This Competence Development Master class is designed to give delegates a better understanding of the ‘people skills’ and ‘individual skills’ which are needed in a business environment, and which can help them develop their existing competencies into superior skills.

The Training focuses on:

• The ‘HOW?’ - using critical skills and behaviour to develop personal competencies
• The ‘WHAT?’ - developing task competencies needed to achieve successful process delivery
• Building on your existing personal knowledge and skills-set
• Giving you a better understanding of how you and your colleagues might work together more effectively in any office environment
• The production of a follow-up action plan which can help you implement new skills back at work

Course Objectives

• Identify, develop and improve key competencies necessary for superior performance
• Improve creative thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills
• Develop reading skills and note-making effectiveness
• Learn to use and apply simple memory systems
• Be better able to understand personality and behavioural characteristics in order to achieve what they want from other people
• Develop a plan and approach for self-development

Course Outline

• Personal Effectiveness
• Your Brain Skills: The Brains behind a Business
• Thinking about Reading (and identifying your current skills)
• How to be a ‘Successful’ Reader
• Reading Strategies: the theory
• Thinking about Note-Making
• How to make notes quickly and effectively using Mind Mapping
• Practice using Mind Mapping
• Time Management, Planning and Problem Solving
• Results-Orientated Time Management
• Outcome Planning for better results
• Can anyone be Creative?
• Practical approaches to Problem Solving
• Prioritisation and Planning Periods
• Getting things done
• Identifying and Dealing with Timewasters

Your Personal Skills-set:

• Putting It All Together
• Your role and job in the context of any organization
• Using Core Skills in the real world
• Thinking and Working in groups
• Better Meetings
• How to Change habits of a Lifetime

Setting the Scene and Evaluating Existing Skills

• General Introduction
• Assessing Prior Skills and Knowledge
• Competencies required
• Perceptions, Attitudes and Beliefs
• Learning Styles/Thinking Styles
• Time Management Skills
• Time Management Group Activity 1
• Video on Time Management
• Time Management Group Activity 2

Organising and Planning

• Managing Workflow
• Techniques for Organising and Planning – brainstorming, SWOT analysis, Goal setting, setting SMART objectives
• Group Activity
• Mind Mapping
• Video
• Group Activity – mind mapping exercise
• Managing meetings

Team Working

• Conflict Management
• Dealing with Difficult People
• Managing Upwards
• Stress Management
• Group Team building activity to demonstrate leading, sharing information, understanding the brief, listening skills, teamwork, creative thinking, time management

Who Should Attend?

• Anyone involved in the operational supervision of an office environment
• Secretaries and administrative support personnel needing to develop superior performance in their working environment
• Senior Personal Assistants
• Senior Secretaries

Methodology

In this Competence Development Master class, we use a combination of formal presentations, group and individual exercises, psychological and work inventories, case studies, role-plays and discussions. Inter-group discussions to share working experiences are also an important ingredient. Skills are introduced and then revisited at regular intervals throughout the training course. This helps reinforce and imbed skills and performance. The highly experienced instructors are also available for one-to-one discussions with delegates on issues or problems they may wish to raise.