daily pressures that companies face while working to meet aggressive economic concerns, it is critical that supervisors know how to motivate and enhance their team. The Supervisory Skills Series (SSS) training program provided by D.L. Podeszwa & Associates addresses this need in many important ways. Hiring and retaining the qualified worker with the right knowledge, skills, and attitude makes all the difference in the world. We’ll teach you how to do it.
Practical Training
SSS emphasizes training that is practical, informative, educational, and readily applicable.
The training gathers supervisors from different organizations in the same class, which teaches them that the problems they encounter are not unique to their business. They will learn how to deal with diversity and work on teams, as well as realize how these leadership practices can be properly implemented. They will learn how to assign challenging and rewarding tasks while providing employees with a sense of job fulfillment and satisfaction… Both reasons to stay with your organization.
We Help Organizations Succeed
Instruction for the learning process is one of the series’ strongest attributes with the team of Adam and Dave Podeszwa.
D.L. Podeszwa & Associates is a team building and leadership development resource for many organizations. Whether in business or community, we work with small, medium and large organizations to improve productivity by helping to create strong leaders to know what it takes to remain competitive in an ever changing global market. D.L. Podeszwa & Associates works with business, community leaders and volunteers, implementing innovative programs to ensure continued growth and success for their respective communities and businesses.
Supervisory Skills Series
Presented by D.L. Podeszwa & Associates
SSS integrates content, learning methods, and participant interaction specific to first-line supervisors. This experience encompasses all aspects of leadership, not just the improvement of people skills. Participants will receive foundational and practical tools and techniques — plus the “why” behind them — for leaders in the role of the front-line supervisor.
Participants will be equipped with the basic skills necessary to effectively motivate, direct, communicate, assign tasks, plan, select and evaluate employees.
Why was SSS developed?
Listening to feedback from clients and participants while evaluating current market offerings, a need was discovered for business management training that includes both business and interpersonal skills and that teaches supervisors how to manage both upward and downward. Current market offerings have become outdated and too focused on people skills without providing the basic business management skills needed for organizational success.
Who is SSS designed for?
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
- Team leaders and members who are destined for leadership roles
Materials
- Participant Guide: one per course, 13 total, that’s 1,2,3,4 pages of excellent resource material.
- The series also includes 6 assessment instruments, along with assignments and on-the-job reinforcement and various job aids.
- SSS is designed as a 13-course program ideally delivered over 13 days (one day per month, or two days per month), but is flexible enough to be delivered in fewer modules over longer time spans.
LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND PROCESSES
The Supervisory Skills Series utilizes a wide variety of learning experiences and processes that includes:
- Customized Leadership Competencies Assessment instruments tying training content to your company-specific performance management systems
- Facilitator-led large group presentations and discussions; improved public speaking becomes a side benefit.
- Small group exercises and skill practices
- Applicable training videos and case studies
- Multiple feedback instruments, including self-assessment and multi-rater assessments
- General assignments daily for all participants to apply learning back on the job
- Individualized post-class application planning
- Interactive assignments that encourage the ongoing involvement of the participant’s manager and/or direct reports
- Follow-up content/learning assessments (review quizzes) to reinforce key concepts, serve as a means of learning evaluation and foster accountability for learning
- Job-aids to serve as an on-the-job reminder of critical skills and techniques. All materials can be customized to YOUR COMPANY if desired
- As desired, previews and reviews of module objectives, key points to reinforce and ideas for skills application, made available to both participants and their managers to help foster training transference back-on-the-job and ensure training return-on-investment
- Individualized or group verbal and/or internet-supported coaching from facilitators
Topics Covered In the Supervisory Skills Series
Class Overviews
1) Role of the Leader
Summary: Learn the role that self-awareness and self-management play in developing leadership skills both upward and downward and aligning with the overall business environment.
Benefit: When supervisors are clear on their role and able to effectively delegate work to others, the productivity of their staff is maximized. Supervisors who understand how to effectively sell ideas to others can ensure alignment of staff with business goals and priorities.
Role of the Leader is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Describe the phases of change and their impact on the success of a first-line leader
- Recognize the impact of trust and credibility on the ability to influence others, and identify factors that build and destroy this trust
- Identify the multiple constituencies a first-line leader serves
- Understand personal motivation needs and how they impact effectiveness as a first-line leader
- Identify and use important interpersonal influence skills to effectively sell ideas to others in the organization (downwards and upwards)
- Recognize the importance of seeking feedback on a continuous basis
- Avoid common traps/pitfalls common to new leaders
Applied Skills
- Distinguish which work assignments to complete personally and which to delegate to others
- Effectively delegate work to others by communicating performance expectations and constructing systems to monitor
- Clearly communicate your leadership values and priorities
- Implement tools and a process to gather feedback from multiple constituencies
Assessment Instrument:
- Leadership Competencies
- Assessment Instrument
- Personal Inventory of Needs
Course Length: 1 day
2) Styles Awareness & Versatility
Summary: Understand how personal style and behavioral traits and one’s versatility have an impact on the workplace and the ability to lead.
Benefit: Greater awareness of your leadership style in the workplace and an increased ability to adapt to differences in people improves communication, reduces interpersonal tension, and allows employees to focus on productivity.
Leadership Style and Versatility is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand four basic dimensions of personal style that create differences in interpersonal profiles and be able to describe and differentiate each dimension
- Understand the strengths and liabilities that tend to correspond with each style and dimension of behavior
- Understand the importance of style recognition to effectiveness as a leader
- Identify specific behaviors that contribute to and combat success, then learn how to adapt your behavior to be successful in the workplace
- Practice skills in recognizing and adapting to individual differences, to improve relationships with co-workers
- Create and commit to an action plan for sharing and applying an understanding of your style profile to improve relationships with those in your organization
Applied Skills
- Be aware of how you are perceived in your workplace
- Facilitate discussions about the gaps and similarities that exist between yours and others’ styles
- Utilize the feedback and suggestions for versatility to maximize success or minimize the negative impact of specific style behaviors
- Enhance your impact on others to improve your abilities as a leader
- Connect and apply your personal style results to other style assessment results (DISC, Myers-Briggs, etc.)
Assessment Instrument:
- Social Style Profile © Tracom
Course Length: 1 Day
3) Conflict , Communication & Collaboration
Summary: Understand, work through and prevent conflict in the workplace using interest-based problem solving and communication skills.
Benefit: When unproductive conflict is prevented and potentially productive conflict is encouraged to surface and worked through in a win-win fashion, supervisors and employees work more efficiently.
Conflict, Communications and Collaboration is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand the nature and inevitability of conflict in organizations
- Examine the importance of self-management skills when dealing with conflict
- Increase awareness of personal tendencies regarding approach to conflict situations and how social style often impacts one’s personal tendencies
- Analyze and handle defense mechanisms people may exhibit when dealing with conflict (confrontation/fight behavior and non-confrontational/flight behavior)
- Study techniques for how to effectively raise difficult issue and respect personal differences
- Understand various strategies and techniques that promote effective discussion of issues
Applied Skills
- Differentiate between productive and unproductive conflict
- Prevent unnecessary and unproductive conflict using various means
- Receive feedback on listening skills to promote good communication
- Effectively select the appropriate modes for dealing with conflicts
- Practice interest-based problem solving as a means of collaboration when two or more parties have a need to find a win-win solution
Assessment Instrument:
- Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Course Length: 1 Day
4) Individual & Team Time Management
Summary: Apply basic concepts of process improvement and scheduling strategies to help staff work smarter, and communicate more efficiently and effectively.
Benefit: Supervisors and their staff work smarter and more efficiently while maintaining a balance with personal life, fostering productivity.
Time Management is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand how time management is really a matter of self-management and clear communication of priorities and values
- Know how to increase the amount of control over various aspects of work/life (ways to manage and minimize interruptions, etc.)
- Understand the impact of style on time management including traps that certain styles may fall into and what a manager can do to help all styles
- Choose the correct media for the message, recognizing the importance of both efficiency and effectiveness in communications media selection
- Know the risks associated with inappropriate use of various communication media
Applied Skills
- Effectively incorporate risk management and time management as a means of prioritizing tasks for self and others
- Utilize strategies for combating perfectionism and procrastination
- Balance and integrate work and personal life
- Apply basic concepts of process improvement to individual work processes in order to work smarter
- Learn principles and techniques for using various planning tools [organizers, electronic scheduling software, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc.]
- Master tips and techniques for the effective use of various communication media
Course Length: 1 Day
5) Business Performance Measurement
In a four-part case study format of a company, participants will analyze the state of the business, including strengths and weaknesses, and then develop an improvement plan.
Summary: Use basic management and planning tools to develop work unit plans aligned with broader business strategies of the organization.
Benefit: Supervisors who accurately monitor business performance and use the necessary skills to develop business plans and clearly justified budgets ensure business performance and alignment with company goals.
Business Performance Measurement is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand budget considerations with staffing
- Effectively respond to challenging business situations made evident by monitoring key business indicators
- Know how to assess and minimize risks associated with various options for actions in response to those challenging situations
- Use creative staffing to responsibly address resource requirements
Applied Skills
- Identify key business indicators to monitor business unit performance against business plan
- Implement tools to develop work unit plans aligned with the broader business strategies of the organization
- Execute workforce planning and identify job needs/deploy human resources
- Apply tools and techniques for supporting constituents with the appropriate resources
- Create and justify a budget for necessary resources that aligns with and supports operational plans
- Read and understand basic business financial statements and annual reports, then use them to monitor departmental performance
Course Length: 1 Day
6) Impact Hiring
Summary: Make effective selection and hiring decisions while assisting with recruitment and job applicant screening.
Benefit: Supervisors will see a decrease in costs due to turnover, retraining, lack of productivity and negative impact on customer service (which all can occur when the wrong person is hired for the job).
Impact Hiring is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand the importance of being clear on the essential requirements for a position
- Recognize the importance of effective selection and hiring decisions
- Ensure accomplishment of the two important purposes of a selection interview:
- To help an employer accurately assess a candidate’s suitability for a position
- To help a candidate accurately assess a position’s/company’s suitability for him/her
- Be aware of what cannot be asked in an interview
- Recognize the impact of social style on the interviewing process
Applied Skills
- Know how to conduct effective and legal interviews even if not currently responsible for making hiring decisions
- Construct performance-based interview questions that are related to the essential requirements of a position
- Apply techniques for assessing candidates’ qualifications and experience necessary for the position (e.g., job-related testing)
- Effectively help with recruitment and job applicant screening
- Prepare information to share with job candidates to sell the position/company and manage expectations about the position/company
Course Length: 1 Day
7) Effective On-Boarding
Summary: Understand performance management and the proper techniques and tools for providing employees with a clear sense of job goals and purpose.
Benefit: When a supervisor’s knowledge and skills increase around employee orientation and training, the learning curve is shortened for new hires, leading to higher productivity in less time.
Effective OnBoarding and On-the-Job Training is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand role and responsibilities of orienting new employees to their department
- Understand the basic performance management cycle and the importance of providing employees with not only a clear job description but also clear performance expectations
Applied Skills
- Attain a clear sense of what to include as part of a work unit’s new employee orientation training (including any important company/departmental policies and procedures not covered by Human Resources)
- Provide employees with their position’s goals and purpose (where their position fits in the organization, it’s importance and the need for a job well done)
- Effectively address initial and ongoing training needs of employees
- Develop structured on-the-job training plans
- Address issues of diversity in the training process
- Understand basic principles of adult learning
- Prepare people for training (includes clarifying roles of trainees and trainers) and deliver on-the-job training (oneself or by others)
- Develop and provide job-aids to help employees perform skills on-the-job
- Follow-up on training (provide for application opportunities, reinforce skills) and ensure skill maintenance
Course Length: 1 day
8) Employee Performance Management & Coaching
Summary: Coach, provide clear expectations, and construct SMARTER goals for employees.
Benefit: As a result of increased knowledge and skills regarding employee performance management, managers will experience improved work output and job satisfaction from employees, leading to reduced turnover and greater productivity.
Employee Performance Management and Coaching is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Provide clear performance expectations and construct SMARTER goals for employees to serve as the foundation for performance management
- Understand the value of and know how to plan and conduct a formal coaching session with employees, especially those with continuing performance problems
- Be more aware of critical factors that contribute to high performance and job satisfaction
- Be reminded of where coaching fits into the basic performance management cycle
- Adjust goals and the goal setting process to an employee’s level of development
Applied Skills
- Analyze the causes of performance problems
- Provide day-to-day performance feedback and coaching
- Improve employee performance by providing and reinforcing constructive feedback
- Practice constructive performance feedback that includes observations of performance
- Implement ideas for creative ways to provide rewards and recognition
- Possess tools and techniques that identify what is rewarding and what is de-motivating to employees
- Conduct an effective formal performance review meeting
- Discuss employees’ ongoing training and career development needs
Course Length: 1 day
9) Maximizing Team Performance
Participants will participate in team problem solving simulations and experiencing a teambuilding process with fellow participants
Summary: Align the mission, goals and priorities of a team with the overall business strategy.
Benefit: Supervisors foster greater collaboration between the members of their work team, resulting in less duplication of efforts, fewer communication breakdowns, improved business processes and greater productivity.
Maximizing Team Performance is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Process
- Experience and receive feedback on the challenges of teamwork in simulations demonstrating the elements that contribute toward effective teamwork
- Alignment on mission/purpose and shared goals/priorities
- Shared responsibility/clearly defined complementary roles
- Shared rewards and recognition
- Effective communications
- Participative leadership/shared responsibility
- Mutual trust
Class Objectives
- Experience teambuilding as a process and distinguish that process from a single event
- Identify conditions under which effective teambuilding successfully occurs
- Gain commitment vs. compliance from team members
- Understand the importance of having alignment of purpose and shared goals/priorities
- Clarify roles within a team
Applied Skills
- Have ideas for shared rewards and recognition for teamwork
- Implement ideas to foster effective communications within a team
- Know how and when to involve others in decision-making
- Build trust in work teams
- Assess the effectiveness of teams
Course Length: 1 day
10) Creativity & Innovation
Summary: Gain an understanding of how creativity and innovation in the workplace improve business processes and fosters an environment that produces them.
Benefit: By developing knowledge and skills for fostering creativity and innovation, supervisors will be able to solicit from staff more creative ideas for problem solving, service enhancement leading to process improvement.
Creativity and Innovation is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Be familiar with basic methods of improving business processes
- Understand the basics of process mapping and using it as a tool for process improvement
- Be aware of unintentional management and supervisory practices that stifle creativity and innovation in the workplace
- Practice the various means by which supervisors can motivate employees to be creative/innovative
Applied Skills
- Foster creativity and innovation in the workplace
- Use fun and humor as means to help bolster creativity/innovation at work
- Experience the value of recreation as it applies to fostering creativity and innovation
- Understand the value of the “work out” process as a means to help find time for being creative/innovative at work
Course Length: 1 day
11) Customer Focused Problem Solving
Summary: Improve business processes through an established method of solving problems and managing risks associated with decisions.
Benefit: When supervisors have a system for solving problems and decision-making, the end result is improved business processes and more customer focused and service oriented business units.
Problem Solving is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand general principles of customer-focused organizations (customer-focused processes and the value of employee empowerment)
- Be reminded of the elements that contribute to effective teamwork
Applied Skills
Apply a 7-step process for problem solving and risk-smart decision making in order to improve processes:
- Define the problem/ask the right question
- Analyze the problem/the current situation
- Generate a number of potential solutions/actions which might improve the situation
- Narrow down alternatives by using a decision criteria matrix
- Select an alternative (after assessing risks of potential actions) and create an action plan
- Implement solution (preferably on a small scale)
- Evaluate solution (check for intended as well as unintended effects)
- Receive feedback on the facilitation of the team at some stage of team problem solving and risk-smart decision-making
- Construct and effectively use a decision-criteria matrix
- Effectively assess and manage risks associated with decisions
Assessment Instrument:
- Risk Taking Inventory
Course Length: 1 Day
12) Project Management
Participants will engage in a team problem solving simulation to assess/reinforce key concepts of teamwork and receive feedback on a particular stage of project planning.
Summary: Learn a basic process for successful project planning and management, including implementation and trouble-shooting.
Benefit: Organizations will see greater cross-functional collaboration and more realistic/well thought-out project plans that have a greater chance of completion within critical project parameters.
Project Management is designed for:
- Supervisors accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Supervisors who have full hiring and firing authority over one or more employees
- Supervisors new to a leadership position
- Middle managers needing foundational tools and/or a refresher course
Class Objectives
- Understand the components of effective project management and what it takes to be an effective project leader
- Understand the key duties of a project leader during implementation of the project plan
- Practice a basic process for effective project planning and management and know how to prepare for and respond to potential problems that may arise during project implementation
Applied Skills
- Attend to both the task and the people/team dimensions in a project and know what a project leader can/should do to help a team progress through normal team stages
- Solidify a project charter that clarifies the project scope, team’s boundaries and expected team deliverables
- Apply influence strategies to gain team members’ commitment to a project and get the project team working together
- Create a project plan—understand the importance of having a team co-author the project plan
- Define the critical path of a project (the shortest time in which the project can be completed as currently resourced and planned)
- Construct a chart to graphically display the time relationship of the steps in a project and what else to prepare for a presentation for project approval
- Have options for what to do if the project starts to fall behind schedule or runs into other problems during implementation
Course Length: 1 day
13) Negotiation Skills & Series Review
Summary: Apply all the skills used in the series with exercises designed to learn the basics for successful negotiations. Learn how to use appropriate communication skills to position your needs to create win/win outcomes.
Benefit: Working towards Win/Win outcomes and using the principled negotiations skills, you’ll build on needed working relationships rather than ruin them or avoiding each other when it’s not in your best interest to do so.
Negotiation Skills and Series Review is designed for:
- Supervisors/Managers new to a leadership position
- Supervisors/Managers accountable for managing one or more individual contributors
- Individual Contributors/Professional Staff being groomed for future leadership responsibilities
- Supervisors/Managers who have never received formal leadership training
- Supervisors/Managers who are seeking foundational tools and/or who are seeking a refresher course on tools/techniques for effective supervisory leadership
Class Objectives
- Increase understanding of the components of effective negotiating while building trusting relationships with business partners, vendors and customers
- Emphasize the importance of discussing both sides of any negotiations to create options that will be mutually beneficial for going forward
- Provide various concepts to help negotiators see that walking away is an option, but with proper communication, outcomes can serve all needs
- Provide opportunity for skill practice regarding negotiations in a variety of situations thereby modeling those kinds of opportunities found back on the job
- Review important techniques and tools for effectively leading others in a way that enhances morale and productivity
Applied Skills
- Realize the problem to be solved or negotiated need solid definition and bargaining simply over positions only wastes time and energy
- Apply methods to help focus on the problem at hand and not the people involved in the negotiation
- Create a negotiation’s BATNA to help achieve the goals at hand, and define what agreement may become a second choice if needed
- Construct a work sheet to help focus on the relationship and goals to be mutually achieved, thereby creating a win/win for all
- Define fairness in the process and explore what to do when the other side practices the art of “dirty tricks” in their attempt to win only for themselves
- Utilize methods and tools from the entire series for effectively creating an outcome that will improve relationships and help both sides prosper
Course Length: 1 Day as part of a series; longer if topic is offered as a stand-alone program and application work is desired
New and experienced Supervisors gain from SSS.
Here’s what graduates are saying…
“I am thankful for the imperative information that was taught in a fun, interactive, hands‐on approach. We sincerely believe this program supports and develops leaders at all levels and I would highly recommend this training to any company, large or small.”
“Supervisory Skills Series had a tremendous impact on me as a person and leader, and as a professional in the workplace. This program was the jumpstart I needed to perform at the next level, and begin to contribute in a positive way to the organizations success. After just a few of these classes I knew that leadership was the career path for me. It has been almost three years since I completed the SSS program, and I am still using the material provided; the various text books are a staple in my growth journey. Aside from the material provided, the actual life experiences that you share in these classes are priceless, and they really helped me understand the reality of the impact a leader has on an organization and the influence they have on the people they lead.”
“The topics covered in the Fond du Lac Supervisory Skills Series have been invaluable in preparing me for real-life management situations. The opportunity to learn from others’ insight, questions and experience gives this training a unique and constructive dimension. Built-in course feedback mechanisms have enabled me to utilize training guidance from SSS to become a more productive supervisor, employee and peer.”
“I knew our products and processes. However, the management roll is completley different. The SSS classes helped me in so many ways. Every class I took something away from it. The biggest part was communication, learing how to handle other people’s social skills and the confidence I needed in myself to do the best I can daily. Dave and Adam, along with my classmates, were also a huge support group in helping me approach, handle and solver certian situations in the work place. Thank you!”
“Adam and Dave,
First, I wanted to thank you for sharing all the skills and knowledge you have during the Supervisory Skills Series I participated in over the last year.
The SS series has been extremely helpful for me while I continue to develop in a leadership role. This class has given me new tools that I can use for day to day interaction and planning. SS series also helped me understand how to better use some of the skills and knowledge I already possessed such as: Time management, goal setting (Smart Goals) and project management.
Lastly, the focus this class puts on learning and understanding social styles was worth every minute. This has by far become the most useful tool for me while working with many different groups within our organization. I highly recommend this class to anyone that is in any level or type of leadership role.”