First Line Manager Training 2 days

The role of the first line manager has many aspects because they act as the pivot-point between senior managers, front-line workers, suppliers and customers. The role is essential to the success of the organisation as a whole, which is why the first line manager needs to be highly motivated and skilled. The purpose of this course is to help your managers by developing their essential skills and abilities.

If you are a first line manager, then you need to:

1. Provide a clear goal — a sense of direction
2. Communicate clearly — explain yourself accurately
3. Manage time, prioritise and delegate tasks
4. Handle disagreements and conflicts
5. Inspire yourself
6. Motivate others

We will introduce each of these six skills and help you honestly assess where you are strong and where you need to develop further.

The first line manager's first skill is to master how to communicate goals and standards. Since everything we do is intended to achieve a goal, the first task is to ensure that everyone knows what the goals are. Any confusion is bound to create errors and inefficiencies. We learn how to clearly establish and communicate a SMART goal that your team can understand, commit to and act upon.

The ability to communicate effectively is essential. First line managers need to be clear, specific, convincing and motivational. We study how to communicate with greater clarity by defining our terms and making our language more quantitative, affirmative and specific. Topics covered include:

1. The use of accurate language
2. How to speak and write more clearly
3. Giving affirmative instructions
4. Questioning skills

A cynic thinks nothing will work and then tries to figure out why it will not. Cynics are negative personality types. You may know a few cynics at your place of work.

A critical thinker, on the other hand, knows things do work, but only if they are done correctly. Critical thinkers are highly valuable members of the team. Even though they sometimes seem negative, they have the right intentions and are valuable assets.

It is important that we develop our critical thinkers and do not accept cynicism. We will show you how to change a cynic into a critical thinker.

Some first line managers are afraid to handle conflict and poor performance issues simply because they do not know how to do it properly. Sometimes criticism sounds like a reprimand when it should sound like guidance. We teach a structured approach that keeps conversations constructive:

1. Protect the other person's self-esteem
2. Tell them specifically what they are doing wrong
3. Be objective and specific, not personal
4. Tell them clearly what you want instead
5. Discover why and decide whether that is a reason or an excuse
6. Learn when to negotiate and when not to
7. Notes on proper timing
8. Notes on body language and voice tone

There are many motivators, some tangible and some intangible. Tangible motivators include money, holidays and other benefits. Intangible motivators are things like thanks, appreciation and praise.

Many managers neglect to thank, appreciate and praise their colleagues because they believe money is the only motivator. They are wrong to neglect appreciation and praise. We will discuss how to harness the power of praise effectively, and why it is one of the most cost-effective management tools available.

It is important to practise these skills so you can use them in real life. We will work through five common work-based scenarios: inappropriate humour, lateness, lack of respect, aggressiveness and a difficult boss. At the end of the afternoon, you will know how to handle these common problems as well as how to apply the underlying principles to any other conflict situation you encounter.

At the end of the first day you will be astounded by how much valuable information you have learned. We will ask you to review the notes and pick out which ideas are the most relevant to you, and how you will apply these points to your own work practice. This written commitment is your personal action plan for day one.

Time management is the art of making the best possible progress in the minimum amount of time, by means of proper prioritisation, planning, preparation and delegation. We introduce a practical framework that first line managers can apply to their everyday workload immediately.

First line managers prioritise according to two major criteria: value and deadline pressure. There are four types of activity to be aware of:

1. Crisis zone — emergency, all hands on deck, stressful
2. Productive zone — preparation and planning
3. Busy zone — occupied, but not productive
4. Fruitless zone — waste of time, counter-productive

We examine each zone and show you how to spend more time in the productive zone.

It is important to understand the difference between being busy and being productive. Many people are too busy and yet not as productive as they could be. They have busy but non-productive days.

First line managers must not mistake activity for achievement. We need to get out of the busy zone and into the productive zone. This session shows you how to identify the difference in your own working day and make the shift.

We are not paid for our busyness; we are paid for our productivity. To increase productivity, we need to develop P-list activities. P-list activities all begin with the letter P and all contribute directly to results: Purpose, planning, preparation, prevention, problem-solving and prioritisation. We will master the P-list together.

First line managers must identify and eliminate unnecessary time-wasters. They fall under three main headings — SOS:

1. Self — your own bad habits
2. Others — other people's bad habits
3. Systems — inefficient work systems

We will analyse each category together and identify practical improvements in all three areas.

Emails can be a significant distraction. We will analyse how you can best manage your inbox to minimise the problem and prevent email from dominating your working day at the expense of higher-value activities.

The manager is not paid to do everything themselves. Their major role is to get things done by delegating the right task to the right person at the right time. We will use SMART targets to structure delegated tasks clearly and ensure accountability on both sides.

We will discuss why some managers do not delegate as they should. Common barriers include:

• They do not know how
• They think it is quicker to do it themselves
• They believe they are the only person who can be trusted with the task
• They are afraid to let go
• They do not like to impose on others

We will address each of these barriers directly and show you how much more you can achieve when you harness the power of delegation.

Since you cannot do everything simultaneously, you will need to prioritise. You can prioritise according to two criteria: by value and by logical sequence. We will show you exactly how to do this and provide you with a prioritisation framework so you are always doing the most valuable things in the most logical order.

The morning session was very logical, but people's emotions and feelings are equally important. We turn to emotional management — how to inspire yourself and others. We start with self-motivation, because it is impossible to inspire others if you are not inspired yourself. You will discover how to develop your own mind so that you can always create and sustain a positive mental attitude.

Sometimes managers say the wrong things and create a negative atmosphere within the team. Negative atmospheres give rise to anger, fear, worry and resentment.

We discuss how negative attitudes can produce only negative results, and how to eliminate the negative and replace it with the positive. Recognising your own patterns is the first step to changing them.

We look at how your words can positively affect other people. Every word you say has an emotional consequence. Your words can make others feel stronger, no stronger, or weaker, depending on what you say.

We examine this and learn how to use words in ways that make people feel stronger. We call this skill conversation control and discuss its importance for first line managers who need to sustain morale and motivation every day.

Success is not an event but a process, based upon five words: Purpose, plan, action, feedback, change.

PURPOSE = Decide your SMART goal
PLAN = Formulate your best plan in writing
ACTION = Implement your plan
FEEDBACK = Measure and analyse the results of your recent actions
CHANGE = Continually improve your plans based upon changing conditions and recent feedback

Recognise that the success formula is a continuous improvement process. We show you how much you can achieve when you apply these principles consistently.

The success formula includes the concept of negative feedback. Negative feedback is important, but it can be delivered constructively or destructively.

We will show you how to avoid demotivating people through destructive criticism. Instead, we demonstrate how to motivate them through constructive criticism.

It is vital that first line managers only give constructive criticism. We will practise changing destructive criticism into constructive criticism so that you leave with real fluency in this skill.

By the end of the second day you will be astounded at how much we have managed to cover, but because the material is so well structured, it all fits together neatly. You will spend time reviewing the notes and picking out your most important learning points, then think carefully about how you will apply them. When you return to your workplace, you will be amazed at how effective your new skills are, and how your colleagues respond to you in new, positive ways.