Team Lead Master Class

Would you like to have an extremely productive and happy team that makes you and your manager look good, without adding workload, so that you can provide incredible taxpayer value and deliver the job you were meant to?

This was one of the best courses I have taken in my 10 year career with the GOA. Ferenc provided an in-depth training on fundamental principles of being a leader within the GOA structure. His approach is very thorough and could be applied to any role. Ferenc has opened my mind to many helpful tips and tricks on improving my productivity and the bonus mentorship calls were a plus! I am already noticing better results in my work. I highly recommend this to anyone seeking to further their career development, generate better habits and refine their processes.

Tara Stephens

District Recreation Engagement Officer

Government of Alberta

Let me tell you how this started....

In my career with the Government of Alberta, I rose up through the ranks and got to be a low-level manager. I ran a fairly small team of high-end staff. I even took the Management Development Program at considerable expense to the department and it helped, a little....

...but I wasn't happy and I never realized that I wasn't very good!

So I left to pursue a business building websites.

That didn't go so well either.

So in desperation, I shelled out $5,000 US and hired a top-notch business coach. I went through hours of group coaching with him and had a number of one-on-one calls to go over my personal situation. I even flew to Florida to attend a retreat of his. Turns out, in the one-on-one calls, that the business I had entered was over-saturated with competition and he recommended I pick something else.

But it was during the group calls that I can remember saying to myself over and over "If only I had known that when I was in government!".

Long story short, I re-entered government as a seasonal worker and I started implementing some of the strategies I had learned and there was instant improvement. It wasn't long before I was back in a full-time position leading a team, but this time I was much better at it. Some of the things that happened:

Despite having significant vacancies when I started, my team out-produced every other team in the province in several of the top core-business areas for multiple years.
We provided much improved client service.
We reduced our workload backlog by 80% (we didn't even know what we had for a workload backlog. when I started).
I had other team leads, their staff and their managers calling me for advice.
I received several deputy minister awards.
I was nominated by a manager (not even my manager) for another deputy minister award.
I had team members who were skeptical of some of the changes, completely buy-in after seeing results.
I've had other staff say "I want to work for you". Or "I wish my team lead would..."

and my personal favorite...
My staff were much happier.

And then I had a couple of staff ask me to recommend training for them to build the same skill sets I had. I thought about that a bunch.

I couldn't really send them to the same business coaching I had because:

I was very doubtful we had $10,000 US (today's cost) for people to take the same coaching I did.
He doesn't work with government employees.

Plus there was a lot of other courses and experiences I've had over and above his coaching that built my skill set. Over 90% of it was not in the government course catalog.

So I developed my own program for them.

I took the best of the best and threw out the rest of all the stuff I have taken over the years and started delivering the exact stuff that I've used to make my team and program better. And part way through it, one of the people I was coaching said "you really should retire and teach this full time". I retired a few months later.

I took what I had delivered and completely rebuilt it from scratch adding in (a lot) more content as well as covering off some of the questions my original students had. Here's how it looks:

The ability to be a good leader is 50% in your DNA and 50% of what you learn and incorporate.

That means even if you don't believe you were born to be a leader, you can still be pretty darn good.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL GET

Core Training

I deliver group training online, through Microsoft Teams to keep the cost down. This happens over 4 full days - 0830-1600.

All sessions are recorded in case you have to miss one.

I believe that to be a truly effective team lead, you need to take a holistic approach and to do that we start with a good foundation and building up.

We start with You, then move on to better business approaches, building a highly effective team and, finally, getting that team to perform. All modules will have discussion time with me to answer any questions.

Module 1 - All About You

The book "The E-Myth Revisited" follows the story of a successful baker who starts a pie shop and fails miserably. The reason - a good baker doesn't necessarily have the required skills to be a successful business owner. It's the same way with being a team lead or manager - just because you were good at the job you are now supervising, doesn't make you naturally good at supervising. And even if you are pretty good, I can show you things to make you even better.

Module 1 is about getting you those skills. Here's just some of the topics we cover:

- Mindset - can't use your old way of thinking. - Aptitude - what it takes to make a good team lead. - Using the Kolbe A Index - to understand how you work & make your life easier. - Your (new) job - working on the business vs. working in the business. - Core business - what it is and isn't. - Government priorities & why they matter to you. - Areas of Focus - how much time to spend on each. - "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" - overview and implementation. - Mindfullness (not meditation). - Looking and acting like a leader. - Empathetic listening - how to listen better. - Better communications - talking to others the way they want to be talked to. - Influence and negotiation - or "How to get buy-in". - Better decision making. - Appreciation mastery - taking recognition to the next level. - Mentors, masterminds & accountability partners - how to accelerate your success. - Fears - do they limit you & how to overcome. - and more...

Module 2 - All About Business

"Government isn't business and you can't run it like one!" 100% NOT TRUE. There's many things in government that can be run like a business. I will show you how to use a manufacturing concept to get firefighters on the line faster, or approvals done quicker.

Module 2 is about using modern business concepts to improve productivity, quality and happiness. Here's some of the topics:

- Adapting business principles to government - Risks of doing a poor job - it's more than just a bad performance agreement. - Client focus - how to make it work. - Politics - how politics influences your business. - Letters of Direction - why you need to read and understand them. - 5 essential business components - and what happens if you miss any. - Working effectively with your manager. - Mission and values - brought down to a team level. - Systems - what they are and how to create great ones. - SWOT for beginners - Business and process Improvement (this is HUGE) - Reducing time to complete - to make managers and clients happy - 2 methods. - Metrics - what gets measured, gets done. - Networking and business relationships. - Competetive intelligence - knowing what your neighbor is doing. - 10 signs you don’t know what you are doing - Technology - including Artificial Intelligence. - and more...

Module 3 - Constructing a Winning Team

Maybe the people on your team are awesome. Numbers shared by former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch says that 20% of your people will be top performers, 10% bottom of the barrel and 70% somewhere in the middle.

Module 3 is about hiring the right staff and working with the staff you have and getting them organized so you have more top performers. We go over the following topics:

- Making your team a desireable destination - even if it wasn't before. - Team construction - assessing the individual skillsets of your team. - Diversity and Inclusion - creating a great place to work for everyone. - Better org charts - for accountability and productivity. - Staff development done right. - Better resume screenng - reading cover letters and resumes - the art of finding gems. - Better interviews - choosing better interview questions & levelling the playing field for great employees who are bad at interviews. - Scoring interviews - to get the right person and keep HR happy. - Better reference checks - HR approved questions that get honest answers from previous employers. - and more...

Module 4 - Getting Your Team to Win

Now you have good staff so let's turn them loose! But how do you do that while keeping some form of control and keeping your staff happy at the same time?

Module 4 is about building a framework that allows maximum freedom for staff without leaving you out of the loop. It produces better accountability without micromanagement. Here's some of the topics:

- Your new role - learning this makes all the difference.. - Leadership vs management - both are needed, what's the difference. - Performance agreements - how to make it easier on everybody. - Underperforming staff - how to deal with them. - Handling confrontation like a pro - even if you hate it. - Daily staff management tactics - good habits that pay off. - Commander's Intent - the secret to getting complex, intelligent behaviour from your staff - Priorities - how to set them while giving staff operational flexibility. - Accountability meetings - The psycology of getting staff to be self-accountable. - Walking the floor - knowing what's really going on. - Micromanagers - how to not be one, even if you are. - Micromanagers - how to deal with them if you work for one. - and more...

Bonus 1 - Kolbe A Index

We go over the Kolbe A test in module 1. I strongly encourage everyone to take this and share it with your supervisor as it will identify your strengths and weaknesses at work. Following Kolbe's recommendations will make your life less stressful.

I am paying for your own Kolbe A test ($55 USD) as part of your tuition.

Bonus 2 - GTD Implementation

Based on David Allen's bestselling book "Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress-Free Productivity", I go over how I implement his system using Outlook to stay on top of everything without it overloading my brain.

I normally charge $97 to teach just this. You get it included free.

Bonus 3 - Productivity Hacks

I'll show you the tools, strategies and software I use to increase my organization and productivity. Some of them are even low-tech.

I normally charge $97 to teach this. It usually pays for itself in increased productivity within a year. You get it included free.

New for 2025 - AI Module

Personal 1-on-1 Coaching

I know that not everybody is the same and that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, move at our own speeds, and would rather not share some things in a group session.

You will get three 60-minute personal 1-on-1 calls with me to discuss whatever you want. You will have 12 months to use these calls.

My training and consulting fee is normally $200/hr. You get 3 hours free.

Member's Area Access

I will have recordings of all the presentations in the members area as well as transcripts and summaries.

I will also be sharing other exclusive content there, such as my personal notes from some of the top books and courses I have taken.

This area IS a living part of my site and I will be adding to it all the time. Students get lifetime access.

What you won't get

A bunch of theory that's difficult to put into practice. Everything I teach is something I have used. I walk the walk with this stuff.
Overwhelmed - sure there's a ton of stuff, but I don't want you trying to implement everything at once. Pick one or two things to work on and come back to the other stuff if and when you decide it's needed.

This isn't for everybody...

First, this is a passion project for me. I put a lot of time, energy and passion into delivering it and I want it to provide maximum benefit to my students. Therefore:

I am looking for people who want to learn and improve. I get the greatest satisfaction from hearing about actual success stories. If you are the type to just take training and never do anything with it, please don't waste your department's budget.
You will agree not to share my content with others. By all means, once you understand and use the concepts, feel free to share your knowledge. Just don't be forwarding on my content without my permission.
I am limiting this to 10 students to keep group discussion manageable and intimate.

TLMC Sign Up

2025 fall dates not yet scheduled.

Send me an email if you want to get notified when I schedule the next session (fall 2025).

All sessions are recorded for the student's convenience.

Classes run from 0830 to 1600. Maximum of 10 students.

Price - $1995

Special note for managers and supervisors of people wishing to take this class.