To be an effective supervisor, it's important to have a clear understanding of your responsibilities, as well as the skills needed to enhance workplace relationships and efficiently delegate tasks.

By completing this program, you will:

• Acquire a better understanding of the responsibilities involved in being a supervisor.
• Describe the skills necessary to enhance workplace relationships.
• Identify techniques for effective delegation.

You can expect to enhance your job-based skills in the Professionalism and Self-Management workforce development competency. 

All CSEA-represented NYS employees are eligible to participate.

Management/Confidential NYS employees with an Empire KnowledgeBank (EKB) license are also eligible to participate. Contact your agency training officer for information on obtaining an EKB license.  

Supervisory approval is not required for courses taken outside the normal workday. It may be possible for employees to take courses during working hours with supervisory approval.

• Register and take all the required courses online in SLMS anytime starting March 16, 2026.
   
• To earn a certificate, you must complete all required courses and achieve a passing grade of 70% or higher in each course by the program's end date (September 15, 2026).
   
• To print your certificate, log in to SLMS, go to the My Learning page, locate the appropriate certificate program, and select the Print Certificate button. The Print Certificate button will only be available if the status is Completed.

1. The Reality of Being a First-time Manager (0.3 Hours)

   This course describes some of the myths about managing people and their corresponding truths in order to clarify what a new leader really does. It also points to the typical demands and constraints of a manager's job. Finally, it describes strategies for dealing with common mistakes when managing for the first time.

2. Facing Challenges as a First-time Manager (0.25 Hours)

   High expectations are often placed on a new manager. Along with these expectations comes the pressure to prove you are capable of being the boss and managing people effectively. When managing for the first time, establishing credibility early and building new working relationships can go a long way in helping you succeed in adjusting to your new responsibilities. This course describes ways to manage former colleagues effectively and establish credibility as a first-time manager. You'll also learn how to balance conflicting expectations as a new leader.

3. Being a Fair and Caring Manager (0.3 Hours)

   In this course, you will explore the many facets of treating others with fairness, including how to apply standards fairly. You'll also learn how to demonstrate fairness in your communication, decision making, and personal skills such as listening, sharing, and showing concern to your direct reports.

4. Effectively Directing and Delegating as a Manager (0.4 Hours)

   This course provides information on the key proficiencies of managing people, such as setting direction and establishing clear objectives and goals for your direct reports. It discusses the importance of organizing, as well as communicating for clarity and direction. It also covers the best practices for planning delegation and the techniques you need to carry through with delegation. Finally, the course details the importance of monitoring delegated tasks to ensure employees are on the right track.

5. Taking Your Team to the Next Level with Delegation (.25 Hours)

   In this course, you’ll learn about the different levels of responsibility you can delegate to further team development. You’ll explore how to direct and develop your team to overcome common delegation risks. And you’ll also learn how to assess and improve your delegation skills.

6. Building Up Your Emotional Intelligence (0.36 Hours)

   By its very nature, the workplace sometimes involves conflict and stress. Even mundane day-to In this course, you’ll learn what Emotional Intelligence is and how it drives personal excellence in the workplace.  You will learn some best practices and strategies to become aware of your emotions and use that awareness to manage your behavior. You will also learn how to interpret other people’s emotions and use that knowledge to enhance workplace relationships.

7. Leading by Motivating (0.3 Hours)

   Motivation drives people to take action. Without proper motivational leadership, things simply would not get done. As a leader, your capacity for motivating plays a key element in the success of your team and your organization. This course provides you with an understanding of why motivating leadership strategies are important and offers practical techniques for encouraging team motivation.

8. Managing Employee Development (0.45 Hours)

   In this course, you'll learn about the benefits of developing employees and assessing how their development needs can be addressed through organizational learning. You'll then learn how to prepare for and conduct a development meeting that includes the necessary development plan characteristics and support for your employees.

9. Delivering Feedback That Encourages Growth (0.5 Hours)

   In this course, you will learn how to plan a feedback session and give feedback in a constructive manner. You will also learn about some proven models to construct the feedback objectively and effectively. Techniques for handling less-than-ideal reactions to feedback and overcoming potential anxiety will also be discussed to support performance improvement, employee motivation, and workplace relationships.

10. Strategies for Building a Cohesive Team (0.3 Hours)

    In this course, you'll learn methods for effectively building and managing teams that focus on improvements in three areas: communication, cooperation, and trust. You'll learn specific strategies for improving communication and promoting collaboration among staff members working on a team. You'll also learn what signs suggest a lack of trust on a team, and how you can show team leadership by using the right techniques to build trust and improve teamwork.

     

11. Promoting a Positive Work Environment (0.5 Hours)

    In this course, you'll learn to recognize the impacts of a positive workplace and identify negative indicators in a work environment. You'll also explore the organizational strategies that promote positive employee engagement and learn techniques to interact personally with employees in ways that foster a positive work environment.

     

12. Facing the Management Challenges of Difficult Behavior and Diverse Teams (0.3 Hours)

    This course covers useful techniques and processes for conflict resolution. You'll learn methods for resolving conflict when dealing with an employee's difficult behavior. You'll also learn ways of effectively managing team conflict and understanding and dealing with conflict in the workplace as a whole.

     

13. Managing Conflict on Your Team (0.4 Hours)

    In this course, you'll learn how to harness constructive conflict to drive team progress by creating an environment where diverse perspectives can safely clash and combine. You'll explore how to use emotional regulation to de-escalate collective emotions and maintain productive team dynamics during challenging situations. You'll discover how to use strategic inquiry to uncover and address the root causes of conflict. Finally, you'll learn how to adapt your conflict management approach to different situations using proven frameworks that help you choose the most effective response for each unique circumstance.
    
     

Want to learn more? Once you've completed all the required courses, consider continuing your learning with the following optional activities. Unlike the required courses, you do not need to complete these to earn your certificate. 

Optional Certificate Program Courses

• Managing a Hybrid Team Successfully (0.4 Hours)

  Ever-changing and uncertain times have moved many organizations away from traditional offices and toward hybrid work arrangements. Overcoming the challenges of working within a hybrid model involves facilitating a productive work environment for employees, with strong relationships despite being geographically dispersed. In this course, you'll learn about common hybrid work models and discover the tools and structures that hybrid workers need. You'll also learn what strategies support a positive hybrid team culture, and what methods will help you evaluate hybrid teams effectively.
   

Optional Training

These courses are offered by the Partnership and are open to all CSEA-represented NYS employees. Webinars can be taken from any computer with a connection to the internet. You can also view recordings of webinars. 

Recommended Courses

• Better Team Skills (webinar)
• Building Better Work Relationships
• How to Navigate Conflict Effectively (webinar)
• Problem Solving: A Six-Step Process (webinar)

To participate, you must follow our two-step registration process. The first step varies for CSEA-represented NYS employees and Management/Confidential NYS employees. 

CSEA-represented NYS employees: Apply for a Partnership Online Learning License in the Statewide Learning Management System. Search P_OL_Program in SLMS. Please allow up to five business days for license approval.  

NYS Management/Confidential Employees: Contact your agency training director to obtain an Empire KnowledgeBank license if you don't have one already.  

Once you have an active license, you can register for the program in SLMS. Search P_BOS26 in SLMS.  

Registration Directions

SLMS will allow registration for the certificate even if you don't have an online learning license. Once your license is active, you can enroll in the certificate's classes.

Please note that new employees may not have access to SLMS until they receive their first paycheck.

Still need help or have questions? 

Contact us at (800) 253-4332 or email [email protected].