Description
This course, offered by The Academy for Professional Development, teaches supervisors how to unlock their team’s potential by focusing on individual strengths. By committing to the philosophy of “Sharpening Your Axe,” you’ll learn to move away from constant hard toil and personal sacrifice and toward developing and empowering your team. Your team’s abilities are your most important tool for achieving your agency’s mission.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify the strengths of members of your team.
- Brainstorm projects and duties that utilize team members’ strengths.
- Discuss mentoring and goal setting with employees based on their individual strengths.
- Discuss using a proactive, positive method of communication with the team.
- Understand and utilize the two valuable supervisory styles (Relationship-Oriented and Task-Oriented) to build a collaborative and productive team.
- Identify what energizes and comes naturally to your team members.
- Develop SMART goals that align with the agency mission and are based on employee strengths and interests.
Why This Course is Essential: Sharpening Your Axe
The central concept of this course is that your team is your axe for achieving your mission. If you neglect to develop and empower your team, you risk falling into the “dull axe” ruts, such as:
- Working harder and longer hours.
- Being too busy to plan and organize.
- Losing passion and enthusiasm for the work.
- Making too many personal sacrifices.
The course emphasizes that supervisors who promote both goal setting/attainment and open, trusting relationships will produce effective and collaborative teams. You will learn how to shift your supervisory approach to focus on strengths and align individual employee goals with the larger agency mission.
Key Topics Covered
- Supervisory Style Assessment: Analyzing your own supervisory tendencies (Relationship vs. Task-Oriented) to maximize strengths and avoid pitfalls.
- Strengths-Based Leadership: In-depth review of the VIA Character Strengths, including how to identify an individual’s “signature strengths” and use them as valuable resources.
- Goal Alignment: Techniques for ensuring all employee goals cascade clearly from the team mission and the overall agency mission, preventing an unfocused or stagnant team.
- Performance Planning: Structured steps for developing a performance plan, including identifying obstacles, knowledge requirements, and a network of supporters.
What’s Included:
This training curriculum provides comprehensive materials designed for engaging adult learning, including:
- Visually impactful PowerPoint presentations: Featuring modern design, relevant imagery, and clear layouts to enhance comprehension and retention.
- Detailed instructor notes: Embedded within the PowerPoint slides, offering guidance on key concepts, discussion points, and activities.
- Comprehensive instructor manual: Includes a detailed training agenda, facilitator guidelines, tips for classroom management, and assessment tools.
- Interactive student manual: Provides space for note-taking, reflection activities, and application exercises.
- Engaging class discussion questions and activities: Designed to encourage participation, critical thinking, and real-world application.
Benefits of “Take and Teach”
- Cost-effective: Reduces the cost of external training by providing reusable materials.
- Flexibility: Train supervisors at your own pace and schedule.
- Customization: Adapt the materials to fit your agency’s specific needs and context.
- Consistency: Ensure all supervisors receive standardized training on essential topics.
