PMP Training by Robert Brents

Course 1 - Management Development for Technical Professionals

Overview/Description If you have ever considered moving up to a managerial position, certain personal and professional traits will be necessary when you make that move. In addition to the skills you have as a technical professional, you need to develop the skills of effective managers. This course will assist you in a self-assessment process that is essential to your efforts to become an effective manager. You will analyze the traits and skills you currently possess. Then you will determine which skills need enhancement and which skills require development. Various avenues for development will be presented ranging from on-line personality inventories to classes in the development of management skills. With this preparation, you will create an action plan to realize your development program. Next, you will create the necessary personal and professional networks within your organization to ensure a smooth, successful transition from technical professional to manager. Upon completion of this course, you will be prepared for the challenges of management. You will lead with assurance knowing that you have the personal and professional traits to be an effective manager.

Lesson Objectives:

Self-assessment for the Technical Professional

recognize the benefits of self-assessment when preparing for a management position.
match behaviors of technical professionals with the personality preference category that each represents.
match management behaviors with the personality preference type that each best represents.
determine whether a manager's behavior reflects the personality preferences for effective management in a given scenario.
label the behaviors of technical professionals with the professional qualities that they represent.
associate the behaviors of managers to the management qualities that they each represent.

Roads to Managerial Development

recognize the benefits of personal and professional development when preparing for management.
relate the three complexity levels of interpersonal concerns to behaviors of technical professionals that best represent each.
examine a technical professional to determine an effective avenue for interpersonal development given his internal and external constraints.
associate career development strategies to the particular needs of managerial candidates that each best addresses.
apply strategies to demonstrate managerial competence in a given scenario.

Establishing Strategic Alliances

recognize the benefits of establishing strategic alliances within an organization.
match methods for establishing a positive managerial image with professional behaviors that demonstrate each.
apply the best strategies for developing good rapport with coworkers and management, given a scenario.
identify behaviors that represent the methods for avoiding career pitfalls.

Course 2 - Communication Skills for Successful Management

Overview/DescriptionEffective communication is a crucial component of your success as a manager. As a technical professional, you developed various communication skills that helped you to succeed. But, as a manager, you will need additional communication skills to be effective. This course will examine various aspects of successful communication strategies and skills. You will analyze the strategies of nonverbal communication, listening, assertive communication, and writing and learn how to apply these strategies appropriately. Thus prepared, you will enter your new role as a manager with the ability to communicate more clearly and more effectively.

Lesson Objectives:

Effective Listening Strategies

recognize the benefits of effective listening as a technical professional preparing for a management position.
match the elements associated with a reciprocal communication model to an example of each.
assess whether technical professionals in a simulated dialogue effectively demonstrate the appropriate cues for verbal and nonverbal listening.
apply effective active listening strategies in work-related situations.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

recognize the benefits of using appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication as a technical professional moving into a management position.
identify the characteristics that promote an influential image within a business setting.
identify the attributes associated with a positive attitude.
apply effective verbal strategies to promote employee productivity in a given scenario.

Assertiveness Skills

recognize the benefits of assertiveness skills as a technical professional moving into a management position.
identify the steps in the assertiveness process.
use appropriate assertiveness strategies with specific management scenarios.

Written Communication

recognize the benefits of effective written communications to improve management effectiveness.
match the purposes of written communication with corresponding examples.
evaluate business documents to recommend improvements for demonstrating effective dynamic writing techniques in a given scenario.
demonstrate clear and concise writing techniques in a given situation.

Course 3 - Process Management Skills

Overview/Description Efficiency, in software terms, can be the difference between ineffective, poorly designed software, and elegant, intuitive software. Efficiency in manufacturing is the difference between processes that yield top quality products at a reasonable price, and processes that spit out shoddy products regardless of price. Likewise, efficiency is critical to the effectiveness of a manager and to the manager's organization. To be efficient as a manager, you have to develop a suite of organizational skills including time management, performance management, and stress management. This course will help you develop your skills at organizing and scheduling activities such as meetings, client conferences, and personnel reviews. Process Management Skills will also assist you in setting goals and accomplishing tasks in less time but with higher quality. Applying these important strategies will also help you lower stress in your day-to-day dealings, making you more productive and your day more rewarding.

Lesson Objectives:

Management Efficiency Strategies

recognize the benefits of management efficiency strategies.
label work-related activities with the category of time usage that each represents.
use project feasibility to determine project priority in a given scenario.
match the principles of personnel resource allocation to corresponding management activities.

Goal-setting Strategies for Management

recognize the benefits of goal-setting strategies.
match the five SMART attributes to the descriptions that best reflect each.
evaluate a goal using the SMART goal development strategy in a given scenario.
match the methods of assisting personnel with goals to management activities that reflect each.
apply goal setting strategy for assisting personnel with establishing effective goals in a given scenario.

Stress Management for the Technical Professional

recognize the benefits of stress management.
associate stressful situations with the contributors to stress.
match methods for reducing stress with practices that accomplish each.
use management activities to best apply stress reduction strategies in a given scenario.
evaluate whether actions taken by a manager to reduce the stress of an employee are effective in a given scenario and make recommendations, if needed.

Course 4 - Leadership Development for Technical Professionals

Overview/Description Managers must direct the activities of workers to address tactical or short-term issues while still maintaining a vision of the strategic or long-term goal. Therefore, the skills needed for an effective leader are varied and complex. For you, the technical professional, this means evaluating your current leadership skills. It also includes the development of more refined managerial skills such as facilitation and conflict resolution in order to deal with work teams effectively and the problems that can arise in the work setting. This course will develop your abilities to plan and facilitate productive meetings, resolve conflicts, and create team-based approaches to managing. These skills will better prepare you for your role as a manager, and assist you in motivating and empowering your employees.

Lesson Objectives:

Effective Leadership

recognize the benefits of developing effective leadership skills when preparing for management.
associate leadership roles with their definitions.
match leadership styles with the various leadership behaviors that represent them.
use the most appropriate leadership style based on the needs of an individual or group.

The Leader as a Facilitator

recognize the benefits of using effective facilitation skills as a technical professional preparing for management.
identify the steps in the facilitation process followed by effective leaders.
apply team building methods to a given scenario.
apply communication techniques when facilitating between work teams in a given situation.
identify three methods for enhancing performance across work teams.

Conflict Resolution for Leaders

recognize the benefits of resolving work-related conflict.
identify the impact that conflict has on an organization.
match the elements of the collaborative strategy for resolving conflict with associated workplace situations.

Course 5 - Strategies for Transitioning into Management

Overview/Description Making a smooth transition from technical professional to management is critical to your success as a manager. You've already demonstrated your technical expertise; now you're ready to take that next step. In your new role as a manager, you'll use technology in different ways -- focusing on managing production, not production itself. This course outlines management tactics for becoming an effective manager. Specifically, you'll receive tips on hitting the ground running, including how to prepare for the transition into management, develop management tactics and measure your management success. In addition, you'll develop techniques for facing the realities of management, such as understanding the impact of the Information Age on your management role, working effectively with your peers and maintaining a good relationship with your manager. After completing this course, you'll be ready to switch gears from technical professional to effective manager, armed with the appropriate tools for running a successful department.

Lesson Objectives:

Transitioning into a Management Role

recognize the benefits of applying transition strategies when assuming a management role within an organization.
associate the steps for preparing for management with business practices that accomplish each.
identify the five management strategies for smoothly transitioning into management.
apply managerial strategies to effectively transition into a management role in a given scenario.
identify methods for measuring your management success.
make recommendations for improving a manager's success based upon an evaluation of a given manager's performance in a scenario.

Dealing with the Realities of Management

recognize the benefits of applying managerial strategies to address characteristics of the 21st century organization.
identify management practices that address the influences of the information age on the 21st century workplace.
identify practices that effectively apply the strategies for managing former peers in the workplace.
identify the management strategies for working effectively with peers.
apply strategies for creating a positive working environment when working with your peers in a given scenario.
associate strategies for maintaining a good relationship with your manager to management practices that accomplish each.
use effective management activities to maintain an effective relationship with a boss in a given scenario.

Course 6 - Transitioning from Technical Professional to Management Simulation

Overview/Description For candidates considering the move from positions as technical professionals to management, certain professional traits and skills are necessary. Effective communication skills, efficient strategies, and managerial competencies must all be mastered and continuously honed. The Transitioning from Technical Professional to Management Simulation will provide participants with the opportunity to develop these and other skills as they climb the ladder into management. As a software installation team leader for B Wind Software, Inc., developers of professional grade digital video editing platforms, the participant stands next in line for a promotion to department manager. Yet success isn't quite assured. Other employees in the department vie for the same position. Participants will have to outshine these competitors by demonstrating their qualifications to management before being selected as the final candidate. Then once promoted, the job has only just begun. Numerous challenges await the learner as a fledgling manager, including maintaining positive relationships with both old peers and new, as well as organizing and executing the day-to-day business of the department. But with a little effort and a positive attitude, participants will find their success all but assured. The Transitioning from Technical Professional to Management Simulation is the first of two simulations. This simulation comprises three scenarios and an introduction.

Lesson Objectives:

Transitioning from Technical Professional to Management Simulation

developing managerial competence.
establishing strategic alliances.
employing effective communication skills.
assisting your personnel to establish goals and reduce stress.
transitioning into a management role.
embodying the qualities of a manager.
maintaining effective relationships.
asserting yourself.

Course 7 - From Technical Professional to Leadership Simulation

Overview/Description For candidates considering the move from positions as technical professionals to management, certain professional traits and skills are necessary. Effective communication skills, efficient strategies, and facilitative competencies must all be mastered and continuously honed. The From Technical Professional to Leadership Simulation will provide participants with the opportunity to develop these skills and others as they continue their managerial development. As newly promoted Software Development Managers for B Wind Software, Inc., developers of professional-grade digital video editing software, participants will be tasked with overseeing the developmental committee responsible for conceiving and proposing B Wind's next new commercial endeavor. Armed with newly acquired facilitation and leadership skills, participants will help the committee to recommend a feasible, profitable project to the Marketing and Development management teams. Once a decision has been made, participants will then be assigned as project managers responsible for executing this new project as well as for maintaining the everyday business of their departments and work teams. This simulation comprises three scenarios and an introduction.

Lesson Objectives:

From Technical Professional to Leadership Simulation

fulfilling the role of a leader.
incorporating leadership styles into management.
using the facilitation process and facilitating teamwork.
using the collaborative strategy to resolve conflict and reduce stress.
employing effective communication skills.
using efficient management strategies.
embodying the qualities of a manager.