My formal bio is included below, but here is what I think is the most important thing for you to know. I have consulted with managers and supervisors and their staff for 20 plus years. In that time I discovered that there are eight crucial skills and another eight or so important skills that help make managers and supervisors become more effective, more professional, or more promotable. Year in and year out managers need to be able to delegate, prioritize their time, hold effective meetings, communicate well, appreciate and reward their staff, listen and ask the right questions, coach and train in a timely and effective manner, and set clear expectations.

This is true of new and seasoned people; it’s true in government, non-profits, and private industry; it’s true in fortune 500 companies and in small businesses. The Key Management Skills site provides useful, practical, “use it tomorrow” information on these basic, but vital skills.

Bio For Norma Smith Davis

Norma Smith Davis is the founder of Key Management Skills, a Santa Rosa California web-based training and consulting practice. Norma specializes in:

• Manager, supervisory and staff training and coaching.
• Developing effective communications systems in individuals and teams.

Norma is a recognized expert in helping groups with disparate interests communicate and work together. She focuses her work on skill building and confidence building for the people who have the toughest job in organizations today–managers and supervisors. She now devotes her time to her writing, on line training, conducting tele-seminars, and to a limited private coaching practice.

In 20 years as a consultant and trainer, Norma has worked with a wide variety of government, private and nonprofit clients including Blue Cross, Blue Shield, NEC Technologies, Kaiser Permanente, Beringer Wine Estates, Bank of America, National Bank of the Redwoods, Parker Hannifin, Health Plan of the Redwoods, New Zealand Milk Company, The Animal Care Center, Simons and Woodard and many small professional firms.

As a strategic planning and organization development consultant, she has worked with 21 State of California Departments and Divisions such as The Departments of General Services, Consumer Affairs, Health, and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). In addition, she has worked with many local government agencies and non-profits including East Bay Municipal Utilities District, Redwood Credit Union, the University of California Davis, Community Action Partnership of Kern and more.

She is author of three workbooks and many articles on the subject of management. Norma has served as adjunct faculty at Sonoma State University, is a past member and/or Board member of the ASTD and the Organization Development Network, and was a founding partner of The Results Group, a successful and dynamic consulting firm.

A Few Kind Words From Clients:

“Norma has a whole toolbox of helpful techniques for keeping people on track and focused on the work”

“She understands the strategic changes needed, but also understands the human dynamics… very useful.”

“Norma is well organized and has a great sense of humor”