Laura Slater_The Management Centre Learning

We are a training consultancy that delivers management, leadership and performance programmes to organisations within the non profit sector. All of our training work is rooted in tools and approaches that have been shown to work in charities, non-profits, public bodies, higher education, arts and housing organisations.

We have been working for and with charities, not-for-profit and third sector organisations for over 30 years. Throughout that time we have focused on providing practical support and outstanding customer service. The experience of working with managers, leaders and their teams within these sectors has given us a clear understanding of the challenges they face. All our training programmes are designed with these challenges in mind. Participants gain skills they can apply to their work immediately, and the confidence to do so. We care deeply about the missions of the organisations we work with, and how we can enable their teams to deliver them.

Our business is a small but impactful organisation. We are employee owned and female led. Our consultants and senior consultants are all employed staff, and we aim to be a great place to work. Our Directors are also employed, and are Principal Consultants, which means they deliver programmes too. We also work closely with our Partner Consultants who offer specialist skills when you need them. This means you can expect the same support, commitment and care no matter who your trainer is.

We offer training that can be provided in house or through our public programmes. Training can be delivered in person or online through zoom. 

Topics we cover include:

Management Development 

Our Management programmes are designed to offer participants a high-energy overview to their role as a manager. The programme emphasises the roles and responsibilities they have as managers and is designed to increase their confidence in essential management skills. It has a strong base in contemporary management thinking combined with practical exploration of management issues. Key topics covered include: 

• being confident and consistent in their management approach, flexing style effectively and with consistency to provide more effective direction and support to individuals and teams
• know when to direct, when to advise, when to coach and when to step back
• give and receive constructive behavioural feedback
• promote high performance and develop others
• address poor performance quickly and effectively with greater confidence using a structured approach

Leadership

The programme is designed to boost leadership performance, increase awareness as a leader and help participants to lead and inspire others to greater results in more empowering ways.

Our leadership programmes focus specifically on leadership techniques, rather than management tools. It is based around the Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practices Inventory, which emphasises the need to build long-term sustainability as well as achieve results. The programme has a strong base in contemporary leadership thinking combined with practical exploration of leadership issues. Learning takes place through feedback, group activities, exploration of theory and reflection on the participants’ own work situations. The programme can cover topics such as

• key leadership behaviours and skills
• the importance of balancing management and leadership
• understanding strengths and weaknesses as a strategic leader using self-analysis and feedback from their manager, peers and line reports
• thinking big picture and create a strategic direction for their work
• inspiring and engaging others in their work
• promoting a culture of challenge and innovation, and identify areas for improvements
• building sustainability by encouraging and enabling others
• planning their future leadership development based on Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practices Inventory

Time Management and Managing Multiple Priorities

This programme is designed to offer a series of models and tools which are especially suitable for managing time in high pressure environments. There is a strong focus on results and what’s called the results philosophy.  Throughout the programme, participants work on real life-work challenges. By the end of the programme participants will be able to: 

• diagnose their own effectiveness
• identify their personal ‘time thieves’
• set and prioritise short- and long-term goals
• balance and plan urgent and important work
• deal more successfully with challenges to effectiveness
• plan for effective working on a daily basis
• schedule tasks to achieve results
• be able to say ‘no’ appropriately

Project Management

This programme is based around a model – the =mc Systems Model. This project framework has the flexibility to be applied to small, straightforward projects and large, more complex projects. The programme covers key skill and knowledge areas for planning and managing projects. Key topics covered include: 

• understanding the characteristics of projects and project management frameworks
• understanding the roles of project sponsor and project manager
• scoping out projects more effectively for better results
• creating a rationale for their project
• setting measurable results and success criteria
• identifing and prioritise stakeholders
• assessing and respond to risk
• using project management tools to gain control over projects
• monitoring and evaluating projects

Essential Influencing Skills

Participants are introduced to practical tools and techniques drawn from social psychology and behavioural heuristics. They will be able to recognise others’ preferences, adapt accordingly and re-frame information and ideas to win others over. The result will be a more confident approach in a range of situations. The programme is aimed at those looking to build their confidence in influencing with others and will include:

• identifying clear intended outcomes for an influencing situation
• understand other people’s perspectives in influencing situations.
• develop greater awareness about others’ communication preferences
• identify how to adapt their influencing approach to different people
• apply tools and techniques to improve impact when influencing others