Three-night courses for emerging leaders begin in February

Drawing on nearly a quarter century of Fortune 500 management experience, Forbes contributor Victor Lipman said the foremost reason companies should invest more in management training is that the relationship between an employee and a direct manager is the most important factor in employee engagement. Lipman feels this day-to-day, in-the-trenches relationship is the first step to a productive workforce.

In a survey of 500 managers by business and technology consulting firm West Monroe, 59% of the respondents overseeing one or two employees report having no managerial training. For those who supervise three to five workers, 41% did not receive any training. Of those who did receive training prior to assuming their leadership positions, 85% feel their responsibilities are clearly communicated, and 92% believe they have an adequate work-life balance.

“It is very common for people in management positions to have never had any formal management training,” said Amanda Bullough, associate professor of management in UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.

Bullough and two of her UD faculty colleagues from the Lerner College—Dustin Sleesman, associate professor of management, and John Stocker, assistant professor of finance, associate chairperson—are teaming up with the University of Delaware’s Division of Professional and Continuing Studies (UD PCS) to address this situation by offering Management Essentials for Emerging Leaders. Providing training for new or aspiring managers and leaders, the four short courses on UD’s Newark campus focus on the critical need for better soft skills development while pairing the complementary technical skills each emerging leader needs to manage more efficiently.

“When designing the content, we thought, ‘If someone is to only get nine hours of instruction, what are the most important skills that person could walk away with and implement the next day at work?’’’ said Bullough.

Presented over three consecutive Thursday evenings apiece, the series commences Feb. 13 with Fundamentals of Managing People. The essential management skills required to effectively understand, motivate and lead others are addressed in this module.

“In Fundamentals of Managing People, we’ll cover topics to understand why people behave the way they do, including personality, emotions, attitudes and perception, and discuss how to effectively manage stress, communicate with others, and motivate and lead people,” said Bullough.

The series resumes March 12 with Fostering Relationships and Leading Effective Teams. Participants will engage in interactive team-building activities they can practice in their own organizations as well.

“We’ll address diversity, team cohesion and team building, and how to accomplish team and individual goals when they don’t always match,” said Bullough.

The modules conclude with Foundations of Finance and Accounting (beginning April 9) and Negotiating and Resolving Conflict with Others (beginning April 30). Intended for those interested in improving their ability to make sound business decisions, Foundations of Finance and Accounting provides the opportunity to gain familiarity and understanding of key financial terminology, concepts and applications. Students in Negotiating and Resolving Conflict with Others will engage in experiential learning activities and receive customized feedback relating to course concepts throughout the sessions.

Participants can enroll in all of the Management Essentials for Emerging Leaders modules or selected ones of interest. Discounts are available. For more information, visit pcs.udel.edu/emerging-leaders, email continuing-ed@udel.edu or call 302-831-7600.