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 effectively 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. 

Explore all of the courses you'll take in this program. You'll find the course name, a description, and the length of time it will take to complete each course below. We recommend you complete the courses in the order they appear below.

The Reality of Being a First-Time Manager (0.4 Hours) 

Most new managers don't realize how much their new role differs from that of an individual contributor. Often, they have misconceptions about what managing entails, and they may be surprised to learn that the skills and methods required for success as an individual contributor and those needed for success as a manager are very different. This course describes some of the myths about management and their corresponding truths in order to clarify what managers really do. It also points to the typical demands and constraints of a manager's job. Finally, it describes strategies for dealing with common mistakes of first-time managers. 

Facing Challenges as a First-Time Manager (0.3 Hours)

High expectations are often placed on first-time managers. Along with these expectations comes the pressure to succeed and the need to prove you belong in a management position. Establishing credibility early and building new working relationships can go a long way in helping a first-time manager succeed in adjusting to their new responsibilities. This course describes ways to establish credibility and manage former colleagues effectively. You'll also learn how to balance conflicting expectations as a manager.

Being a Fair and Caring Manager (0.5 Hours)

As a manager, you will wear many different hats as you deal with a variety of people. Because you will encounter many personalities, emotions, and practices, it's important to learn how to be fair and caring when managing others. 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.

Effectively Directing and Delegating as a Manager (0.5 Hours) 

Understanding the essential responsibilities you have when directing and delegating to others, and the practices you should employ in order to meet those responsibilities, will lead to you fulfilling your duties and realizing the potential of your entire team. 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.

Taking Your Team to the Next Level with Delegation (0.3 Hours)

When delegation is working for your team, how can you take it to the next level? In this course, you'll explore levels of responsibility you can delegate to further team development. You'll also learn how to improve your delegation skills.

Navigating Other People’s Emotions (0.4 Hours)

Organizational and interpersonal dynamics, along with high-pressure situations, can sometimes cause others to behave unprofessionally. The way you react to their behavior can have a lasting effect on your future relationships. But, by building emotional intelligence, or emotional IQ, you can ensure that you’ll be able to understand and acknowledge other people’s emotions and maintain strong relationships with them. In this course, you’ll learn how to recognize emotional awareness in, actively listen to, and empathize with others by developing emotional intelligence, also known as EQ. You’ll also discover how to apply organizational awareness and empathy to enhance your workplace relationships.

Navigating the Workplace with Emotional Intelligence (0.4 Hours)

Any organization, regardless of its size, industry, or location, is made up of people – people who interact daily, and not always without incident. Developing emotional intelligence within the organization is a key factor in ensuring that these relationships run smoothly. This is especially true of leaders, who must provide an example of how to behave in group settings. In this course, you’ll learn how building emotional intelligence, or EQ, can improve team or group interactions. You’ll also explore the role of emotional IQ in workplace activities, conflict, and stress management, as well as employee influence and engagement.

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.

Managing Employee Development (0.5 Hours)

Smart companies have learned that supporting continuous learning and self-development among employees reaps dividends in productivity and employee retention rates. As a manager, you're responsible for developing people, which includes developing talent in your direct reports. 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.

Encouraging Team Communication and Collaboration (0.5 Hours)

Establishing a successful team involves ensuring that team members can communicate with you and with one another and that they will work as a team rather than as individuals. Clear channels of communication are required for both on-site and virtual teams. In this course, you'll learn techniques for encouraging effective communication and overcoming communication problems. You'll also learn strategies for encouraging team collaboration. Finally, you'll learn about tools and technologies that are commonly used for virtual team communication and key considerations for establishing virtual communication guidelines.

Polishing Your Feedback Skills (0.6 Hours)

The ability to give genuinely constructive feedback is vital in the workplace. If you’re a manager and are responsible for developing others, you’ll likely have to inform employees if their performance doesn’t meet the standard required. This is a delicate situation, and one that requires tact and preparation. But, if done effectively, providing feedback can not only improve performance, but also motivate people and strengthen relationships. In this course, you’ll learn how to plan a feedback session and how to give feedback in a positive manner. You’ll also learn techniques for handling bad reactions to feedback and your own nervousness, as well as how to give feedback to people at different organizational levels.

Positive Atmosphere: Establishing a Positive Work Environment (0.4 Hours)

An engaged workforce creates a positive work environment that boosts productivity, encourages creativity, and helps you engage and retain talented employees. This, in turn, will make your organization more profitable and innovative and will strengthen your employees’ work ethic. In this course, you'll learn about the benefits of engaging your workforce and of establishing a positive work culture. You'll learn how to recognize common qualities of engaged employees, understand what drives employee motivation, and recognize commitment challenges. You'll also learn how employee engagement links to the bottom line by reducing turnover.

Facing the Management Challenges of Difficult Behavior and Diverse Teams (0.5 Hours)

As a manager, it can be daunting to find yourself in charge of a diverse group, comprised of different age ranges, backgrounds, and experiences. It's inevitable that you'll encounter difficulties. Effectively handling conflict, whether it's team conflict or difficult employee behavior, is essential to productivity and requires developing conflict management skills. 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.

Confronting Workplace Conflict (0.4 Hours)

Any time two or more people are gathered in one place, conflict will inevitably follow. The workplace is no exception. It’s how you manage workplace conflict. There are many valid approaches to managing conflict, but ignoring it is the one guaranteed not to work. Resolving conflict is an important interpersonal skill that, with practice, can diffuse difficult situations at work. In this course, you’ll learn some of the major sources of workplace conflict. You’ll learn how to recognize your own conflict style and how to work toward conflict resolution. You'll also learn strategies and approaches to conflict management and working with difficult people.

Establishing Effective Virtual Teams (0.5 Hours)

Building and managing teams is enough of a challenge when everyone is in the same location. Collaboration when working on a team that's virtual requires even more commitment. In this course, you'll learn about teamwork and team leadership when working on a virtual team. You'll cover remote management and tactics for communication, assessment, and meetings for virtual teams.
  

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

Digital Books and Videos

Discover a world of resources with the Empire KnowledgeBank (EKB) and Skillsoft eBook and Video Portal. Search EKBSS_TMPL20150123135209420 in SLMS. You'll gain access to the following free digital books and online videos, as well as thousands more! Using the EKB and Skillsoft eBook and Video Portal 

Recommended Reading

• How Did I Not See This Coming?: A New Manager’s Guide to Avoiding Total Disaster, by Katy Tynan
• How to Tell Anyone Anything: Breakthrough Techniques for Handling Difficult Conversations at Work, by Peter English
• Management Basics in Easy Steps, Second Edition, by Tony Rossiter
• Working Relationships: Using Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Effectiveness with Others, Revised Edition, by Bob Wall
• Workplace Conflict Resolution Essentials For Dummies, by Vivian Scott

Recommended Videos

• Reframe Difficult Conversations, by Amy Gallo (1:00)
• Managing Former Peers, by Alisa Cohn (2:00)
• Understanding Emotional Intelligence, by Marcia Reynolds (2:00)
• First-Time Managers, by James M. Hunt (3:00)
• What Managers Need to Know About Inclusion, by Risha Grant (3:00)
• The Five Characteristics of Effective Employee Feedback, by Michelle Tillis Lederman (3:00)
• Better Delegation, by Kevin Eikenberry (4:00)
• Leading More Effectively Remotely, by Kevin Eikenberry (4:00)

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 an internet connection through the Partnership's Skills for Success program. You can also view recordings of webinars.

Recommended Courses

• Better Team Skills (webinar)
• Building Better Work Relationships
• Dealing with Difficult Behaviors
• Keep Your Cool: Ways to Protect Your Professional Reputation
• Practical Skills for Resolving Conflict
• Problem Solving: A Six-Step Process (webinar)
• Workplace Social Skills

YouTube Videos

• The Benefits and Challenges of a Diverse Team (2:17)
• Emotional Intelligence (2:51)
• Conflict Resolution (3.33)
• Top 4 New Manager Tips (3:56)
• Mel Robbins: How to have difficult conversations (4:49)
• How to Delegate Tasks Like A Pro: Team Task Management Tips  (7:31)

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 for the program anytime between January 16 and July 15, 2024. 
• Take all of the required courses online in SLMS anytime from January 16 through July 16, 2024.  
• To earn a certificate, you must complete all 15 courses and achieve a passing grade of 70% or higher in each course by the program's end date of July 16, 2024.
• To print your certificate, login to SLMS, go to the My Learning page, locate the appropriate certificate program, and click on the Print Certificate button. Note: The Print Certificate button will only be available if the status is Completed.

 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_BOS24 in SLMS.   

Registration details 

Please be sure you're using Google Chrome to access SLMS. If you don't have the internet browser on your computer now, submit a ticket to ITS to have it installed. 

You will not be able to access any of the courses in the certificate program until you have followed the two-step registration process noted above. Please allow up to five business days for license approval. New state employees typically won’t get access to SLMS until after their first paycheck. 

Still need help or have questions? Contact us at (800) 253-4332 or email [email protected].