Of all the resources we manage, people are the most complex and difficult. Yet the management of people occupies the majority of the first-line supervisor’s time. This seminar is designed to help first-line supervisors understand themselves and the people on their team. When supervisors understand their own personal styles and values, they can utilize strengths and work to overcome weaknesses. Further, as supervisors gain self-awareness, they also begin to develop an insight into others. They begin to understand their motivators, attitudes, goals, and reasons for working. Perhaps most importantly, by understanding themselves and others, supervisors can adjust their interaction to be most effective in getting their people to achieve department and company goals.

Most people become first-line supervisors because they are good workers. But, as supervisors, they can’t do the job themselves. Instead they need to get other people to do the job as if they were doing it themselves. The purpose of this seminar is to develop the supervisor’s skills as a leader. To be most effective in this role, the firstline
supervisor must develop a special relationship with other workers as individuals and in groups. They must be able to get each of them to do willingly the things that must be done. They must also get their people to work together in a spirit of cooperation and harmony.

The supervisory level of management is responsible for maintaining the day-to-day operations of the company and implementing the policies and procedures of senior management. This program covers the details management process and provides supervisors with specific practical techniques to assist them in their role within
the company. The program helps supervisors to plan, organize, and direct resources to achieve their objectives. They learn to set SMART (specific, measurable, aggressive, realistic, time-framed) goals. They also learn to use control to ensure success.

Proactive supervisors are leaders who constantly seek ways to improve the performance of their departments. They know that they must make timely changes to stay competitive, and view their job as one competing with past performance to improve quality and productivity. Proactive supervisors also take a positive approach
to solving problems, knowing that problem situations provide them with opportunities to demonstrate their skills. The first-line supervisor needs skills in problem solving, improving productivity, communicating ideas and implementing changes in order to become a proactive leader. The purpose of this seminar is to provide the supervisor with those special management skills.

Participative management is the idea of utilizing the knowledge, strengths, creativity and ingenuity of all employees towards creating continuous improvement in the workplace. As progressive companies move more deeply into participative management, they are giving employees more responsibility over their jobs and more authority to make decisions. This process requires significant changes for the supervisor who wants to stay in management in the future. The supervisor must learn to move away from directing the activities of workers and begin to move towards being the facilitator, coach and counselor who creates an effective team-building climate. This program helps the supervisor make the transition into a participative environment.