What do you do if someone has a row and walks out? How do you deal with damaging office gossip? How do you say 'no' to an unreasonable request? Managers must be able to deal professionally with awkward situations involving people at work. And they need to do it with the minimum of disruption to day-to-day working. This pack enables you to help your managers anticipate and prepare for the really thorny issues most of us would rather not have to deal with.
Learning applications include:
- assertiveness
- communication
- problem solving
- interpersonal skills development
- motivation
- transactional analysis
- mentoring
- body language
- conflict management
List of Activities:
1: Armed To The Teeth
Practical steps to ensure that you will never be caught out in a meeting. What, how and when to prepare. This activity makes use of exercises, discussion and role-play.
2: The Making Of A Mentor
The person best equipped to provide you with guidance already exists and is able and willing to help you at a moment's notice. This activity uses discussion and written exercises to enable you to make contact with your mentor. It also incorporates a problem-solving framework.
3: Getting Back On Track
A major incident at work, like a team member being sacked for stealing, will have significant effects on the other members of staff. This activity looks at ways of ensuring that the problem is acknowledged and addressed.#
4: Playing The Game
This is a basic introduction to the concept of assertive behaviour. Through discussion and group/individual exercises, the delegates will gain an understanding of what we mean by aggressive/assertive/non-assertive behaviours.
5: Why Are You Smiling Through Gritted Teeth?
Why do so many people have such difficulty in saying 'no' to unreasonable demands? Some people even smile while they are agreeing to them! This activity explores the reasons for this type of behaviour and then uses role-play to practise the art of saying 'no'; the role-play may usefully be recorded. Trainers may use this activity with groups who already have an understanding of aggressive/assertive/non-assertive behaviours.
6: You Have To Watch Them All The Time
This is a remark typical of someone speaking from their Parent ego state. During this activity the trainer explains the Parent-Adult-Child ego states and uses group and individual written exercises to check for understanding.
7: I'm Not One To Gossip, But ...
Anyone who has been the subject of office gossip knows how damaging and painful it can be. Anyone who has managed a team where gossip and malicious sub-groups are rife will be aware of the damage that can be done to the morale of the team. This activity uses a case study to analyse the problem and decide on the best way of dealing with it.
8: The Demotivated Team - Tackling The Team Leader
Getting the team leader to take responsibility for a lack of motivation in their team often meets with a great deal of resistance. Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, this activity helps team leaders to understand their role in their team's level of motivation.
9: The Demotivated Team Member - Bringing Them Back
Participants are asked to focus on a case study involving a member of staff who has lost motivation. They will work in teams to find out the reasons for the problems, discuss possible solutions and devise step-by-step action plans to improve performance. Participants will then be asked to work through a real life problem in the same way. This activity will be used with groups who already have an understanding of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
10: Hands Up!
Every manager will at some point find themselves in the position of having made an error which has hurt or angered members of their team. During this activity the trainer will facilitate discussion which considers the possible options the manager could take and the likely consequences of each course of action.
11: Helping A Leopard To Change Its Spots
There are a few things harder to live down than a bad reputation. Once labelled 'always late' or 'a sloppy worker', people will struggle against the tide of opinion whether it's justified or not. A move to a new team or the appointment of a new, open-minded manager can be a turning point. This activity provides a framework of vital questions to be worked on in small groups and suggests a rather unorthodox but effective solution to the problem.
12: Leap Of Faith
At some point in their career most team leaders and managers will find themselves in the position of knowing far less and often being far younger than the people they are managing. This activity works through the key elements of introducing change successfully in this situation. The exercises and discussions equip the manager with the skills and knowledge to ensure that the staff make the necessary 'Leap of Faith' during the crucial initial period.
13: An Action Plan For The Last Chance Staff Member
This appears to be a straightforward examination of problems managers have with individual members of staff. However, during the development of a standard action plan which may include disciplinary procedures, delegates will be encouraged to explore and acknowledge any negative feelings they have about that person. They will then be asked to think of someone whose best interests they have at heart, for example, a son, sister or best friend and will consider the action plan imagining that person as the central figure. The object of this exercise is not to catch delegates out, but to help them to understand a technique that can be used when you can't be sure that you are handling such a situation in a professional manner.
14: "That's Just The Way I Am"
Most trainers are faced with this comment during any course that involves changing behaviour. This activity uses the Behaviour Spiral to explain that the way we feel does not have to be the same as the way we behave. It links in to assertive behaviour and the Adult ego state to show how we can break a downward spiral of damaging interactions.
15: The Exploding Customer
This activity examines a number of key actions to be taken when a customer reaches the end of his or her tether. The group will be asked to place the various actions in the most effective order by using the problem-solving framework. This activity addresses the difficulties of dealing with emotional customers and gives the group the opportunity to practise logical problem-solving.
16: Looking The Part
It can be very difficult to tell a member of staff that their clothes, hair or jewellery are inappropriate for work. This activity identifies several crucial questions that should be asked before going ahead, and then uses discussion and role-play to work through the situation.
17: More Than Words Can Say: Understanding The Concept
This activity introduces the group to the basic concept of non-verbal communication and focuses on body language, eye contact, facial expressions and so on.
18: More Than Words Can Say: Putting It Into Action
Non-verbal communication is an essential element of handling tricky situations. The role-plays in this activity give participants the opportunity to become aware of their own strengths and development areas and may usefully be recorded. Action plans will address methods of improving these areas on an ongoing basis.
