manager training that cuts through the b.s.
manager training that doesn’t stink
We’ve all sat through it—the corporate manager training modules where bad actors play out scenarios that are unrealistic, and conflict resolution always ends in everyone smiling at each other.
That manager training? It stinks. 💩 💩 💩. You know it. Everyone knows it. It’s a waste of time.
But we’re Brave Work Project, and if the use of ^^ these emojis on our website hasn’t already shown you that we’re different, keep reading and we’ll share in more detail.
a different kind of manager training
Every organization has certain people who show up with particular quirks. That’s fine, until those “quirks” start to bug each other within teams, or lead to ineffective management. Consider your own teams:
There’s the person who’s emotional, passionate—sometimes too much. You love the passion for the work, but worry that their outbursts could have an impact on the team.
There’s the person everyone loves—they’re so funny! so nice!— but who has trouble hitting a deadline to save their life, and it’s getting more annoying as your business grows.
There’s the person who’s quieter, who works long hours and knows how to get things done, but because they’re quieter, you wonder if they’ve really got what it takes to lead.
There’s the person who’s a morale drag though you can’t quite pinpoint why—their work is getting done, but your sense is that they aren’t particularly happy.
There’s the leader who really, really likes being liked—and when others in the organization pick up on that, they sometimes manipulate it by performing as “yes men” who tell you what you want to hear. (If you’re the leader reading this and just thought, “Could that be happening at our org?” we’ve got some news for you…).
manager training with coaching skills
Research consistently shows that Manager quality and effectiveness is the single biggest predictor of how people perform and whether or not they’re loyal to you. Managers who want to be everyone’s friend, who manage through fear, who micro-manage, or who cannot delegate end up being a huge bottleneck as your organization is trying to grow.
At Brave Work Project, our Manager Training program brings in coaching skills—coaching competencies such as active listening, asking questions that are clear / direct / open / forward-leaning, collaborative coaching practices that take managers out of micromanagement and that empower employees, and clear communication of boundaries so that managers can set realistic expectations + consequences for if those expectations aren’t met.
how we build out manager training
Company Training Needs Audit. We’ll meet with you and your leadership team to assess the specific performance challenges you’ve encountered and what you’ve already tried. We’ll additionally run organization-wide surveys to assess how both managers and direct reports feel about how they are being managed, what expectations are being met, and what they’d like to see change.
Identify Priorities. Based on these conversations and surveys, we’ll identify specific priorities that will make the fastest impact to your organization. We want you to pull the right levers at the right times, without adding to people’s workloads with additional training. We implement the training that removes the bottlenecks, sooner.
Training Development. Training is developed to address those priorities. We don’t do a templated PowerPoint curriculum—we develop real scenarios that give managers applied practice in having difficult conversations about performance, communicating expectations, holding boundaries, and more.
Integration of Anti-Burnout POV. We bring an anti-burnout lens. When we utilize coaching competencies in management training, we help managers feel the relief they’ve been craving of offloading key tasks and knowing that their team will get them handled. Burnout happens when there are too many decisions, not enough time, and low trust.
Training Implementation. Training is conducted in-person, then moves to virtual live training. In-person is where we start because that’s how people connect best. From there subsequent training sessions build additional skills through live, virtual training sessions.
manager training faqs
How long does manager training take to implement?
A rough timeline of initial conversation to implementation is about 3 weeks, with additional time for the actual training and any follow ups.
How do you determine manager training pricing?
We calculate fees based on scope, complexity, and projected resources, then present a transparent proposal.
We work with a retainer model where you buy weekly hours of support. For on-site training there are some additional expenses given the need to travel and bring on multiple facilitators for a larger org training, but we would go over all costs for you to approve.
What about 1:1 manager coaching?
We offer this as well, either structured through the retainer or as an hourly fee. We still recommend that for best results you engage with the Audit process described above, so that we can make sure we’re aligning manager coaching with resolving your organization’s friction points.