Managing Technical Teams

Please Note: This course is run over 5 days, split 3 days in one week and then 2 days following at least a 3 week gap.

It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, and how you’re led.’

Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple

Is managing a technical team the same as managing all teams? No, not always. There are nuances specific to the environment, people and pace that affect what is expected of you when managing a technical team.

Common concerns we hear from those who attend this course include:

How will I separate being a manager from being an expert?
How will I get the best out of individuals and produce a high performing technical team?
What are my strengths and those of my team, and how do I put them to best use?
How do I deal with the challenges that managing a technical team can bring?
How do I merge my technical and managerial skills for the greatest impact?

This thoroughly updated version of our classic workshop is based around up to date research about the most frequent challenges encountered by Technical Team managers, including what tech team members need from their managers, such as:

Meeting the challenges of stepping up into a management role from a tech/specialist background
Flexing your management style to avoid micro-management and delegate more
Establishing and maintaining trust
Understanding and working effectively with the mind-set of technical team members

It’s also a great introduction to the general challenges of management and leadership, supporting you wherever your career may take you.

This workshop uses powerful ideas, activities and specially designed technical team case studies to develop your management and leadership skills, helping you get the best from your technical team. You’ll also have the opportunity to share ideas and experience with technical team managers from other organisations.

It’s divided into 3 and 2 day sessions to help you minimize the impact on your work and to allow you more time to put your learning into practice.

Target Audience:

This course is aimed at first and second-line managers who lead technical teams in all kinds of organisations.

Pre-course Work

You’ll be asked to complete online Strength Deployment Inventory® and to capture your thoughts on being a technical team manager prior to attending the workshop.

You’ll also be provided with reading, team assessments and reflections around managing technical teams to complete between the first and second parts of the workshop.

What we’ll do:

Explore the challenges of managing and leading technical teams, identifying solutions
Develop greater awareness of ourselves and our team members so that we can improve communication, motivation and performance
Explore how to handle conflict more effectively
Examine how teams work and the role of trust in great team working
Set SMART goals and objectives to create clarity
Explore how to get the most from people with neurodiverse thinking styles
Identify how we can flex our leadership style to drive great performance
Discover how to empower people and delegate successfully
Tackle challenging feedback and conversations confidently

• Course content

  Day 1:

  Welcome and introductions
  Managing in the technical environment
  Leading and managing technical teams
  Strength Deployment Inventory® – Motivational Value Systems
  Learning review and close

  Day 2:

  Recap
  Strength Deployment Inventory® – Conflict Sequences
  How teams develop
  Technical team case study – developing the team
  Building trust
  Learning review and close

  Day 3:

  Recap
  Team dysfunctions
  Managing by outcomes
  SMART objective and goal setting
  Technical team case study – goal setting
  Learning review, action planning and close

  Three week break

  Day 4:

  Welcome back
  Review of intra-course reading
  Working with neurodiversity
  Situational Leadership®
  Motivating your team
  Empowering and developing people through Monkey Management®
  Learning review and close

  Day 5:

  Recap
  Nine steps of delegation
  Levels of Delegation
  Instant coaching
  Structuring positive conversations
  Technical team case study – feedback and positive conversations
  Learning review, action planning and course close