Management & Leadership

The 2024 update to the Equality Act 2010 places increased focus upon employers to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of employees. In this session we will be looking at the practical ways in which managers can create environments where the risk of sexual harassment is reduced.

Community Cohesion has been adopted as the government’s official policy of harmonisation amongst British communities since the 2001 riots in Northern Towns namely Oldham, Burnley and Rochdale. The strategy was further being weighted by successive government initiatives such as The Integrated Communities Strategy- green paper (March 2018). Many front-line professionals are under-skilled in both the details of community cohesion policy and practice. This essential course charts the gradual demise of Multiculturalism as both policy and practice in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s and navigates the contested terrain that led to the adoption of community cohesion. Through the use of innovative case studies, frank media viewing, group work, practical examples of community cohesion initiatives and professional reflection participants will explore the range of socio-economic, political and integration dimensions that led to severe riots and acts of violence in Burnley, Oldham and Rochdale in 2001. The four core strands of community cohesion will be thoroughly analysed and delegates will get a chance to apply their skills, knowledge and competencies gained to real-life case studies that will give them a good understanding of applying the cohesion agenda in practice. We will be reflecting on why over 20 years of community cohesion policy and initiatives has again led to riots in 2024 as well as what ideologies, theories that drive the British far-right and anti-migration movement. Delegates will be aided after the course with a number of official toolkits and research reports into best practice in this arena if they wish to further develop their theory and practice.

Many people find themselves busy throughout the day, constantly involved in some type of activity. That same group of people often reflect back upon their working day and when they take stock have made very little, if any real progress towards their own to-do list. They have applied their best effort during the course of the day but have not really been productive and key priorities have been overlooked or missed altogether. This course looks at the ways in which we can more effectively sequence, organise and focus our approach to our work.

This course looks at the setting of standards of performance, managing under performance and providing constructive feedback. It provides the tools to effectively, fairly and consistently set, manage and feedback to members of our team regarding their performance at work.

Effective management and team leadership incorporates a wide range of skills, techniques and strategies. This practically-based course allows for the exploration, analysis and development of approaches that participants can immediately implement upon their return to the workplace. This course incorporates, the theory, practical applications and strategies necessary to develop confident, competent and effective team leaders and supervisors.

Whilst working in Teams, It is crucial that all team members have a breadth of skills which enable both roles to be covered in times of absence and for promotion opportunities when vacancies arise (succession planning).

This course provides the tools to effectively, fairly and consistently set, manage and feedback to members of a team regarding their performance at work.

A primary focus for children’s social care authorities, and so that they meet Ofsted requirements, is to ensure that managers carefully oversee casework assessments, plans and reviews so that these demonstrate timely and purposeful work with children. Good quality and consistent Management Oversight is essential so that an authority can deliver its service priorities. Following Ofsted inspections, lack of Management Oversight is commonly reported as being a major issue. To address this our Management Oversight training is absolutely specific and unique to each of our clients in the same way that the issues and work practices in that client’s service are also unique. Talking Life will work with you and your nominees as we design and deliver a development programme to your chosen audiences. Afterwards, we feed back to your organisation the voice of your delegates in order to ensure that all of your staff have an investment in establishing and maintaining meaningful Management Oversight. This is generally a one day programme of delivery, however it can be expanded to become a wider syllabus with a second day being added that addresses leadership and supervision development issues. You will see below the links that Ofsted make between Management Oversight and Supervision and you may feel this is an opportunity to embed both these modules within a wider Managers’ Development Programme that your Organisation might already have in place

A primary focus for children’s social care authorities, and so that they meet Ofsted requirements, is to ensure that managers carefully oversee casework assessments, plans and reviews so that these demonstrate timely and purposeful work with children. Good quality and consistent Management Oversight is essential so that an authority can deliver its service priorities. Following Ofsted inspections, lack of Management Oversight is commonly reported as being a major issue. To address this our Management Oversight training is absolutely specific and unique to each of our clients in the same way that the issues and work practices in that client’s service are also unique. Talking Life will work with you and your nominees as we design and deliver a development programme to your chosen audiences. Afterwards, we feed back to your organisation the voice of your delegates in order to ensure that all of your staff have an investment in establishing and maintaining meaningful Management Oversight. This is generally a one day programme of delivery, however it can be expanded to become a wider syllabus with a second day being added that addresses leadership and supervision development issues. You will see below the links that Ofsted make between Management Oversight and Supervision and you may feel this is an opportunity to embed both these modules within a wider Managers’ Development Programme that your Organisation might already have in place

This course supports members of staff who chair a variety of different types of meetings which all have the same theme in common, they are all sensitive meetings e.g. Adult & Child Protection Meetings, Safeguarding Meetings, HR Meetings, Disciplinary Meetings, Restructuring Consultation etc.

A course for delegates to build their Mentoring skills, learn new skills and create new behaviours to support apprentices and teams with personal career progression. Understand how to develop personal competencies and how not to develop unhealthy dependencies for the effective mentoring relationship. Develop objective measures to track effectiveness, develop awareness and responsibility in the coachee and boost morale and transform toxic attitudes into positive attitudes.

A course for participants to understand the change process as well as the pace of change and how we can control our journey positively. Also to become resilient and maintain a positive mindset throughout the whole process; to embrace and take an active part in the process every time. The course will enable participants to build the skills and confidence to enable them to self navigate through the change journey understanding how much control they have. They will develop resilience to positively embrace change and motivate themselves throughout and beyond.

Most people write business documents on a daily basis: emails, reports, meeting summaries, minutes or other business correspondence. Writing creatively and writing for business are two entirely different disciplines. You could be an amazing creative writer while making potentially serious mistakes when it comes to business communication. This 1 day course is a perfect introduction to the skills of articulate business communicators. Attendees will learn how to create business documents in Plain English that say what you mean and achieve the results you want. The course not only covers the basics of how to improve your writing skills but also how to achieve the right result from your written correspondence.

Bias is something that affects everyone, and shapes our experience of both the world and the people around us. Making a positive change starts with an acknowledgement that it does exist and the potential business impact of not taking action to rectify it. During this Bias Training session we will explore how both conscious and unconscious bias’ can affect our decisions regarding recruitment, selection, leadership, motivation and more.

When change takes place in any organisation, strong leadership is an important part of making sure changes are effective and as problem free as possible. The Aim of this workshop is to equip Managers with strategies to deliver change within their team whilst dealing with the emotional responses people have to change. It looks at the importance of communicating regularly with the team and at creating a Leading Change Action Plan to identify what needs to be done differently. It includes how to manage on stress and support the people within the team.

This training will provide delegates with all the tools that make a facilitator a ‘good facilitator’ as opposed to a ‘dictator’ by help to keep opinions and emotions at bay.

Managers and staff in many organisations are increasingly being asked to reach agreements with other departments, agencies, public or voluntary bodies about the provision of services & goods and the delivery of outcomes. This requires them to be effective in conducting negotiations to maintain standards, achieve improved results and deliver value for money. Many Organisations are relying less on Human Resources professionals to handle day to day employee relations issues. This requires line managers to conduct negotiations about local issues with employee representatives & trade unions. This course helps equip them with the negotiating skills needed. This course seeks to develop and apply negotiating skills, so participants are asked to come to this workshop with information about a negotiation they will be involved in or a negotiation they have handled recently.

This course will show participants how to better prioritise their work, create detailed time planners, overcome procrastination and take control

A course for managers to build their Coaching and Mentoring skills, learn new skills and create new behaviours to support their teams and personal career progression. Understand how to develop personal competencies and how not to develop unhealthy dependencies for the effective coaching relationship. Develop objective measures to track effectiveness, develop awareness and responsibility in the coachee and boost morale and transform toxic attitudes into positive attitudes

One of the most important roles a team leader, supervisor, line manager must perform is supporting their team members by providing supervision and guidance. This can be difficult to achieve especially when you are new to the role. In this course we will explore what is meant by Supervision. This course is aimed at identifying the key tasks to be performed in the supervision role.

We offer tailored 1:1 Direct Safeguarding Supervision Training sessions facilitated by trained supervisors for individual and group needs.

This course will provide participants with an insight into the available methods complimentary to, and instead of formal processes’ for conflict resolution; including skilled use of communication and questioning and identifying ‘people problems’ which could potentially become an issue for resolution. Particularly, but not limited to acquiring the skills to re-establish working relationships after a formal dispute has been resolved. This course will introduce participants to a range of skills, competencies and knowledge/experience that make up the mediator skill set. This includes, but is not limited to, Non-Violent Communication (NVC), Motivational Interviewing techniques and restorative conversations.

This two day Developing Effective Supervision Training programme (with the option of a third follow up day) aims to focus on the core knowledge and skills needed by supervisors working within a variety of settings in health and social care. For social work supervisors the content of the course is consistent with the approach to supervision set out within the employers standards.

Building a team presents the team leader with a few challenges. Differing personalities are an obvious challenge, but different age groups representing different generations bring their own differing needs and expectations. ‘Baby Boomers’ in the team, for instance, may have a different set of values from team members from the current Generation Alpha The aim of this course is to examine the different generations in terms of perception and expectations, in order to develop a better understanding of how teams with a wide age range can successfully work together

This course is designed to show and help team leaders understand their responsibilities to ensure that the workplace is one where all risks are minimised from cases of sexual harassment occurring. To do this, the trainer will get team leaders to explore and understand what is expected of them under company policy and UK law as well what is expected of them as part of their legal duty of care towards their teams. The session will help them understand what actions to take where they see inappropriate conduct taking place or if they receive a complaint directly. The session will also seek to dispel notions that there is a difference between banter and sexual harassment in the workplace as well as look at how our own psychological biases can influence and inadvertently support a culture where harassment can happen.

Managers often feel stressed trying to cope with both the demands of their senior managers as well as manage a team. The Aim of this workshop is to equip Managers with practical strategies to manage stress and build resilience in themselves and others. It also covers what steps managers can take to resolve any issues.

In a relaxed and informal atmosphere, participants will explore the role of supervision in social care and social work settings. It will examine the need for reflective and reflexive practice in social work and the skills of the supervisor in promoting this form of learning and development. It will also consider the disciplinary process if, for example, there has been a breach in the duty of care or there are professional capability issues and the role supervision has in this

As leader we are expected to be all things to all people, and we can only do with the support of the people with whom we work. However, the team is only as good as the way it is led. The purpose of this course is to explore methods to help you to develop high performing teams by providing clear objectives and guidance and providing feedback and support to team members to help them develop and grow.

This course aims to provide those who negotiate regularly as part of their role, with a broader range of skills and techniques to draw upon

This course aims to provide new managers and those aspiring to management, with skills and techniques to enable them to competent and successful managers

Delegates attending effective meetings management will regularly invest time Chairing either internal or external meetings. The course will challenge your current skills and other methods of making your meetings even more successful.

The purpose of this session is to review what is required when developing a Commissioning Report and identify specific points that should be included.

Getting the best out of people as a leader doesnt just involve the traditional skills of issuing orders and expecting others to follow. In the current workplace, its increasingly important for those from the top of the organisation to the bottom, to be able to work together, show respect and offer kindness. This is known as Compassionate Leadership, described as Leaders focussing on relationships through careful listening to, understanding, empathising with and supporting other people, enabling them to feel valued, respected and cared for, so they can reach their potential and perform at their best.

The aim of the course is to enhance and develop skills in working with complex cases. During the session we will consider a range of theories that support understanding of the types of behaviour that may be displayed in complex situations including hostility, aggression, disguised compliance and how to work effectively to minimise these. A range of tools will be shared from solution focused, restorative practice and motivational interviewing techniques to deal with resistance and support change work in complex cases. The course will provide models for ensuring involvement in case conferences and be very evidenced based in its approach.

This training will help participants learn how to delegate tasks and use effective delegation as a key development tool to motivate and challenge their people. It will identify all the considerations that need to be taken before, during and after a task has been delegated. This course aims to provide participants with the skills and confidence they need to develop this vital skill-set.

Coaching is a crucial tool for developing skills within your team members, to facilitate communication and overcome difficulties. This course provides a coaching framework and the key tools for supporting members of a team to develop themselves personally and professionally.

Effective communication is key to any business or organisation being able to function efficiently. The focus of this course is on improving the way delegates communicate information and instructions in the workplace.

Adaptive leadership is a set of tools and strategies you can use as a leader to overcome obstacles and change in an environment that is moving at a fast pace. It is based on the model devised by Ron Heifetz from Harvard University. Adaptive leadership is about observing the business and team and being able to adjust your style to meet the needs of the environment. It is a style that supports a time of change and using methods other than the one size fits all approach. Adaptive leadership helps to negotiate change and demonstrate innovation to cope with change and upheaval.

Emotional intelligence, hope, mindfulness, and compassion help a person reverse the damage of chronic stress and build great leadership relationships. The Positive and Negative Emotional Attractors inspire sustained, desired change and learning at many levels. Emotionally Intelligent leaders have great positive impact on their employees. High competency in communicating, influencing, motivating others, and managing emotions in the workplace thrust leaders to become mentors as well. Therefore, exceptional leadership calls for high emotional intelligence leaders that have sound judgment and reasoning. This course will focus on imparting emotional excellence skills to enable you to succeed as a distinctive leader. Delegates will gain insights and skills on how to be an emotionally intelligent leader. They will develop intrapersonal skills of self-awareness and self-regulation. They will also gain mastery of interpersonal skills of empathy and relational skills. Delegates will be exposed to the latest scientific breakthroughs in management science on the mastery of healthy emotions in a leader. They will learn the importance of managing body, mind and spirit so as to lead others in a holistic manner. Delegates will return to their organisations with skills to be excellent leaders.

In a relaxed and informal atmosphere, participants will explore the role of supervision in social care and social work settings. It will examine the need for reflective and reflexive practice in social work and the skills of the supervisor in promoting this form of learning and development. It will also consider the disciplinary process if, for example, there has been a breach in the duty of care or there are professional capability issues and the role supervision has in this.

This two-day intensive course provides an overview to the Project Manager’s /Associate Project Manager’s Role. It is based on the contents of the Project Management Qualification. It is an intensive course that provides a snapshot of what is involved in project management environment. This is an interactive course and case studies will be provided to help work with and use the tools as we work through the course. However, we often find that using a real example can be extremely supportive and enlightening for our learners. If you wish to bring an example to work through, provided we adhere to GDPR rules this is acceptable.

This course builds on the basic skills covered in our Introduction to Project Management Skills Course. However, if you have not attended that course this will not present a problem as there is a recap throughout the course.

This course is designed to help line managers identify strategies and approaches to managing cases of employee underperformance as well as providing background on the employment law basics. The course will equip learners with the skills to be able to informally and formally manage performance as well as place accountability with their staff for their own performance through adopting a coaching approach to performance. The course will look at why many employers accept average performance in the workplace and often deal with it incorrectly as misconduct. Learners will have the opportunity to work on real life case studies and practise the strategies learned in a safe environment.

This course provides a basic overview of what is meant by Project Management. The purpose is to provide participants with an insight into the world of projects and give them a basic grounding of what is involved

In this intensive Project Management course, you will learn best practice for Project Management, including scheduling, reporting and budgeting and all the areas you need to consider before taking on a project. The different methodologies such as PRINCE2, PMI and Agile are included

When change takes place in any organisation, strong leadership is an important part of making sure changes are effective and as problem free as possible. The Aim of this workshop is to equip Managers with strategies to deliver change within their team whilst dealing with the emotional responses people have to change. It looks at the importance of communicating regularly with the team and at creating a Leading Change Action Plan to identify what needs to be done differently. It includes how to manage on stress and support the people within the team.

Conflict in the workplace can be the source of much disruption and affect not just the productivity of the organisation but the wellbeing of those who work in it. This course aims to equip participants with the skills to deal with situations of conflict, whenever they arise and to be able to prevent escalation, as well as dealing with unacceptable verbal or non verbal aggression

This course will outline a model for managing change within a complex health setting, enable participants to understand the likely reactions to change and employ strategies to ensure effective implementation of change especially in the handling of others.

This course will enable participants to apply Mindfulness personally and professionally to reduce stress in everyday life, to understand how and why we think, feel and react to stress and to understand and practise mindful responses to stress. Mindfulness will help develop present moment awareness to see life differently, change unhelpful patterns and experience more choice.

This course is designed to examine the role of Leadership and Management. During the course you will gain an insight into the difference between the two disciplines. The aim of the course is to enable you to examine the skills and qualities of leadership and management and develop your understanding an atmosphere learning that is safe and enjoyable.

This one-day conflict awareness and verbal response training session helps participants to develop their insight into the reasons why we may encounter conflict in the workplace. In this De-escalation - A Proactive Approach to Conflict Training course we share simple and effective strategies for creating and maintaining safe working practices and environments.

Conflict is an intrinsic and inevitable part of our status as human beings. We will all encounter it in some form or other in both our personal and private life. When we are confronted by it there are usually two typical responses; we either tackle it head on or we avoid it completely. Both methods ultimately result in difficult times that can be painful, costly and uncomfortable where the outcome usually presents a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’. There is another way to approach these conflicts a way in which we can reach a win/win and collaborate to a successful conclusion for both people. This session will focus on bringing about an end to your conflict situations, cost-effectively and with as little discomfort as possible.

The course is designed to enable participants to develop a working knowledge of the importance of understanding and managing challenging behaviours in a variety of different workplaces.

he diversity within teams adds to both the richness of our work and improves the ways in which we can provide services to the people who access them. In this session we will be looking at the practical steps we can take in order to ensure the appropriateness and effectiveness of our own practice but also what we can instigate and maintain within our team in order to ensure that regardless of differences that people are treated with respect, understanding and dignity.