These half-day seminars may be taken individually or as part of the Certificate in Supervisory Excellence. Each may be customized and offered onsite for an organization.
Please click on the title to learn more about each seminar:
Supervision Fundamentals:
Interpersonal Relations:
Team Building:
Conflict Management:Coaching/Performance Appraisal:
Motivating/Rewarding:
**********************************************************Seminar descriptions:
Master the Transition to Leadership
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TBD |
The transition from individual contributor to supervisor is arguably the most difficult transition you will make in the course of your leadership career. How well you succeed at this transition has implications both for your future development as a leader and for the success of your subordinates. Yet more often than not, people are promoted to supervisor without preparation or training and are simply left to sink or swim. This seminar will introduce strategies for mastering the transition to supervisor including identifying with the leadership role, developing leadership self-awareness, and building a leadership network. You will leave with a roadmap for moving through your transition more quickly and you will gain insight into your leadership strengths. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program. |
Essential Skills for Supervisors
| Thurs., Mar. 7 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon |
This fast paced seminar will give you the skills to adapt your leadership style to the situation and the people on your team. Through role plays, case studies and structured discussions, you will be introduced to skills and strategies for directing, coaching, and supporting employees. In addition, you will learn proven approaches to foster employees’ motivation to do their best. When you choose the right leadership approach and support your subordinates’ motivation, subordinates perform better as individuals and as a team. You will leave this seminar with a personal plan for developing the leadership flexibility required to take your team’s performance to the next level. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program.) Presenter: Ann Gowdey, MSW, is president of Ann Gowdey Consulting, LLC a Connecticut based consulting firm specializing in executive coaching and leadership development. Ann has over 25 years experience in leadership roles in business, government, and human services. In her consulting role, Ann has coached over 300 executives, managers and HR professionals in Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 businesses. Ann is a founding member of The Conference Board’s Council on Executive Coaching and co-author of Guidelines and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations, 1989. Her speaking engagements include the DDI International Congress on Assessment Center Methods and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists. |
A Toolkit for Supervisors: Managing Communications, Meetings and Time Effectively
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Thurs., Mar. 14 |
Supervisors who want to be successful in their jobs need to master three critical aspects: handling their communications effectively, running effective meetings, and managing time and tasks efficiently. The average supervisor communicates electronically by email and in person in meetings many times a day. Do you find yourself receiving and sending more emails—but getting less done? Do you sit in meetings and wonder “What can I do to make this meeting run more effectively?” Both types of communication—emails and meetings—are excellent tools, if they are used effectively and strategically. This seminar will help you get a handle on your emails, both the writing part (audience, organization) and the “management” part. The seminar will also address the most common “time bandits” that occur during meetings and will provide you with concrete steps to make the meetings you lead more focused and productive. Managing your time and your tasks effectively, additional aspects that supervisors need to handle well, will also be addressed. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program.) Presenter: Beth Richards, MA, is currently the director of first-year writing at the University of Hartford. Prior to joining the Rhetoric and Professional Writing department at the University, she was a technical writer focusing on manufacturing and machinery. She also has conducted numerous business and technical writing workshops for a variety of organizations, including the Connecticut Judicial System. Timken Precision Engineering, KPMG, Pratt & Whitney, Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), American Savings Bank , and Blum Shapiro. |
Maintain Your Leadership Effectiveness Under Stress
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TBD |
Learn how to avoid the most common behavior patterns that might impair your leadership during times of stress. The se behaviors can impede work relationships, hiner productivity or limit overall career potential. Whether you are on the fast track to success or frustrated that your career hasn't advanced as quickly as you planned, you will benefit from knowing how stress increases your susceptibility to these performance risks and how to avoid them. As pre-work, you will complete the online Hogan Development Survey, a self-assessment instrument which identifies personality-based performance risks. You will receive your self-assessment report during the seminar at which time you will learn which behavior patterns you are most susceptible to, when you are most susceptible to them, and their negative consequences for your performance. You will then create a development plan to recognize the stressors that result in these behavior patterns and replace them with more effective leadership actions. You will work individually and in small groups with support form the facilitator to fully interpret your feedback report and develop your action plan. Prior to the seminar, you will be contacted with details abaout logistics and confidentiality. Additional fee of $50 to take the online Hogan Development Survey.. Presenter: Ann Gowdey, MSW, is president of Ann Gowdey Consulting, LLC a Connecticut based consulting firm specializing in executive coaching and leadership development. Ann has over 25 years experience in leadership roles in business, government, and human services. In her consulting role, Ann has coached over 300 executives, managers and HR professionals in Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 businesses. Ann is a founding member of The Conference Board’s Council on Executive Coaching and co-author of Guidelines and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations, 1989. Her speaking engagements include the DDI International Congress on Assessment Center Methods and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists. |
Capitalizing on the Generational and Ethnic Diversity of Your Employees
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TBD |
The increasing diversity of the Connecticut workforce creates a competitive advantage for those companies that take diversity management seriously. According to the Hudson Institute’s Workforce 2020 study, the American labor force will become somewhat more brown and black in the next twenty years, but its most pervasive tint will be gray. New supervisors assuming a leadership role need to understand and embrace these dynamics in order to build cohesive teams. This seminar will help managers to recognize and leverage the multiple dimensions of diversity and create a positive and productive work environment. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program.) Presenter: Glenn Winfree, M.A. is a gifted speaker and trainer with over fifteen years experience as a trainer and coach in corporate America. Certified as an instructor by the Dale Carnegie Training Program, he currently works as a learning consultant at Aetna. Prior to this position, he was senior consultant with Aetna’s Office of Diversity. Glenn started his career with Aetna as a consultant with the enterprise-wide Learning and Performance Group. Prior to joining Aetna, he was a regional training manager with Accenture. His Masters degree is in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and he has a Diversity Management Certificate as well as various other trainings in areas such as human factors and process communication. |
| Fri., May. 3 8:30 a.m. – 12 noon |
Team work and team building are popular topics in today’s organizations. People in every workplace talk about building a team and working as a team but few understand how to create the experience of team work or how to build an effective team. Successful teams and team work are catalysts for effectively completing projects and for the accomplishment of strategic goals. Organizations with effective work teams are more likely to be successful and to retain talented workers. In this seminar, participants will learn about the characteristics and components of a successful team and will understand the stages involved in team development. Strategies for selecting participants and allocating roles, techniques for training team members on how to work well together, strategies for setting goals and objectives, and ways to recognize potential problems on teams and strategies for resolving those problems will be discussed. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program.) Presenter: Andrea Lanese, MBA, has worked for nearly twenty years in human resources management and corporate human resources in a variety of functional areas. She is Corporate Director of Leadership, Staffing and Organizational Development at Barnes Group Inc. Prior to joining the Barnes Group, she worked as Director of Human Resources at United Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney and Otis Elevator divisions. In those positions she has developed corporate-wide strategies to enhance current and future talent and designed and developed leadership programs. Andrea began her career with the Travelers Corporation in their Corporate Compensation department. Her extensive background in leadership development and organizational planning is augmented by her MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2008, Andrea completed the External Coaching Intensive Certification Program from Columbia University. Her undergraduate in Business Administration is from the University of Connecticut. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management, the Human Resources Planning Society and the American Society of Training and Development. |
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TBD |
Most supervisors find that other individuals at work sometimes turn to them with difficult personal and personnel issues. They also find themselves having to deal with people in conflict situations or at times when someone is very angry or upset. The effective supervisor not only responds to employees’ issues but is also able to recognize and deal with issues that employees may be having that are not being talked about or handled. This seminar will help you respond effectively to employees with problems, identify employee behaviors that may be causing problems, help employees resolve issues, and know how to diffuse and handle difficult situations. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program.) Presenter: Deanne Shapiro, MA, is the founder and president of Life Skills Associates LLC, a training and consulting firm specializing in organizational development and effectiveness. For 25+ years, she has provided professional services for organizations in the for profit, nonprofit, and public sectors, in such areas as supervisory/managerial skills, leadership development, executive coaching, staff development, workforce diversity, teambuilding, change management, communication skills, conflict resolution, and stress and time management. She has presented seminars for the Center for Professional Development, University of Hartford for many years and previously taught at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, Capital Community College, and Bryant University Center for Management Development. |
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TBD |
To be successful, an organization needs its employees to produce superior results. A successful organization will link its investments in people to bottom line business results. The overall goal of effective performance management is to ensure that the organization and all of its systems (processes, departments, teams, employees, etc.) are working together in the most effective way to achieve results desired by the organization. In this seminar, participants will learn how to build and implement an effective performance management process. This includes how to write performance goals and objectives, ways to measure employees’ progress toward performance goals, and how to write meaningful performance appraisals. Participants will also practice with confidence performance appraisal discussions and performance coaching. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program.) Presenter: Rob Toller, MS, an award winning Organizational Development and Training Consultant. Is currently assistant director in the University of Hartford’s Center for Adult Academic Services. For 25 years, he has held leadership positions at Aetna, Reliance Insurance Group and Murdock Claim Management Corporation, where he was Director of Training and Development. Currently, he is Assistant Director, Center for Adult Academic Services at the University of Hartford. He received his M.S. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Hartford and is an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford teaching management skills, human resource management and organizational change for both the Barney School of Business and the Psychology Department. In Fall 2009, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the University of Hartford. He has served as Director of Professional Development for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development and has lectured for the Human Resource Association of Central Connecticut. |
Engaging Employees for High Performance
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Fri., Mar. 8 |
Is your team or organization stuck in its progress toward some important goal? Are you concerned about low morale and lost productivity in your employees? In this dynamic seminar, new supervisors and mid-level managers will learn how to “wake-up”, engage and focus their staffs to excel in the many daily work challenges they face. Participants will learn the critical concepts of employee motivation and practice the three essentials of healthy employee dialogue to foster positive participation and a focused commitment to results. Participants will be exposed to practical tools to handle conflict and build employee trust and accountability that will prepare the participants to lead their employees effectively. (Seminar in Certificate in Supervisory Excellence program and also applicable to other Certificate programs.) Presenter: Rob Toller, MS, an award winning Organizational Development and Training Consultant. Is currently assistant director in the University of Hartford’s Center for Adult Academic Services. For 25 years, he has held leadership positions at Aetna, Reliance Insurance Group and Murdock Claim Management Corporation, where he was Director of Training and Development. Currently, he is Assistant Director, Center for Adult Academic Services at the University of Hartford. He received his M.S. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Hartford and is an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford teaching management skills, human resource management and organizational change for both the Barney School of Business and the Psychology Department. In Fall 2009, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the University of Hartford. He has served as Director of Professional Development for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development and has lectured for the Human Resource Association of Central Connecticut. |
