Learn how communicating with different personalities, performance coaching and team building techniques will help you lead your team to higher productivity.

As a supervisor, you strive to cultivate a work environment that acknowledges the importance of performance coaching, communications and team building. Knowing how to communicate with employees, while respecting the diversity of the individuals in your team, is key to building a successful and effective team. This module will help you to understand your varied roles as leader, team builder and communicator, and equip you with tools and techniques to develop a productive and motivated team.

This is a module in the Supervisory Management Skills Program. 

Module Content

Building and Enhancing Workplace Relationships 
Develop a process to communicate more effectively to drive understanding, alignment, and outcomes with individuals and teams by gaining a better understanding of your behaviour style, and recognizing and adapting to the style of others.

• Validate your natural and adapted styles and learn how it contributes to yours and others' success
• Understand why some interactions, activities, events or people leave you feeling stressed or drained, while others leave you engaged
• Determine how to adapt your approach to better connect with others to achieve improved productivity and overall outcomes
• Appreciate others' differences and understand how these differences can help you, your team and your organization meet your goals
• Become a more effective communicator who can better understand and diffuse conflict, facilitate change, and create individual and team 'buy-in'

Strategies for Building a High-Performing Team
Lead your team to improved levels of performance excellence.

• Understand the benefits and drawbacks of working in a team
• Examine the four enabling conditions to effective teams
• Identify the main skills required from team members to operate effectively within teams
• Highlight the critical nature of diversity (both surface and deep-level diversity) within teams
• Recognize the importance of psychological safety within teams
• Identify the barriers to effective teamwork
• Understand the challenges associated with group-level decisions
• Highlight the complexity that can occur when teams are required to work with other teams

Critical Communication Skills for Supervisors
Gain techniques to enhance their communication abilities and build strong, productive interactions with their teams.

• Review the foundational principles that underpin effective communication in a supervisory role
• Reflect on the role of clarity in effective communication
• Identify three critical communication skills required for effective supervision
• Apply techniques for using each of the three critical communication skills in the workplace
• Explore the significance of culture and gain insights in cross-cultural communication

Performance Coaching
Learn the process for effective performance management and development of your employees.

• Assess the concept of coaching and its impact on employee performance
• Discuss the importance of goal setting and building confidence in employee development
• Practice improving employee feedback skills
• Review the 'do's and donts' of performance feedback
• Assess the importance of effective formal and informal coaching
• Apply a step-by-step approach to employee coaching

Managing Difficult Conversations
Successfully prepare for and manage difficult conversations in a way that produces positive outcomes for all parties involved. 

• Explore why some conversations are more difficult than others
• Review and apply the three-phase conversations model
• Practice techniques to prepare for a difficult conversation
• Assess and apply the seven-step process for successfully engaging in a courageous conversation
• Discuss the importance of communication and coaching tools such as inquiry, listening, paraphrasing, reframing, and acknowledging
• Realize the impact of assertive messaging and language
• Study the role of emotions and how to manage them during a difficult conversation
• Consider methods for building a culture of accountability
• Use the difficult conversation for follow-up development

Continuing Education Contact Hours: 35

Accreditations

This course qualifies as credits toward the International Association of Business Communicators' (IABC) professional certifications.  

When applying to sit for either the exam for Communications Management Professional (CMP)® or Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP)® or to apply for recertification, Gardiner Centre courses can be an integral part of your application package. 

To learn more about this global standard certification, visit: gcccouncil.org. To inquire about sitting for a certification exam, contact the local IABC NL chapter at iabcnl@gmail.com, or visit: iabcnl.com.  

Graduate Testimonials

"This program has helped me to better understand my role and the implications my decisions have on employees and the organization as a whole." 

"Great instructors, great environment, great content. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to become more effective in the workplace." 

"SMSP (Supervisory Management Skills Program) has been a pivotal program for the professional development of our Team Leaders at Superior Glove. One of our main priorities is to provide our incredible team the proper resources to become successful in their position (and beyond), and the 3 week course that SMSP offers through Memorial University of NL (MUN) has allowed us to do that for over 3 years now." 

- Carleigh Roughley, Marketing & Community Engagement Specialist, Superior Glove | 2022 Graduate