Great Manager are... 1

Whenever I am invited to train an organizations management team I first ask... what do you want them to learn? And most of the people who do the calling have no clue. If your organization needs help and you are looking to train your managers there are many methods and many reasons for training them. Let's start with why are you calling someone? Is your management team struggling with certain issues? Several of them lately running into belligerent team members? Are there a lot of managers not hitting their goals? Are you finding productivity falling? Is company morale low? Is your company suddenly experiencing increased overtime? Are your managers grumbling more? Is your staff overworked and suffering from stress?
   I can go on and on but you understand that a management trainer doesn't just come and talk for three hours and presto! all things are fixed.
   A good management trainer needs to know exactly what you are experiencing and maybe some reasons why before he can put together a method or event suggestions for how the problem might be addressed.
   Notice I did not say fixed. One three hour seminar on management will not fix most problems. What is can do is take the managers that truly want to improve and give them tools and methodologies to really improve. Again notice I said the managers that WANT to improve. All the rest of your managers, which is probably a vast majority of them, will not think they can improve, have no motivation to improve and probably have the same laissez-faire attitude as the team they are leading. And still others come with their ego in high gear thinking they are God's gift to any organization and they are a major part of your management problems to begin with.
   I always have told my organizations that they need to have one-on-one's with each manager before I get there in order to set the ground rules, establish parameters for who needs to improve and why and lay a foundation for what they need to bring away from the training they are going to receive.
   Then that organization needs to have a session with me to tell me about personalities, who is struggling with what because those personalities will be shouting at me emotionally throughout the training and it will make a huge difference if I know situations, problem people and attitudes so that I can approach each person on a more personal level, not invade their space while at the same time creating in them a realization that some of the techniques I will impart might actually help them and make them better at their jobs.
   I want to know which managers have asked for help or training, which ones are reading positive books or attending seminars and I want to know which ones have already received previous management training from an outside source.
   All of these things are initial organizational development projects so that when their people come to my actual training we can actually make a difference in their abilities and help them improve in their jobs and assist the organization in the direction they need.
   Remember, the training is only as effective as the people you have learning it.

I am Steve Sapato, corporate training and speaker wishing you the very best in your training and I will see you at the top.

Becoming a Great Manager

Most of us would like to think that we are great managers. Most of us believe it to our core. But have you checked? Do you actually do the 'litmus' test and find out what people think of you?
Invite typed input, in a secret locked box that your team can put comments into. After one month, take them out, read them, do not get upset, angry or defensive. People will say some nasty things.. but then, look at them objectively. Figure out what is right and what is wrong. Remember that you can't make everyone happy or unhappy... don't try to figure out who they are from but rather evaluate your own methods, strengths and shortcomings. Want to be the manager you think you are? Prove it... prove it to yourself and to your team. A great manager always wants to get better and never holds grudges or looks for people to blame. Are you as good as you think you are? Looking forward to hearing from you...  Steve Sapato