No one likes dealing with performance issues, but this half-day workshop provides tools to help you successfully navigate that challenge. This workshop will help you recognize what makes performance problem discussions difficult for both the leader and employee, document and leverage performance data to make a solid case for improvement, use interaction skills to ensure successful problem discussions, and effectively address poor performance in a firm and consistent manner.

The single biggest mistake new supervisors make is continuing to behave like individual contributors. This session examines the fundamental mindset shift required when you move from doing the work to leading the people who do it — from player to coach. Participants analyze a real transition case study, explore the top five traps that derail new supervisors, and leave with a personalized 30-day action plan for the critical first month in their role.

Strong communication is the foundation of effective supervision. This interactive workshop equips new leaders with practical strategies for impactful verbal and written communication. Key focus areas include resolving conflict promptly, documenting performance, sharing recognition, and planning productive discussions-all essential for building trust and driving team success.

Culture is not created by value statements — it is created by what leaders model, tolerate, and reward every day. This session examines the supervisor's outsized role in shaping team culture and gives participants a practical ethical decision-making framework for navigating real workplace dilemmas. Participants also explore unconscious bias in common leadership decisions (performance reviews, stretch assignments, informal recognition) and build an inclusive leadership practice that ensures every team member can contribute fully. 

Many new supervisors are busy all day but not effective — they are reacting to what is urgent rather than investing in what is important. This session uses the Eisenhower Matrix to help participants analyze how their supervisory time is actually spent, identify their most expensive time traps (including doing work they should have delegated), and design a structured weekly routine that creates space for the high-impact work only they can do.

Coaching is the supervisory skill most likely to drive long-term team performance — and the one most skipped in favor of faster, easier telling. This session introduces the GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward) and builds participants' ability to use questions rather than answers to develop employee thinking and ownership. Participants practice real workplace challenges, not fictional scenarios, making the transfer immediate. 

Teams do not perform at their peak by accident — they are built. This session uses Tuckman's stages of team development (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing) to help supervisors understand where their team currently is and what leadership style each stage requires. Participants also explore the research-backed drivers of employee engagement, the concept of psychological safety, and how to build team norms that reduce friction and sustain performance.

Delegation is not giving away tasks you do not want — it is one of the most powerful tools for developing people and multiplying your team's capacity. This session introduces five levels of delegation (from "do exactly as instructed" to "act independently") and helps supervisors match the right level to each employee and task. Participants build a real delegation plan and practice the delegation of conversation that sets employees up for success rather than failure.