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I want to initiate a Management Basics 101 course at a new, fast-growth
company where many skilled technical people are now being asked to manage
others. I seek input on the Top 10 Things Not To Leave Out of this workshop
-- What are your ideas??? Diana

What about starting with a needs analysis? There are some classic subjects
that "every supervisor/manager should know"--but your folks may be very
good at some of them already.

Emily Schultheiss
Why settle for surviving...when you could be thriving?

Diana -

If this is a group totally inexperienced as managers, I would (and generally
do) start with a sequence that goes something like: 'what is management?';
think of a good manager (bad manager) you have experienced & what he/she did
to make you feel that way - can boil this down to list of 3 best/worst
things, etc); and then we develop a list of components of good management.
We then would focus on managing people, managing self and managing work, to
include managing performance, motivation, listening, feedback, coaching,
situational leadership (Blanchard et al) time management, planning and
problem solving.

The degree to would you go will of course depend on the sophisication and
experience of the participants. Since many techies are management-averse, I
would include lots of self-exploration re: 'what has made me a better
worker, etc.' , some self assessment to bring out the fact that people are
not all the same (dare I say MBTI or such), and skill practice on
communication skills (listening and feedback)

Hope that helps.

Jess
www.management.org.uk/Users/JessLevant



-----Original Message-----
From: DBCGore <DBCGore@AOL.COM>
To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Date: 12 March 1998 03:17
Subject: [MG-ED-DV] MGT 101


>I want to initiate a Management Basics 101 course at a new, fast-growth
>company where many skilled technical people are now being asked to manage
>others. I seek input on the Top 10 Things Not To Leave Out of this
workshop
>-- What are your ideas??? Diana
>

Technical people often have a difficult time adjusting to management
because they continue to want to get their hands dirty. There is
nothing wrong with this attitude, but they must resist the temptation to
continue to write code, analyze samples, etc. They must understand that
there job is now to A) Continually improve the processes that allow
others to do their best work, and B) Lead, not manage, their
subordinates. Accomplishing both A & B requires maturity, skill,
artwork, intuition, statistical analysis, activity-based management,
vision, and guts - along with a heavy dose of personal responsibility.

Since your project is a workshop rather than an entire curriculum, I
suggest interspersing quotes from some of the better writers - Bennis,
Schein, Drucker, Peters, etc.

Harold J. Crossman
Senior Scientist
OSRAM SYLVANIA INC.
Lighting Research Center
71 Cherry Hill Dr.
Beverly, MA 01915
(978) 750-1717
crossman@osi.sylvania.com


>-----Original Message-----
>From: DBCGore [SMTP:DBCGore@AOL.COM]
>Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 1998 9:41 PM
>To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>Subject: [MG-ED-DV] MGT 101
>
>I want to initiate a Management Basics 101 course at a new, fast-growth
>company where many skilled technical people are now being asked to manage
>others. I seek input on the Top 10 Things Not To Leave Out of this workshop
>-- What are your ideas??? Diana

Diana,

I want to echo Jessica's idea. I used to be a part of an effort to
introduced management to agricultural science types interested in
international development. Here's our introductory exercise.

Have individuals jot down on a sheet of paper their response to the
following: "Think of a project you have been associated with that
involved a group effort and that you consider to have been a success.
List five things you believe contributed to the success of this
project."

Divide the class (typically around 30) into five or six groups, each
with a facilitator (if no facilitators, designate a recorders). Within
the group use a "round robin" or modified "nominal group" technique to
generate a single list of the five most important factors leading to
project success. The facilitator/recorder writes responses on a flip
chart so the group can see it. A facilitator can help the group combine
similar ideas. Through discussion, arrive at the final list of five.

Session leader then "round robins" the groups to generate a final
prioritized list of the five most important factors leading to success.
Again, we sometimes combined closely related ideas.

I've been doing this for over twelve years now, most recently in my MBA
course on implementing strategy. Invariably, the list ends up with some
permutation of the following (I use whatever words the class generates):

1. Clear and agreed upon objectives
2. Clear means to the ends (tasks and activities)
3. Clear and agreed upon responsibilities
4. Adequate resources (time, money, etc.)
5. Feedback mechanisms (communication, monitoring, and control)

The exercise suggests that people recognize good management when they
see it. And the list "creates" an agenda for elaboration and further
discussion (e.g., "How do we identify appropriate objectives?").

Best,

Ken

Jessica Levant wrote:
>
> Diana -
>
> If this is a group totally inexperienced as managers, I would (and
> generally do) start with a sequence that goes something like: 'what
> is management?' . . .<SNIP>

--
Ken A. Smith
Associate Professor
School of Management
Syracuse University

At 09:40 PM 3/11/98 EST, you wrote:
>I want to initiate a Management Basics 101 course at a new, fast-growth
>company where many skilled technical people are now being asked to manage
>others. I seek input on the Top 10 Things Not To Leave Out of this workshop
>-- What are your ideas??? Diana
--------------------------------------------------
Diana:

Re: Management Basics 101 -- you might include in the course segments on
listening skills/reflective listening, inviting others to express opinions,
ideas, interpretations. It is very important to honor the knowledge and
skills of others.

Paul Lyons

At 09:40 PM 3/11/98 EST, you wrote:
>I want to initiate a Management Basics 101 course at a new, fast-growth
>company where many skilled technical people are now being asked to manage
>others. I seek input on the Top 10 Things Not To Leave Out of this workshop
>-- What are your ideas??? Diana
>

I'd suggest picking up a copy of _Supervision_ by Bounds and Woods
(South-Western). That should give you a lot of good ideas about a modern,
systems approach to management.

Robert Magnan
l_m@itis.com