More Management Confidence

How to build new beliefs about yourself and your role as a manager so that you can let go of the fears and worries that hold you back from some of the trickier aspects of management. You’ll learn tools and techniques to untangle your thinking and figure out what the best next action is in any circumstance.

How to make powerful agreements so that you can get things done via the people you manage and eliminate the disappointment of unmet expectations. We’ll also talk about powerful agreements in the context of working with senior colleagues and stakeholders so that you can set and hold boundaries and service levels.

How to have robust and productive accountability and feedback conversations so that you feel self-assured as you approach the conversation; make space for your emotional reactions, and theirs; skilfully guide the conversation; and ultimately get to the bottom of the matter and make a plan to move forward together with dignity and respect on both sides.

How to look after yourself in the context of being a line manager so that you can keep your nervous system regulated. This will enable you to manage stress and better access your executive functions such as working memory, mental flexibility and self-control.

How to foster belonging and trust as the basis of your team culture so that your people feel as safe as possible to show up and do their best work in your team. This is about creating a team environment where team members feel able to take risks (as far as reasonably practicable), to express their ideas and concerns, to speak up with questions, and to admit mistakes and make amends.

How to use values as a way to support boundary setting and guide how your team members work together to achieve your objectives. This will enable team members to have a clearer sense of ‘how’ to go about making things happen.

How to hone your decision making skills so that you keep work and information flowing around your team. We’ll explore using powerful agreements with your line manager in order to define the scope of your decision making authority. This will enable you to make decisions and give your team direction without worrying about over stepping or unnecessarily escalating decisions to more senior managers and slowing things down while you wait for a response.

How to use the University and Directorate/Faculty strategy to identify your team’s priority so that you can confidently know when to say yes/no to incoming work and manage workloads across the team. This is about creating more clarity on ‘what’ your team is doing.

How to delegate tasks and projects well so that your team members are working effectively, projects and BAU are moving along and you are focusing on the most appropriate work for your role. You’ll learn how to articulate the connection between strategy and operations as well as building in escalation and communication mechanisms so that you can trust your team to get on with their jobs without the need to micro-manage.

How to manage performance within your team so that poor performance is resolved quickly and team members feel like you are taking their development seriously. We’ll use your institutional policy, procedures and competency/behavioural frameworks as well as sector standards such as the HERA role profiles to support you in having effective development conversations with your team members, regardless of their career stage or their level of ambition.

How to work collaboratively across departments and via committee structures or project teams so that you can get things done with and via people that you don’t manage directly.

How to develop your identity and style as a manager so that you can feel comfortable in your abilities and safe in the knowledge that you are a great manager.