Leadership Essentials for New Supervisors

This course begins with a discussion of the difference between leadership and management, emphasizing that both are necessary for an organization’s success.  Participants learn that, according to leadership expert John Kotter, management is coping with complexity, and leadership is coping with change. Participants learn the essential elements of leadership and engage in focused activities to develop leadership skills.

New supervisors learn how to do the three essential leadership activities: Set direction, Align constituencies, and Motivate and inspire.

Objectives

• Understand the difference between management and leadership.
• Know that effective organizations need both management and leadership.
• Know how to do the three essential leadership activities:

1. Set direction
2. Align constituencies
3. Motivate and inspire.
   • Know how to be a facilitative leader.
   • Determine when to use management and when to use leadership.

Course Length:  One day

Course Outline

1. What is leadership? – Discussion
2. What do you think leaders do?
3. How does leadership differ from management?
4. Case – Academy Awards Best Picture Award Mix-up 2017
5. Overview: What leaders really do—three key elements
6. Set direction
7. Align constituencies [i.e., everyone who needs to move in the new direction]
8. Motivate and inspire

• Step 1: Set Direction

1. The difference between setting direction and planning.
2. Exercise: Where can you lead?
3. Purpose and Vision – Why both are essential in coping with change. How to determine your vision.
4. Exercise: Describe the vision you have for the area you identified in the first exercise. Work with a partner to develop your statement into a compelling vision of the future.
5. Step 2: Align Constituencies
6. The difference between aligning constituencies and organizing a team effort.
7. Using different communication channels to communicate your vision and purpose
8. What is your message?
9. Who needs to hear the message?
10. How will you communicate your message?
11. Step 3: Motivate and Inspire
12. The difference between motivating/inspiring and controlling.
13. What does it mean to motivate? What does it mean to inspire?
14. Discussion: Think of a time when you were really engaged/not engaged
15. The Motivation Game
16. Ten Things We Know About Motivation
17. Top Ten Motivators
18. Discussion: What is the leader’s role in fostering motivation and engagement?
19. Activity: How can you foster motivation?
20. Motivation Action Plan: Groups make presentations on what they plan to do to create conditions for motivation
21. Removing Obstacles
22. Facilitative Leadership – Developing facilitation skills

• Summary/Action Planning