Essential people skills for team leaders

The so-called 'soft' skills actually feel really hard - hard to get right. And in application they are anything but soft - they are the key to getting performance out of team members, by making them feel significant, understood, and clear about what you want from them why it's in their interest to focus on that. Dealing with people virtually makes skills feel more challenging - but there are some simple things you can do to make them just as effective as they would be face to face.

In this workshop we will focus on the three essential people skills - listening, questioning and giving feedback - showing how judicious use of them will transform your leadership style.

As a result of attending, you will:

• Understand the difference between listening to judge and listening to understand - and be able to deploy correct listening to increase someone's motivation.
• Be able to use a questioning funnel effectively, choosing from a range of applications.
• Master the essentials of corrective feedback, using a structured approach.
• Be able to give positive feedback in a way that doesn't invite the response "you're just saying that".

The workshop will offer a balance of theory and practice, giving you some easy to apply models and then the space to apply them supported by a coaching pair or small group. Along the way we will address some typical problems:

• "I don't know why he's never done anything about his issues"
• "It doesn't matter how much I tell people I'm listening, they don't seem to believe I can multitask."
• "My team members come to me with quite vague problems, and I never seem to be able to get them to be more specific."
• "I'd like to be able to give bits of coaching, but I've never found a way to do it quickly, especially online"
• "Whenever I give someone a compliment, I can't help adding 'I really mean it'"
• "I really need to give her this piece of feedback, but I'm worried she'll get upset, so I avoid it"

Don't forget that post-Covid, people are feeling rather vulnerable, and mastery of these skills can helps you raise the collective mental health of your organisation.

These skills are not difficult - they just need you to be consistent in deploying them in the virtual domains. Gaining the confidence from this workshop to use them daily will move your team leadership to a new level.

The next 'Essential people skills for team leaders' webinar will be announced shortly. Tickets are priced are £25 + VAT per person.