Management Accelerator 2: Managing Teams

Our Management Accelerators cover a comprehensive set of skills, divided into three management areas: individuals, teams, and strategy. Together, these three Accelerators will equip nonprofit managers to succeed in a demanding environment and deliver value for the organization quickly.

The Managing Teams Accelerator will focus on the skills needed to become effective and inclusive leaders, capable of aligning and building high-impact teams even in times of uncertainty and change.

Note: Management Accelerators are not covered by the NU Subscription plan.

What’s included

Team Assessments

April 25, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Every team has a personality, which is derived from the individual personalities and styles of the people within it. These types influence team effectiveness, including communication, problem-solving. and morale. This workshop will present assessment tools and processes to understand how your team prefers to acquire and apply knowledge, how issues inspire or worry them, and how you can lead team discovery to strengthen working relationships.

What you will do in this workshop:

• Learn how personalities influence working relationships
• Learn and test tools that can measure factors likely to affect your team’s effectiveness
• Discuss factors that can improve communication across your team
• Leverage insights into personality to help team members develop their individual strengths

Inclusive Behaviors in Management

May 2, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Inclusive leadership is a critical capability for leveraging diverse thinking in a workforce with increasingly diverse markets, customers, and talent. What makes people feel included in organizations, are treated fairly and respectfully, are valued, and belong? Many things factor in – including an organization’s mission, policies, and practices, as well as co-worker behaviors – but much comes down to leaders: What leaders say and do has been found to make up to 70 percent of the difference when an individual is asked to report whether they feel included. This matters: The more people feel included, the more they will speak up, go the extra mile, and collaborate — all of which ultimately lifts organizational performance.

What you will do in this workshop:

• Learn the six traits that inclusive managers share
• Discuss what the six traits mean and look like in daily management practice
• Discuss mechanisms to develop and put the six traits into practice
• Discuss inclusive behaviors in management such as interviewing, hiring, compensating, promoting, and mentoring
• Learn how to flag, discuss, and optimize organizational systems for maximum equity and inclusion and to avoid common bias hotspots

Building Trust Rapidly

May 9, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Trust is one of the qualities we know we must cultivate, but which can be hard to wrap our heads around in practice. Though it’s hard to measure, a healthy level of trust has clear results, including people who are driven to work above and beyond while maintaining a positive work culture.

This workshop will teach participants how to create trust within and across teams, boost psychological safety, improve cross-cultural and cross-functional communication, and learn from failure so that it isn’t repeated.

What you will do in this workshop:

• Learn the 5 Cs of trust-based leadership
• Make the connection between trust and productivity in the workplace
• Discuss practical versus emotional trust
• Discuss the three biggest trust-breaking behaviors within teams and how to manage them
• Learn and discuss a ten-point system for building trust with nearly anyone

Effective Delegation & Accountability

May 16, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Delegation is a vital management skill, but one of the hardest to put into practice. The reasons why managers shy away from delegating range from the “time to explain” trap, feelings of guilt, lack of confidence in deciding who to delegate to, and personal attachment to projects. But refusing to delegate can have many negative consequences, including schedule overload, prioritizing the wrong tasks, and diminishing employee growth. This workshop will help managers learn to navigate the obstacles and delegate in a manner that cultivates high-performing teams.

What you will do in this workshop:

• Learn the five principles for successful delegation
• Practice a framework for successfully delegating to others
• Discuss the balance of delegation and accountability in a team
• Learn and practice a range of tools and techniques for improving and supporting delegation and accountability
• Discuss obstacles to delegation and learn ways to begin delegating effectively in your work starting now

Skillful Conflict & Collaboration Management

May 23, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Managers are often responsible for both internal and external relationships, including staff, donors, sponsors, and clients. No workplace is completely free of conflict – no matter how happy the employees may seem, or how smoothly external relations may go on an average day. When they arise, a poorly handled conflict can lose your nonprofit time and resources, but effective conflict resolution can actually turn conflict into a net positive, especially within a team, by improving relationships, employee performance, and retention rates. Knowing how to resolve conflicts with clients can also improve engagement success, maintain strong brand identity, and build a reputation for trustworthiness.

What you will do in this workshop:

• Learn and practice frameworks for managing conflict
• Practice conflict mediation in order to stop wasting time, energy, and resources on the most frequent collaboration and conflict hotspots
• Coach and give feedback to peers on handling conflict
• Learn to increase productive collaboration and reduce unproductive conflict
• Bridge the gap between different team cultures and collaboration styles
• Understand how to successfully negotiate when priorities conflict

Learn more about our Management Accelerators here.

Questions? Reach out to us anytime.