Professional Management Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Newly appointed Manager, Operations Manager 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-165

Before you join: Participants should have experience supervising work, coordinating colleagues, managing projects or contributing to team delivery.

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

Professional managers are expected to convert organisational targets into reliable delivery while maintaining standards, developing people and dealing constructively with competing demands. The difficult work sits between strategy and daily operations: deciding what matters, setting clear expectations, delegating without losing control, and addressing poor performance before it affects customers, colleagues or risk exposure. Managers also need credibility with senior leaders, peers and their own teams when priorities shift or conflict emerges.

This five-day Professional Management Skills Training Course develops the practical management discipline expected of an established or newly appointed manager. Participants work through objective setting, planning, delegation, communication, coaching, performance management, problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, change leadership and team effectiveness. They apply SMART objectives, OKRs, RACI, GROW coaching, SBI feedback, RAPID decision rights, ADKAR change planning and Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes. The result is a clearer method for translating priorities into accountable action, holding productive conversations and making timely, evidence-based decisions.

Instruction combines short tutor briefings with realistic management cases, facilitated group work, role simulations and individual application planning. Cases can reflect public services, financial services, NGOs, corporate functions or operational teams, depending on the cohort. Participants receive feedback on their choices and communication approach, then assemble a practical management toolkit. They leave with a 90-day management plan, delegation brief, team charter, performance conversation planner and other reusable templates, plus a certificate of completion. Delivery is classroom-based in 50+ cities or live online; each day runs 08:30–16:30 with approximately 6.5 contact hours.

What you will be able to do

  • Set team objectives using SMART criteria, OKRs and measurable performance indicators
  • Assign decision rights and accountability using RACI and RAPID frameworks
  • Delegate work through clear outcome, authority, support and review agreements
  • Conduct structured feedback, coaching and performance conversations using SBI and GROW
  • Diagnose operational problems using Five Whys, fishbone diagrams and risk registers
  • Resolve workplace conflict using interest-based negotiation and Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes
  • Plan team change using ADKAR, stakeholder analysis and adoption measures
  • Produce a 90-day management plan with priorities, milestones and accountability measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence conducting difficult performance and feedback conversations
  • A repeatable method for prioritising competing managerial demands
  • Clearer delegation that develops staff without surrendering accountability
  • Stronger credibility when presenting recommendations to senior stakeholders
  • A practical 90-day plan for improving personal management effectiveness

For your organisation

  • More consistent objective setting, follow-through and performance accountability
  • Earlier resolution of performance concerns, delivery risks and team conflicts
  • Improved delegation that reduces bottlenecks around senior managers
  • Better cross-functional decisions through defined roles and escalation routes
  • Managers better prepared to sustain change after new processes or priorities launch

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define their management accountabilities, decision boundaries and stakeholder responsibilities.

  • Managerial role transition: accountability, authority, boundaries and stakeholder expectations
  • Management versus leadership: setting direction while maintaining operational control
  • Mintzberg’s managerial roles used to diagnose competing daily demands
  • RACI matrices clarifying decision rights, consultation routes and approval ownership
  • Stakeholder mapping by influence, interest, expectations and communication requirements
  • Personal leadership purpose linked to team and organisational priorities

Participants can translate organisational priorities into measurable team plans and management routines.

  • SMART objectives translated into observable outputs, measures, deadlines and ownership
  • OKR structure connecting team outcomes, key results and quarterly priorities
  • Balanced Scorecard perspectives distinguishing financial, customer, process and capability measures
  • Leading and lagging indicators selected for controllable team performance
  • Weekly management cadence combining priorities, risks, decisions and follow-up
  • Workload capacity assessed through demand, available hours and critical constraints
  • Escalation thresholds defined for exceptions exceeding delegated authority limits

Participants can delegate work with appropriate authority, support, control points and accountability.

  • Situational Leadership II matching direction and support to readiness
  • Task analysis separating outcomes, constraints, authority and competence requirements
  • Delegation brief using outcome, boundaries, resources, checkpoints and escalation points
  • Delegation levels calibrated from instruction through recommendation to full authority
  • Control points scheduled without replacing accountability or undermining ownership
  • Post-delegation review identifying learning, corrective action and future autonomy

Participants can communicate priorities clearly and hold constructive feedback conversations.

  • Audience analysis identifying concerns, evidence needs, decisions and preferred channels
  • Message maps structuring headline, supporting arguments, evidence and required action
  • Active listening with paraphrasing, probing questions and accurate summarisation
  • SBI feedback distinguishing situation, behaviour and measurable impact
  • Feedforward requests converting criticism into specific future behaviour
  • Structured one-to-ones covering performance, wellbeing, development and obstacles
  • Briefing senior stakeholders using purpose, options, recommendation and decision sought

Participants can improve performance through clear standards, coaching and documented follow-up.

  • Performance standards translated into observable behaviours, outputs and service measures
  • Expectations reset through evidence-based conversations and documented agreements
  • GROW coaching sequence: goal, reality, options and way forward
  • Coaching questions that build reflection rather than manager-led solutions
  • Performance gaps diagnosed as skill, will, resource or clarity issues
  • Development plans combining 70-20-10 learning actions and review dates
  • Recognition matched to contribution, preferences and organisational policy

Participants can analyse problems, compare options and document sound management decisions.

  • Decision rights mapped using RAPID roles for major cross-functional choices
  • Problem statements separating symptoms, causes, constraints and desired outcomes
  • Five Whys analysis tracing recurring failures to process causes
  • Fishbone diagrams testing people, process, technology and policy contributors
  • Weighted decision matrices comparing options against agreed criteria
  • Risk registers recording likelihood, impact, controls, owners and review dates
  • Decision logs documenting rationale, assumptions, dissent and follow-up actions

Participants can address disagreement directly while protecting working relationships and delivery commitments.

  • Thomas-Kilmann modes selected according to stakes, relationships and time pressure
  • Interest-based negotiation separating positions from underlying needs and concerns
  • Conflict conversations prepared with facts, impact, requests and boundaries
  • Emotional triggers recognised before responding to challenging behaviour
  • De-escalation language reducing defensiveness while retaining clear expectations
  • Informal resolution distinguished from formal grievance and disciplinary procedures
  • Cross-functional agreements specifying handoffs, service levels and escalation routes

Participants can plan manager-led change communications, support adoption and respond to resistance.

  • Change impact assessment identifying affected groups, processes, skills and risks
  • ADKAR model addressing awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement
  • Change messages tailored for sponsors, managers, employees and external partners
  • Resistance diagnosed as loss, uncertainty, workload, trust or capability concerns
  • Stakeholder engagement plan sequencing communications, consultation and local support
  • Transition milestones monitored through adoption indicators and feedback loops
  • Visible sponsorship demonstrated through consistent managerial decisions and behaviours

Participants can establish team conditions that support clarity, participation, trust and delivery.

  • Tuckman stages used to anticipate forming, storming, norming and performing needs
  • Team charter defining purpose, membership, roles, norms and decision rules
  • Psychological safety supported through inquiry, candour and respectful challenge
  • Meeting architecture establishing agenda, participation, decisions, actions and records
  • Remote team routines balancing synchronous discussions and asynchronous updates
  • Team health indicators reviewing trust, workload, conflict and delivery quality
  • Inclusive participation techniques preventing dominance and surfacing dissenting views

Participants can convert course learning into a focused and accountable management development plan.

  • Personal management diagnostic identifying strengths, recurring risks and development priorities
  • Stakeholder feedback interpreted against role expectations and performance evidence
  • 90-day management plan sequencing team, process and relationship actions
  • Implementation milestones assigned measures, dates, support and accountability
  • Peer accountability arrangements maintaining commitment after course completion
  • Reflective practice using after-action reviews and weekly learning logs
  • Development conversations planned with line manager and key stakeholders

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

What you take back to work

  1. 90-day management action plan
  2. Delegation brief template
  3. Team charter template
  4. Performance conversation planner
  5. Stakeholder engagement plan
  6. Decision and risk register

Who should attend

  • Newly appointed Manager — needs a reliable structure for leading former peers and delivering through others
  • Operations Manager — requires stronger control of priorities, performance, risks and service delivery
  • Team Leader — needs practical methods for delegation, feedback and daily people management
  • Project Manager — must coordinate stakeholders, resolve issues and maintain accountability without direct authority
  • Functional Supervisor — needs to turn departmental goals into clear individual and team commitments
  • Aspiring Manager — wants practical preparation before taking formal responsibility for people and budgets

Skills and tools covered

Team performance managementDelegation and accountabilityCoaching conversationsManagerial decision-makingConflict resolutionChange implementation

Tools and standards

RACI, GROW Model, Situational Leadership II, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by realistic management cases, group analysis, communication practice and decision simulations. Participants work with scenarios involving operational targets, underperformance, stakeholder disagreement, change resistance and competing priorities. Tutors provide structured feedback against named models such as GROW, SBI, RACI and ADKAR. Individual application planning connects the course methods to each participant’s team, current responsibilities and immediate management challenges.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience supervising work, coordinating colleagues, managing projects or contributing to team delivery. They should be familiar with their organisation’s basic objectives, reporting arrangements and performance expectations, and be prepared to discuss realistic management situations from their role. Prior formal management training is not required. The course does not require a business degree, financial qualification or specialist human resources knowledge. It is suitable for managers with direct reports and for managers who lead through projects, matrix teams or operational coordination.

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 experience coordinating work, supervising colleagues or contributing to team delivery. Formal management training is not required, and the course is suitable for both newly appointed and established managers.

Bring examples of current management challenges, such as a difficult performance issue, a change initiative or competing team priorities. You may also bring your organisation's objective-setting, appraisal or delegation forms if these are available.

The course is designed for managers, team leaders, supervisors, project managers and aspiring managers with responsibility for delivery through others. It is relevant to public sector, banking, NGO, corporate and operational management roles.

This course concentrates on the day-to-day management disciplines that turn direction into delivery: objectives, delegation, performance, decisions, meetings and follow-up. Leadership approaches are included where they help managers influence people and sustain change.

Participants use their own role and team context when preparing management plans and communication approaches. The reusable templates can be adapted for one-to-ones, delegation, team meetings, decision records and change communications after the course.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides approximately 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group work, communication simulations, feedback and individual application planning.

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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