12 foundational, self-study courses on essential management and supervisory skills topics.

Over 18 hours of training in the basics all in one affordable eBook.

Every course includes:

1.   Detailed explanations of the concepts and best practice principles,
2.   Case studies and situational examples,
3.   Action steps,
4.   Printable forms, tools and exercises
5.   Your own personal action plan for how you will implement what you have learned.

It’s not just theory. There are dozens of practical action items, tools and approaches that you can apply right away.

All the courses are based on proven concepts that we have been offering in our classroom training programs for over 20 years.

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Qualities of Leadership
We all know when we’re around one. Leaders have that something special that galvanizes the workplace, excites employees and makes work truly rewarding. Learn the qualities of an effective leader based on dozens of documented models and case studies. Through this course you will be able to: 

• •Define Leadership in general terms
• •Describe key competencies or characteristics associated with leadership
• •Complete an exercise to identify the leadership qualities in others
• •Complete a self assessment for evaluating your personal leadership strengths and weaknesses.

This course takes approximately 1.45 hours to 2 hours to complete.

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Adaptive Leadership
This course describes how managers can assess the individual needs of their staff based on their level of “self-directedness” and use the most appropriate leadership style to maximize the effectiveness of their employees’ performance. Managers can use Adaptive Leadership to make their employees more productive and to provide a more satisfying work environment. At the same time, managers who effectively apply this technique will find they have more time to attend to their own priorities. It’s a win-win for the employee, the manager and the company. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe the concept of Adaptive Leadership and the ADAPT model
•   •Identify simple guidelines to apply Adaptive Leadership
•   •Explain how you can apply Adaptive Leadership to help employees become more productive
•   •Use worksheets for managers and supervisors to assess the Personal Autonomy of your staff and for delegating work to the most appropriate employees
•   •Describe how managers and supervisors can assess an employee’s level of supervisory need based on their proficiency and determination
•   •Explain how managers and supervisors should “adapt” their approach to assist employees
•   •Complete a series of mini-case studies and exercises that will demonstrate your understanding of Adaptive Leadership and help apply the concepts on-the-job.

This course takes approximately 1.45 hours to 2 hours to complete.

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Goal-setting and Feedback
Goal-setting and Feedback is critical if you are to constantly improve your personal performance, your employees’ performance and the performance of your company overall. Goal Setting keeps you focused forward towards constant improvement. This course covers specific steps on setting effective goals with employees and teams. Also explains the best approaches for providing positive feedback and providing constructive negative feedback.

•   •Explain the critical steps for effective Goal Setting
•   •Describe the best way to provide positive feedback
•   •Outline an approach for providing other’s with negative, or constructive feedback.
•   •Set effective goals for their employees
•   •Provide effective and timely feedback to their employees
•   •Complete a case study describing goal setting at multiple levels in a company.
•   •Complete an application exercise to apply these concepts on-the-job.

This course takes approximately 1.30 hours to 1.45 hours to complete.

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Empowerment and Motivation
As a manager or supervisor one of your most challenging responsibilities is to keep your employees motivated to do the best job they can. The key for managers is the ability to assess motivational levels and to understand what he/she can do to motivate–or at least avoid de-motivating an employee. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Explain the impact of motivation on an employee’s performance.
•   •Describe some of the factors under a manager’s control that can influence an employee’s motivation.
•   •Describe the impact low motivation can have on an employee’s performance and what it can cost your business.
•   •Apply a simple model for motivating employees
•   •Use a survey for assessing morale in their organization
•   •Describe actions/behaviours that typically motivate/de-motivate employees
•   •Develop specific initiatives a company/manager can use to motivate employees
•   •Complete a case study of how one organization implemented a program designed to improve motivation/morale.
•   •Complete an application exercise to apply these concepts on-the-job.

This course takes approximately 1.45 hours to 2 hours to complete.

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Coaching
From the sports arena to the shop floor or office cubicle, by far one of the most essential skills that a leader can have is the ability to coach others. It should come as no surprise that excellent managers and supervisors are also excellent coaches. They ensure that each individual’s development is aligned with the Organization and the department/team vision and goals. The most effective way to do this is by employing highly effective and structure coaching practices. This course will help you to enhance your effectiveness as a coach. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe what it means to “coach” your employees
•   •Identify what an effective coach does
•   •Use a structured process to increase the effectiveness of your coaching activities
•   •Understand coaching and goal setting
•   •Assess and track performance improvement

This course takes approximately 1.30 hours to complete.

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Listen Up! – How to Really Listen
Effective communication is crucial to the success of any business. Listening is often the forgotten communication skill. It’s assumed that if we can hear – we can listen. But listening is a choice. If not exercised properly you severely hamper your ability to communicate effectively with coworkers and others. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe the basic rules for listening and speaking so it’s easy for others to listen
•   •Explain some of the barriers to effective listening that can be avoided
•   •Describe the different types of listening styles and how they impact our interpretation of what we hear
•   •Apply a proven technique for handling situations when you haven’t got time to listen
•   •Identify how to handle situations where it seems the other person isn’t listening
•   •Assess your listening skills

This course takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Straight Talk- Making Your Point
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone at work and they’re trying to explain a problem to you but they’re all over the board and you can’t tell what they’re saying? Are they telling you something? Asking you something? We’ve all been in these conversations. They’re frustrating, confusing and often lead to unnecessary work or missed opportunities. And, let’s admit it, we’ve also been the one that couldn’t get the message straight to begin with. This type of communication goes on in every business everyday. If you’re effective at communicating and making your point you’ll get far more accomplished and people will be more likely to listen to you. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe three critical steps in providing straight talk
•   •Understand the 3W’s and why these are critical to the message
•   •Recognize important elements to consider when conveying information to another person
•   •Use a worksheet for outlining your approach the next time they have to convey important information to someone
•   •Evaluate your ability to make their point effectively

 This course takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Managing Difficult Situations
As manager or supervisor you are going to run into countless scenarios where you have to pull some magic out of your hat (or at least be good with smoke and mirrors). You’ve got to deal with individual problems, mass mutinies, as well as your own problems. When those challenging situations arise, you can’t react haphazardly. You need to approach the situation with a logical way of diagnosing the problem and coming up with a plan to change an individual or group’s behaviour. Not an easy task. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Identify typical difficult situations
•   •Explain why people are usually reluctant to address difficult situations
•   •Identify the impact problem situations can have if not dealt with quickly and effectively
•   •Describe a method for managers and supervisors to use when dealing with employee or workplace problems
•   •Apply a process for diagnosing and responding to employee problems
•   •Describe (in case study format) 15 common employee problems with recommendations on how a manager should respond
•   •Complete an application exercise to apply these concepts on-the-job.

This course takes approximately 1.45 hours to 2 hours to complete.

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Managing Change
Look at the business section in today’s newspaper and you’re likely to read about a few of the ways companies are “positioning themselves in their competitive market:” Down-sizing, mergers, restructuring, making incredible leaps with technology – whatever the motive or means what it all boils down to is change. The dynamics of change deals with the human reaction to change. The mechanics of change focus on designing processes that ensure changes occur effectively within an organization. The course presents steps managers can take to reduce employee resistance to change. Also offers suggestions on how managers can promote an expectation of constant change and improvement. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe common reasons why employees resist changes
•   •Follow a process for planning, communicating, and implementing changes
•   •Complete a case study of one company’s process and tool for communicating changes that impact other departments, computer systems, policies & procedures

The course takes approximately 1 hour to 1:30 to complete.

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Managing Conflict
Without a doubt, the most damaging, counterproductive dynamic in the workplace is conflict. Not just any conflict, but personal conflict. Largely because it’s so common. You just can’t put groups of people together and expect them to always play nice. A little conflict can be a productive catalyst for some groups to take action or to reexamine decisions and their work environment. But if left unattended it will likely spread like a weed. The impact conflict can have on productivity, morale and turnover is staggering. As a manager you need to know how to manage both. This course provides techniques and tips for managing conflict effectively. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Define two types of workplace conflict
•   •Describe situations with the potential for conflict
•   •Explain techniques for addressing conflict
•   •Complete mini case studies that illustrate conflict in the workplace

 This course takes approximately 1 hour to 1:15 to complete.

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Team Building Skills
Group / Team dynamics can exert a powerful influence on the productivity and motivation of employees. If you as a manager or supervisor know how to anticipate and react to those dynamics you can increase your employees’ productivity while decreasing money and time lost on interpersonal problems. This course describes what constitutes a team, techniques for managers to assess the level of “teamwork” and cooperation among their staff and it provides simple techniques to promote team building. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe the stages a team will cycle through as it faces a new challenge or changes in its membership
•   •Complete case studies which illustrate productive and unproductive teams
•   •Explain what a manager or supervisor can specifically do to escort a group through each stage of team development
•   •Describe different “roles” team members may play and why they’re important
•   •Use a team assessment tool to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your team(s)

This course takes approximately 1:30 to 2 hours to complete.

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Conducting Performance Evaluations
The performance evaluation process is an important component in managing the performance of your employees. For managers, the formal process of performance evaluations forces them to think critically and constructively about their employees’ performance. The course describes what managers should do before, during, and after evaluations to make them an effective tool for performance management. Through this course you will be able to:

•   •Describe the concepts of performance management vs. performance evaluations
•   •Describe the purpose and benefits of conducting performance evaluations
•   •Use a sample performance evaluation tool
•   •Analyze a performance evaluation case scenario
•   •Describe the purpose and benefits of conducting performance evaluations
•   •Apply a guideline to prepare for, conduct, and follow-up on performance evaluations
•   •Describe some of the common mistakes managers make when evaluating employee performance
•   •Adapt a sample performance evaluation for your own use

This course takes approximately 1 hour to 1:15 to complete.

Management Training: By The Book I
ONLY  $15.00