Contents -- About This Course -- How to Take This Course -- Pre-Test -- 1 Becoming a Supervisor -- Making the Transition to First-Line Supervisor -- Focus -- Seeing the Big Picture -- The Work -- Number of Priorities -- Work Quality -- Time Commitment -- Dealing with Information -- Motivation -- Role on the Team -- Attitude -- Importance of First-Line Supervision -- Day-to-Day Operations -- First Line of Contact for Employees -- Span of Control -- Development of Organization Talent -- Paradoxes of First-Line Supervision -- Being a Supervisor and a Technical Expert -- Little Effort Is Devoted to Training -- The Way Work Is Organized -- Supervising Tasks and Learning Skills -- Leadership Style and Behavior -- Task vs. People -- Other Considerations Affecting Leadership Style -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 2 Role of the Supervisor -- Day-to-Day Supervisory Roles -- Plan and Organize Work -- Provide Resources -- Manage and Develop People -- Administer and Control -- Handle Problems and Issues -- Personal Qualities of an Effective First-Line Supervisor -- Set High Personal Standards -- Be Accessible -- Inspire Success -- Accept Responsibility for Your Actions -- Emphasize Quality and Service -- Believe in Employees -- Set Priorities and Stick to Them -- Strive for Continuous Improvement -- Working with Your Boss -- Develop a Partnership -- Focus on Common Priorities -- Communicate Upward -- Maximize the Relationship Potential -- First-Line Supervision Key Competencies -- Communicating -- Developing People -- Managing People -- Building a Team -- Getting the Work Done -- Supervising in a Changing Environment -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 3 Communicating -- The Communication Process -- Listener Problems and Solutions -- What Is This All About? -- Exactly What Is Being Proposed? -- Why Is It Needed and by Whom? -- What's in It for Me?.

What Is Supposed to Be Done About It? -- Improving Personal Listening Habits -- Listen for Ideas, Emotions, and Feelings -- Listen for What Is Not Being Said -- Control Your Emotional Reactions -- Overcome Personal Prejudgments and Distractions -- Keep an Open Mind -- Listen More Than You Talk -- Hear the Other Person Out (Don't Interrupt) -- Use Open-Ended Questions for Active Listening -- Planning and Conducting Meetings -- Preparing an Agenda -- Conducting the Meeting -- After the Meeting -- Brainstorming -- Written Communication -- Organize Before You Write -- Use Simple, Straightforward Language -- Be Sensitive to the Tone of Your Writing -- Write from the Viewpoint of the Reader -- Communication Technology -- Electronic Messaging -- Voice Mail -- Internet or Intranet -- Conferencing -- Cellular Technology -- Computer Systems -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 4 Developing People -- People Development -- Benefits -- Types of Development Activities -- Setting Goals and Maintaining Focus -- New Employee Orientation -- Objectives -- Developing an Orientation Plan -- Conducting New Employee Orientation -- Employee Training -- Benefits of Training -- Failure to Train -- Identifying Training Needs -- Four-Step Training Method -- Being an Effective Trainer -- Making Sure Training Is Effective -- Have a Pre-Training Meeting -- Have a Post-Training Meeting -- Provide an Opportunity to Perform -- Ensure a Supportive Environment -- Encourage and Recognize Improvements -- Coaching Employees -- Key Factors in Assessing a Possible Coaching Situation -- The Coaching Process -- When to Quit Coaching -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 5 Managing People -- Performance Feedback -- Using Feedback Systems -- Provide Positive Feedback to Reinforce Performance -- Providing Corrective Feedback -- Performance Appraisal as a Feedback Tool -- Working with Difficult Employees.

Types of Difficult Behaviors -- Causes of Difficult Behaviors -- Strategies for Working with Difficult Behaviors -- Managing Workplace Conflict -- Causes of Conflict -- Conflict Management Styles -- Steps for Successful Conflict Management -- Taking Disciplinary Action -- Focus on Behavior -- Disciplinary Options -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 6 Building a Team -- Why Teamwork? -- Organization Benefits -- Individual Benefits -- What Is a Team? -- Transforming a Group into a Team -- Share the Expectations -- Share the Responsibilities -- Share the Glory -- Being a Valuable Team Member -- Use Active Listening -- Avoid Making Commitments You Can't Keep -- Deliver What You Promise -- Give Credit to Others -- Seek Contributions of Others -- Share Your Resources -- Work to Resolve Workplace Issues -- Keep Confidences -- Maintain a Sense of Humor -- Smile -- Obstacles to Team Development -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 7 Getting the Work Done -- Performance Motivation -- Your Role in Motivation -- Different Folks, Different Strokes -- All Behavior Is Motivated -- Obtaining Top Performance -- Establish and Communicate Expectations -- Provide Positive Feedback -- Focus on Teamwork -- Inspire, but Don't Control -- Lead by Example -- Delegating to Get the Work Done -- Guidelines for Successful Delegation -- Planning and Organizing for Success -- Imperatives of Planning -- Make Your Plan Specific, Achievable, and Measurable -- Plans Should Be in Writing -- Plans Must Have a Timetable -- Determine Priorities Beforehand -- Communicate What Is Going On -- Questions Your Plan Should Answer -- Managing Your Time -- Use a Daily List of Things to Do -- Prioritize Your Daily List -- Determine the Best Use of Your Time Right Now -- Manage Your Time Like Money -- Strive for Life Balance with Your Time -- Effects of Stress on Productivity -- Recap -- Review Questions.

8 Supervising in a Changing Environment -- Legal Issues for First-Line Supervisors -- Government Laws and Organization Policies -- Avoiding Legal Action -- Supervising a Diverse Workforce -- Your Role in Supervising Diversity -- Developing Yourself for Diversity -- The Distance Manager and Virtual Work -- What, Why, and When of Distance Management and Virtual Work -- Being a Successful Distance Manager -- Being a Successful Virtual Worker -- Organization Success Factors -- Managing Change -- Stages of Change -- Managing Change as a First-Line Supervisor -- Recap -- Review Questions -- 9 Ensuring Your Success -- Reevaluate Your Confidence Level -- Additional Skill Development -- Ongoing Professional Development -- Recap -- Review Questions -- Bibliography -- Post-Test -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.