Interaction Associates

Accelerating the shift from individual contributor to manager

The purpose of the Managing With Impact workshop is to provide participants with practical ideas, skills, tools, perspective — and confidence — so they can manage people in a way that brings out the best in everyone and contributes directly to the success of the organization.

As distinct from individual contributors, managers get things done through others. The manager-employee conversation is the main arena for planning, guiding and following-up-on an employee's work. In fact, most managers spend a majority of their management time communicating with their direct-reports and peers and supervising — face-to-face, on the phone, and through email.

Unfortunately, many management conversations — including delegation, problem-solving and feedback — leave both the manager and the employee disappointed, uncertain about what to expect next, even discouraged. The biggest impact a manager can have on the performance of an employee is to guide these conversations to a successful outcome. Those who master the conversation process are well on their way to mastering the art and craft of people management.

Learning objectives

By the end of the workshop, participants have increased their ability to:

• Define and set expectations for success
• Communicate in a way that builds mutual understanding and agreement
• Delegate responsibility in a way that increases the likelihood of execution
• Coach others through a problem-solving process in a way that increases their ability to take on greater responsibility
• Provide constructive performance feedback in a way that actually influences an employee’s behavior

Benefits for participants

This two-day workshop grounds participants in the principles of employee engagement that leads to productivity and retention. Participants learn the components of being good managers in complex and collaborative environments. They learn:

• An understanding of the manager's role and how to best add value in that role
• An awareness of how to measure success across three dimensions: Results, Process, and Relationships
• A framework for making difficult decisions consistent with the organization's core values

• An appreciation of their team's work and how it connects to their organization's mission and contributes to organizational success
• The ability to effectively manage and develop employees
• Skills to build win-win agreements with people over whom they have no authority

Benefits for the organization

Some of the benefits to organizations that deploy Managing With Impact™ include:

• Increased bottom-line success, as employees at all levels are helped to understand, support, and advance the organization's strategic goals and objectives
• Reduced conflict through increased alignment with core values and the organization's mission
• Better retention of employees, prompted by their confidence and trust in their supervisors
• Increased productivity, as managers learn to delegate effectively and manage direct-reports successfully
• Enhanced success at cross-functional projects

Who should attend

This workshop is specifically designed for those moving from the role of individual contributor to that of manager. However, existing managers and even higher-level executives who lack foundational management skills will benefit from this workshop.

How participants learn

Most workshop time is devoted to practice and feedback. Short presentations are supplemented by instructor and video demonstrations. Interactions with the workshop leader and peers provide a varied and engaging learning experience.