Management Development Program

Meeting the Challenge of Managing Well

Most organizations have a significant challenge when it comes to growing the supervisors and managers that are so critical to daily success. No organization can be successful without excellent supervisors and managers. A great CEO can’t do it alone. Outstanding senior executives are not effective without reliable, creative people initiating and implementing around them. The good news is this – help is available right here in southwest Michigan

Midwest Consulting Group is pleased to offer a long-term, multi-module Management Development Program designed especially for:

Smaller organizations with one or two levels of management who want to prepare for future growth and/or succession
Medium-size organizations with several management levels who want to begin a development program or enhance existing offerings
Larger organizations who want to supplement existing development programs

During the past 15 years, Midwest Consulting Group has created supervisor and management development programs that really work. While each program has been constructed for a specific client organization, certain common themes have emerged that are applicable to every organization. These common themes have been developed into a series of modular program topics available for the first to organization throughout southwest Michigan.

With nearly 25 years of experience in coaching, teaching, training and leading supervisors and managers, we have developed a process for success that delivers results – day in and day out. Supervisors and managers in organizations all over the country are stepping up, getting the job done, initiating, innovating, managing, leading and implementing. They are achieving great results, accomplishing challenging goals, delegating, developing their staff members and owning their jobs in support of their organizations.

Who Should Participate?

Companies that want to provide a well-rounded developmental path for new supervisors or managers.
Individuals who have been, or are about to be, promoted into management roles.
Individual managers who are facing new responsibilities or challenges and need to get “up to speed” in one or more areas.
Individuals or teams that need developmental attention in specific topics or areas.
Organizations without a formal in-house management development program that want their managers and supervisors to have a common body of knowledge about the profession of management.
Organizations with limited or technically focused in-house development programs that want to supplement their internal offerings.
Organizations that want to leverage their training dollars by obtaining multiple-registration discounts in return for a firm contract/commitment to provide a certain number of seats over the course of the year.

Course Modules

The following Course Modules are divided into two groups. Six Core Course Modules form the framework of a yearlong course; three Optional Course Modules may be selected based upon individual participant needs.

The Core Course includes participation in several assessments, including a 360-degree feedback process, to provide participants with behaviorally based data for their individual action plans.

The Core Course Modules equal 17 half-day (3.5 hours) sessions, for a total of approximately 60 hours. Individual modules may be arranged in a wide variety of sequences and arrangements to achieve maximum customization for in-house development programs. Several organizations can join together to create a comprehensive course serving the needs of all participants. A typical program might include all six core modules, the assessment and 360-degree feedback process, plus the choice of one optional module.

CORE COURSE MODULES	SESSIONS
Personal Productivity: the Keys to Success in a Complex World	3
Managing Employees for Performance and Accountability	2
360-degree Feedback Results	1
Communicating for Results	3
Coaching for Breakthrough Performance	3
Developing Your Staff for Bottom-Line Growth	2
Managing and Leading the Workforce of Tomorrow	3
Optional Modules
Hiring the Best and Avoiding the Rest	2
Building Successful Teams in Your Organization	2
Handling Conflict, Challenging Situations, and Difficult People	2

Course Module Content	Core Modules
Personal Productivity: The Keys to Success in a Complex World
BENEFITS:	3 Half-Days
Increase individual and team productivity Handle projects, tasks, and information quickly and more effectively Increase commitment to mission, vision, and values Improve accountability for results Increase clarity about professional and personal priorities, projects, and outcomes Develop motivation, satisfaction, and success in all aspects of your life
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTOR: Paul Knudstrup
In a time of sweeping change and increased demands, most of us face the reality of needing to do more with less. At the same time, the amount of information – electronic and paper – that comes into our businesses and our lives has increased dramatically. The daily need to “crank it out” frequently makes it difficult to get to our real professional and personal priorities. This module features a proven process for creating order out of chaos, systems out of clutter, and focus out of confusion. You will create your own system for successfully managing your work and your life – one that fits you!


Managing Employees for Productivity and Accountability
BENEFITS:	2 Half-Days
Discover a roadmap to a high-performing organization Improve productivity and performance Provide better feedback Increase staff motivation and commitment Create a pool of high-potential future leaders Delegate more successfully
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTOR: Paul Knudstrup
One of the major reasons for organizations, teams, and individual managers failing to reach the full potential is poor performance management. When was the last time you had a sub-par performer spontaneously heal on their own? Never! This module provides you with a solid grounding in performance management tools and techniques. You will focus on the individuals in your own team and construct a process for improving each person’s performance. Designed for those with active management responsibilities as well as those about to step up to that role, this module builds a roadmap to high performance.


Communicating for Results
BENEFITS:	3 Half-Days
Enhance your ability to get your point across Improve your active listening skills Increase the effectiveness of your written communications Give and get greater clarity in all your communications Increase E-mail effectiveness Understand differing communication styles
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTORS: Jan Anderson, Mike Busch, Paul Knudstrup
Managers and professionals often spend more than 80% of their day communicating. One recent national study showed an average of nearly 200 interactions every day! Poor communication skills derail more managers and executives than any other single cause. Less than 10% of any communication is the actual words used. This module series focuses on the communication skills so critical to success in a hands-on, practical manner. Improve your ability to communicate in all facets of your professional and personal life.


Coaching for Breakthrough Performance
BENEFITS:	3 Half-Days
Discover the power of simple, state of the art coaching techniques Engage and motivate employees to promote creativity and enhance business results Develop and retain valued staff and improve teamwork Improve leadership potential & promote-ability Increase commitment and value for team and organization Improve retention of high-potential employees Enhance communication and team effectiveness Practice skills and put them to immediate use at work
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTORS: Mary Jo Asmus
The business world is moving faster than ever and managers are increasingly being evaluated on their ability to improve results. More emphasis is being placed on a leader’s success at engaging and motivating employees in order to accelerate the pace. Coaching skills are a proven method and process for connecting the workforce and achieving or exceeding business goals. This experiential module will supply leaders with in-depth coaching competencies and improve their self-confidence as coaches. Participants will learn, practice, and receive feedback on their coaching skills in a safe classroom environment.


Developing Your Staff for Bottom-Line Growth
BENEFITS:	2 Half-Days
Learn how to assess employees current contribution and potential for success Discover the value of Emotional Intelligence for staff development Increase staff commitment and capabilities Improve team and organizational flexibility and contribution Create an Action Plan for individual and team development
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTORS: Mary Jo Asmus, Paul Knudstrup
Improving your team’s productivity and getting team members to perform more effectively is a key to success in today’s fast-moving world. The ability to develop your staff is recognized as a critical leadership competency. Managers who develop their staffs have lower turnover and a line of people wanting to work for them. Don’t let the lack of a staff developmental process hold you back in getting your job done. This module provides you with the tools and techniques needed to build a learning-focused team.


Managing and Leading the Workforce of Tomorrow
BENEFITS:	3 Half-Days
Increase your ability to manage a diverse workforce Utilize generational differences among workers to gain improved results Gain a firm grasp of what it takes to be successful today & tomorrow Improve your skills to form and lead a diverse team Increase retention of high-potential employees in a more competitive environment Finalize your personal action plan for ongoing growth, development and success
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTORS: Mary Jo Asmus, Paul Knudstrup
Diversity is real. Today’s workforce is becoming increasingly diverse. For the first time we have as many as four generations (Traditionalists, Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Y, and beyond) working within our organizations. The workforce is changing dramatically with widely differing cultural, ethnic, and language backgrounds. Successful managers and leaders must learn how to effectively work with, motivate, and manage people who are different than themselves. A single approach will not work in the organization of today and tomorrow; highly productive employees can and will “vote with their feet” if their needs are not met. This module will help you better understand and successfully guide a more diverse workforce.

Course Module Content	Optional Modules
Hiring the Best and Avoiding the Rest
BENEFITS:	2 Half-Days
Learn state-of-the-art recruiting and selection techniques Discover how to avoid the most common hiring mistakes Create a system to consistently hire and select successfully Help your organization meet fair employment legal guidelines Improve your ability to retain the best and the brightest Reduce turnover and improve employee morale
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTORS: Lawrence Pfaff
Even experienced managers struggle with the hiring and selection process. You can never know the outcome of your decision until the person actually performs on the job. However, you can increase your probability of hiring more successfully. This module provides you with practical, proven tools to improve your hiring and selection practices for positions at all levels. Participants will learn how to develop a hiring and selection process that fits their organization and improves the success of their hiring and promotion practices.


Building Successful Teams in Your Organization
BENEFITS:	2 Half-Days
Learn proven techniques for teambuilding Discover team problem solving processes that work Create your own high performance teams Enhance team communications Improve project management success Align team and organizational priorities
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTORS: Michael Busch, Paul Knudstrup
Developing effective teams is not rocket science. At the same time, an effective and successful team does not just happen by itself. Creating a team that gets the job done in the best way possible takes effort, attention to a myriad of issues, and careful planning. In this module we focus on what it takes to build a successful team – one that increases its effectiveness and capability over time. You will discover the fundamentals of good teamwork and chart a path to building your own high-performing team.


Handling Conflict, Challenging Situations, and Difficult People
BENEFITS:	2 Half-Days
Understand the causes of conflict Develop successful conflict management strategies and skills Learn effective negotiation skills to get what you want and need Increase your skills in solving problems quickly Improve your confidence in conflict situations Enhance individual and team productivity and success
DESCRIPTION	INSTRUCTOR: Michael Busch
Disagreements and problems to solve or resolve are a part of daily life in organizations. Understanding the positive as well as the negative aspects of conflict is the beginning of learning to handle conflict successfully. Much of our ability to manage disagreements productively stems from basic negotiation and conflict management skills. This module will help you create and improve your skills in conflict and problem solving situations. You will learn new ways to increase you own and your team’s productivity and results.

Schedule Options & Pricing
Modules can be delivered in half-day units or combined into one-day or 1.5 day units.
6 Core Modules + one Optional Module + 360-degree feedback process				$2,950
Individual Modules	3-Session Modules	$625	2-Session Modules	$395

Instructor Team Biographical Sketches

Paul Knudstrup is president of Midwest Consulting Group, Inc. He has been involved in training and development for more than 30 years, including six years as executive director of the Fetzer Business Development Center and the Business Research and Services Institute at Western Michigan University. He also has worked in fund development and operations management positions. Paul founded Midwest Consulting Group in 1990.

Paul’s personal areas of interest and expertise include organizational strategy, leadership, personal productivity, management development, action planning and executive coaching. Paul’s clients include a cross-section of organizational types: business, industry, government, education and nonprofits. In addition to working with corporate clients, Paul has served as a faculty member, speaker or workshop leader with various universities, including Boise State, George Washington, Penn State, San Diego State, Southern Methodist and Western Michigan..

Mary Jo Asmus is a leadership expert, executive/business consultant and coach. She partners with CEO’s, executives, professionals, teams, and business owners to support them in achieving their business goals. Her diverse global Fortune 500 background in human resources; research and development; organizational development; and business strategy allow her to provide valuable insights about individuals and organizational systems.

Mary Jo is a graduate and advisory board member of Corporate Coach University; is active in her profession as the President of the West Michigan Coaching Chapter, and is a member of the International Coach Federation. She coaches individual leaders and their teams in the areas of engaging and mobilizing individuals and teams; priority-setting; improved productivity; transition management; self awareness, increased emotional intelligence; career change; culture assimilation; and vision/mission/strategy development.

Michael Busch is a consultant, teacher, and author. His areas of special interest include strategic people management planning, management and leadership development, organizational development and training, in particular high performance team development and business communication. e was formerly a human resources executive with Herman Miller, Inc, where he was responsible for corporate training/development and sales/marketing training.

Dr. Busch teaches in the MBA program for Jones International University and has taught in the MBA program at Grand Valley State University and the Masters of Management program at Aquinas College. He has written extensively on linking strategic business planning with the management of people. He has been featured in Training magazine and is a frequent speaker for numerous organizations.

Lawrence Pfaff has acted as a consultant to more than 200 organizations. He works primarily in the areas of management and employee selection, test development, executive and management development, 360-degree feedback, team building, needs assessment, and performance appraisal. He is an associate professor of Psychology at Spring Arbor University and is a former dean of the business school at Aquinas College. He has also taught for the Stryker Center for Management Studies at Kalamazoo College, and has taught graduate classes at Western Michigan University.

Dr. Pfaff is author of the SELECTPro® Selection Interview handbook, software and training program and is nationally known as an authority on behavioral interviewing. He is the author of several widely used 360-degree feedback assessments designed to assess developmental needs of individuals and groups. His assessments have been used by more than 400 organizations around the world.

Jan Andersen is the owner and president of Beyond Words, Inc., an organizational communications consulting firm based in Kalamazoo. She has nearly 25 years of experience in both nonprofit and for-profit corporate communications, with expertise in communications strategic planning and implementation, public relations, marketing communications, grant development, writing and editing. She also teaches business writing and corporate communications skills.

She previously held communications positions with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, served as the first communications officer for the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo; created the editorial unit in the Detroit office of Towers Perrin, an international consulting firm; and worked in the human resources and publications departments at Western Michigan University.

Contact Information

For more information about The Management Development Program, please contact Midwest Consulting Group.

Paul Knudstrup
President
Midwest Consulting Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 50606
Kalamazoo, MI 49005-0606
Phone: 269-624-1940

Contact us today to discuss how this modular program approach can work for you!