Identifies and evaluates the skills required by (aspiring) team leaders/first line managers to be effective in their role. Participants evaluate their own learning styles, reflect on feedback opportunities, and undertake a personal skills audit.

The learning provides a valuable foundation on which to build and implement a personal development plan that will be of practical use in advancing both workplace effectiveness and individual careers.

Helps participants become more effective leaders. Encourages the development of teams that routinely meet targets, work efficiently, and reflect well on the organisation.

Considers what makes a team effective, leading the team, and motivational factors that underpin team performance. Participants explore in a practical way some notable theories of direct relevance and, importantly, draw on their own work situations to support and apply the learning.

Examines principal methods of workplace communication to reduce confusion, minimise errors, lessen stress, and save time. Participants develop an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each method so that they can communicate more effectively.

Considers information flows and the attributes of management information systems as factors in promoting workplace efficiency. Also reviews information access and security regulations that impact on local authorities.

Helps to reduce customer dissatisfaction by exploring principles underpinning customer service. Identifies the holistic nature of customer service and reviews perceptions of service quality. This helps participants and their teams better understand customer expectations and service delivery so that effectiveness can be improved.

Identifies how to plan and control work successfully, including key stages, system concepts, and the role of performance standards. Provides practical steps to achieve delegation that supports efficiency and job enrichment.

The learning promotes workplace effectiveness by encouraging better work organisation and optimising value from staff (and other) resources.

Helps participants achieve an efficient and effective team by highlighting their potential to deliver optimum value from resources. Broadens narrow interpretations of resources to highlight the scope for improvements in the workplace.

Explores physical resources, the stages involved in effective planning, and the primary issues involved in management. Reviews financial resources from the perspective of different approaches to budgeting. Identifies major provisions of health and safety regulation to clarify responsibilities that influence the role of team leader/first line manager.

Explores principles of change as a basis for helping participants lead, support, and implement change successfully. Reviews major initiatives aimed at enhancing levels of local government service and examines implications for a participant's own services.

Also investigates the drive towards local e-government both to assess its impact and to evaluate opportunities that will help in the workplace.

The learning provides a valuable perspective on the challenges facing local government and facilitates a supportive and proactive response from participants.