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Date: | October 12-14, 2016 |
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Time: |
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Location: | MMUA Office, 3025 Harbor Lane North, Suite 400, Plymouth, MN 55447 Get Directions |
This event is now closed for online registration |
MMUA continues to provide FirstLine Supervision, a performance-proven program designed around a solid core of interpersonal skills to provide the first line supervisor with leadership skills needed in today’s competitive market. Modules, unique to municipal utilities, have been developed and blended with selected modules from Achieve Global Leadership programs to present a supervision program for MMUA members.
Today’s first line supervisors and managers experience increasing demands for higher performance. At the same time, they must master complex new rules that require collaboration, innovation, and quick solutions to sudden changes. Firstline Supervision gives managers, supervisors, team leaders, and individual contributors the basic understanding and skills they need to interact with others in organizations where employee involvement is increasing.
This program includes the basics, yet goes beyond the traditional supervisory-management program. The format uses behavior modeling, which stresses realistic examples, discussion, practice, feedback and planning, with emphasis on the practice. It stresses working with people.
Management support for program participants is critical. Staff from Central Lakes College is available upon request to meet or consult with the participant’s supervisor to coordinate skills developed by training with the on-the-job skill opportunities. Cooperation between the employer, the employee and the training institution ensures maximum results. Supervisors receive a description of the expected skill development plus a ready reference to the skills learned after the training session.
The payoffs are enormous for a supervisor who masters the skills in Firstline Supervision.
For the supervisor, it includes the satisfaction of being involved in building stronger people, stronger teams, and stronger systems, all of which are needed in these challenging times. There is also the knowledge that they are making a major contribution to the organization while also growing both personally and professionally.
For employees who work for such a supervisor, the payoffs include being associated with a leader who is a builder. It means having greater opportunity to make a worthwhile contribution and to have pride in their work. It means developing in skills and confidence as a part of a winning team.
For the organization, the chance to build increasing strength in its people, its services and its systems has great payback over the long term. It means meeting strategic objectives that can help ensure economic survival.
Class size is limited to provide maximum opportunity for participants to benefit from the instructor-led multi-media activities. Each participant receives a binder containing workbooks for each skill unit, including observation and planning forms.
The program includes seventeen (17) individual modules designed to be completed by attending four consecutive three-day sessions (1 full day + 2 half days). These sessions are offered twice each year over a two-year period. Because the modules need not be taken in sequence, a participant may stop or miss a session if an emergency prevents regular attendance, and re-enter when space in the program is available.
The first module, Building Trust Under Pressure: The Basic Principles is a pre-requisite for all other modules. Subsequent modules may be taken in any sequence. This is scheduled prior to each session to allow new participants to begin the program at any semi-annual session on a space available basis.
Fourteen modules, selected from Achieve Global Leadership programs, provide the central theme:
CORE INTERPERSONAL SKILL UNITS
PERFORMANCE APPLICATION UNITS
Three topics have been developed with special application to municipal utility operations:
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL UTILITY UNITS
The Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association, under contract with the Custom Training Services of the Central Lakes College, has developed this program for employees of their member utilities only. All inquiries pertaining to registration, program and records should be directed to MMUA,.
Registration fees include tuition, program materials (ring binder and workbooks) and refreshment breaks. Participant lodging and meals are not included.
The total investment for development of the supervisor/manager includes releasing the employee for eight and one-half days of training over a two-year period, cost of travel and lodging with meals, plus registration fees. Maximum benefit to the utility will be realized with the interest and support of the participant’s supervisor.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12
7:45 AM — Registration (for NEW students only)
8:00 AM — Building Trust Under Pressure: The Basic Principles (for NEW students only)
New challenges are constantly placing pressure on today’s leaders whether they have formal positions or are the “go to” person. Now more than ever, everyone in the organization needs a deep understanding of leadership principles and help in tailoring those principles to their own work realities.
1:00 PM — Addressing Emotions at Work (returning students start here)
In today’s high-pressure work environment, emotions are bound to erupt. The challenges are to present them from building to the point where they inhibit rational and productive interactions, and to transform them from negative outbursts into positive opportunities for solving problems. An emotional outbreak is often a cue that a problem is affecting an employee’s ability to work effectively. When others are able to deal with the emotion and move the discussion forward, a solution is more likely to occur. This unit gives participants a process for handling the emotions in daily work situations. They learn to remain calm and objective, to recover quickly and to help others do the same, and to take charge in difficult circumstances to keep the discussion moving forward.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13
8:00 AM — Identifying Work Priorities and Setting Expectations
People do a better job when they are clear about exactly what their results should be and how these results should be achieved. Mismatched performance expectation can cause the serious and costly problems of wasted time, misused resources, and work that is not done or has to be redone. The Key Actions and planning questions taught in this unit will provide a focused approach for success when supervisors need to delegate assignments, change an employee’s job standards, or correct an employee’s misunderstandings about performance expectations.
1:00 PM — Correcting Performance Problems
Tips for taking prompt action to correct unproductive behavior show participants how to replace disciplinary action with a plan to get back on track.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14
8:00 AM — Giving Recognition
With today’s flatter organizational structures, recognition (with peers, managers, and even those outside the organization) needs to be everyone’s job. This unit shows participants how to acknowledge accomplishments in meaningful, appropriate ways and how to use recognition as a powerful tool for building strong working relationships and for motivating others.
Eloise Thorson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Foods and Business and an MA in Organizational Leadership from the University of St. Catherine. She has twenty some years experience training in industry for the Central Lakes College. Her training experience has been with personnel in government agencies, healthcare facilities, manufacturing and service organizations.
The program fee provides instruction, refreshment breaks, and participant supplies, including binder and workbooks. There is a $25 per person cancellation fee.
We recommend an online search for a list of nearby hotels in the Plymouth area. If staying at the Comfort Inn on Harbor Lane, ask for MMUA's corporate pricing. The Comfort Inn's number is 763.559.1222.
Contact Rita Kelly at rkelly@mmua.org or call 763.746.0707.
A printable brochure is also available.
73% of our municipal
electric utilities have
successfully operated
for 100 years or more.