People Management and Team Leadership Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends New Managers, Team Leaders and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LD-145

Before you join: Participants should have some experience supervising staff, coordinating colleagues or leading work through a project team.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

New and experienced managers are often promoted because of technical performance, then expected to set direction, build trust, address poor performance, resolve conflict and keep delivery on track through other people. The challenge is not knowing that these responsibilities matter; it is handling them consistently when priorities compete, team members differ in capability and motivation, and difficult conversations cannot be postponed.

This course develops the practical management disciplines required to lead a team day to day. Participants learn to establish role clarity, adapt their management style, set measurable expectations, delegate with appropriate controls, coach for performance and conduct direct feedback conversations. The programme also covers motivation, psychological safety, conflict resolution, performance improvement, team decision-making and leading people through change. Participants use GROW, SBI, RACI and Thomas-Kilmann to structure conversations and management decisions.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases, small-group analysis, management simulations, peer feedback and individual application planning. Cases reflect common leadership situations: a capable employee missing deadlines, a conflict between operational teams, a newly formed hybrid team, and a performance concern requiring documented action. Participants leave with a personal people-management action plan, a delegation map, conversation templates and a performance-management toolkit they can use with their own team. The five-day course is available in classrooms in more than 50 cities or live online, with training days running from 08:30 to 16:30. Participants who complete the course receive a certificate of completion.

The course suits supervisors, team leaders, managers and technical specialists who now carry formal responsibility for people. It is particularly useful for managers who need a clearer structure for leading teams while meeting operational, service, project or regulatory commitments.

What you will be able to do

  • Set clear team expectations using role charters, SMART objectives and decision rights
  • Adapt management style using situational leadership readiness assessment
  • Delegate work through RACI roles, authority limits and follow-up controls
  • Conduct feedback conversations using the SBI model and active listening techniques
  • Coach employees towards solutions using the GROW conversation structure
  • Address underperformance through evidence-based performance improvement plans
  • Resolve workplace conflict using Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode analysis
  • Produce a 90-day people-management action plan for an assigned team

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence conducting direct, respectful performance and feedback conversations
  • A repeatable method for delegating without losing visibility of critical work
  • Clearer judgment on when to coach, direct, support or involve senior management
  • Practical language for handling conflict, resistance and difficult team dynamics
  • A documented 90-day plan for improving own management habits and team results

For your organisation

  • More consistent expectation-setting and accountability across frontline management teams
  • Earlier identification and correction of performance gaps before delivery failures escalate
  • Better delegation of operational work without unclear ownership or duplicated effort
  • Fewer unresolved interpersonal conflicts affecting service, projects and retention
  • Stronger manager capability to sustain team performance during change initiatives

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define their management remit and establish a deliberate approach to leading others.

  • Manager accountabilities, authority boundaries and psychological contract expectations
  • Transitioning from individual contributor through the first 90 days
  • Role clarity using purpose, outputs, decision rights and interfaces
  • Management style diagnosed through situational leadership readiness levels
  • Trust deposits and withdrawals in everyday managerial interactions
  • Personal leadership principles translated into observable management behaviours

Participants can translate organisational priorities into clear team expectations and individual commitments.

  • Team purpose connected to customer, operational and strategic requirements
  • SMART objectives written with measures, deadlines and quality criteria
  • Cascading goals from team outcomes to individual accountabilities
  • Role charters defining responsibilities, interfaces and escalation points
  • RACI matrices for shared work, approvals and delivery handoffs
  • Weekly management rhythms for priorities, progress and obstacle removal

Participants can communicate expectations clearly and hold feedback conversations that lead to action.

  • Active listening through paraphrasing, clarifying questions and summarising
  • SBI feedback structured around situation, behaviour and impact
  • Feedforward requests focused on future choices and observable actions
  • Direct messages framed with purpose, evidence and required action
  • Question funnels moving from broad exploration to specific commitments
  • Communication channels selected by urgency, sensitivity and audience needs

Participants can delegate meaningful work while retaining appropriate oversight and accountability.

  • Delegation levels matched to capability, risk and decision authority
  • Task briefs specifying outcomes, constraints, resources and review points
  • RACI assignments separating accountable owners from consulted contributors
  • Control points agreed without creating unnecessary approval delays
  • Decision rights clarified for routine, exceptional and high-risk matters
  • Follow-up conversations testing progress, learning and support requirements

Participants can identify motivation drivers and create conditions for constructive team contribution.

  • Motivation diagnosis using autonomy, mastery, purpose and fairness
  • Recognition linked to specific contributions, standards and team values
  • Psychological safety built through curiosity, candour and respectful challenge
  • Individual preferences discussed without making unsupported personality assumptions
  • Workload signals identified before fatigue, disengagement and errors increase
  • Inclusive meeting practices that draw out quieter team members

Participants can use structured coaching conversations to build capability and ownership.

  • GROW coaching conversations from goal definition through committed action
  • Coaching questions that separate facts, assumptions, options and choices
  • Development needs assessed through current performance and future role demands
  • Strengths-based development linked to stretch assignments and feedback
  • Learning plans with milestones, evidence and manager support actions
  • Mentoring, training and job rotation selected for identified gaps

Participants can address performance concerns fairly, promptly and with documented follow-through.

  • Performance gaps defined through agreed standards, evidence and consequences
  • Difficult conversations prepared with facts, purpose and desired outcomes
  • DESC scripts for describing concerns and requesting behaviour change
  • Performance improvement plans containing actions, milestones and review dates
  • Documentation records facts, agreements, support offered and next steps
  • Human resources escalation triggered by policy, risk and procedural requirements

Participants can diagnose conflict sources and intervene constructively before work is damaged.

  • Conflict sources separated into task, process, relationship and values
  • Thomas-Kilmann modes matched to stakes, urgency and relationship importance
  • Interest-based negotiation distinguishes underlying needs from stated positions
  • Ground rules protect respectful disagreement during high-pressure discussions
  • Mediation conversations establish facts, perspectives, options and agreements
  • Repairing trust after missed commitments, disrespect or communication breakdowns

Participants can sustain team coordination and commitment during operational or organisational change.

  • Tuckman stages used to anticipate team development needs
  • Change messages explain rationale, impact, support and next actions
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies supporters, resistors and affected groups
  • Resistance explored through concerns, losses, uncertainty and practical barriers
  • Team rituals adjusted for hybrid, remote and cross-functional coordination
  • After-action reviews capture lessons, decisions and improvement commitments

Participants can build a practical 90-day plan for applying people-management methods with their team.

  • Management calendar scheduled around one-to-ones, reviews and team meetings
  • One-to-one agendas balancing delivery, wellbeing, development and feedback
  • Team dashboard tracks goals, workload, risks and capability priorities
  • Personal trigger analysis identifies behaviours that weaken management effectiveness
  • Stakeholder commitments secured for support, feedback and accountability
  • Ninety-day action plan prioritises three measurable management improvements

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Team role charter template
  2. RACI delegation matrix
  3. SBI feedback conversation guide
  4. GROW coaching worksheet
  5. Performance improvement plan template
  6. 90-day people-management action plan

Who should attend

  • New Managers — need a practical structure for leading former peers and direct reports
  • Team Leaders — must coordinate daily delivery, performance and team relationships
  • Supervisors — require consistent methods for directing work and addressing conduct
  • Project Managers — lead contributors without relying solely on formal authority
  • Technical Specialists — are moving into first-line people-management responsibilities
  • Experienced Managers — want to improve feedback, delegation and team performance discipline

Skills and tools covered

Performance managementDelegation and accountabilityCoaching conversationsConflict resolutionTeam motivationChange leadership

Tools and standards

GROW model, SBI feedback model, RACI matrix, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce management methods, followed by cases, group analysis, simulations and structured reflection. Participants practise setting expectations, delegating work, giving feedback, coaching employees and responding to conflict. Scenarios are adapted to participant roles and may include service delivery, project teams, operational supervision or professional functions. Peer observation and instructor feedback focus on specific management behaviours. Individual application planning connects each method to a current team priority and produces usable materials for return to work.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have some experience supervising staff, coordinating colleagues or leading work through a project team. They should understand their organisation’s basic reporting structure, performance expectations and workplace policies. Bringing one current people-management situation, such as a delegation issue, team conflict or performance concern, will help with application planning. Prior formal leadership training is not required. The course does not require prior study of psychology, human resources, employment law or coaching qualifications. It is not designed as a substitute for organisation-specific legal, disciplinary or human resources advice.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have some responsibility for supervising people, coordinating work or leading a project team. No previous leadership qualification is required, but familiarity with workplace performance expectations will help.

Participants should bring details of one current management challenge, without sharing confidential personal information. Examples include a delegation problem, a difficult conversation, team conflict or an employee development need.

It is designed for new and established managers, supervisors, team leaders and technical specialists with people responsibilities. Project managers who lead through influence will also benefit from the communication, coaching and accountability methods.

This course concentrates on daily people-management responsibilities: setting expectations, delegating, coaching, feedback, performance and conflict. General leadership courses may focus more on strategy, organisational vision or executive influence.

Participants leave with templates and a 90-day action plan linked to their own team. They can use the tools in one-to-ones, team meetings, performance reviews, delegation discussions and change communications.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group work, simulations, feedback and individual planning across ten teaching modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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