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Description

Communicating With Your Team and Senior Management: Listening, Framing and Escalating

Holding the middle ground between a leadership team that decides and a team that lives with the consequences

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

A manager spends the day relaying messages: an instruction from above, a difficulty raised by a team member, a request from another department. The message is distorted at every step. The team blames the manager for a decision they did not make, and senior management discovers a problem late that the field had been flagging for weeks.

These two days focus on everyday exchanges in both directions, staying with the essentials: listening, framing a message, passing on a decision from above and escalating a difficulty with a supported case. The work is carried out on real messages that participants struggled to get across.

Learning objectives

  • Listen to a team member without preparing your answer while they speak
  • Frame a message that separates facts from interpretations
  • Pass on a management decision without distancing yourself from it
  • Alert senior management to a difficulty on the basis of facts
  • Say no to a request while explaining the reason for the refusal

What makes this programme different

Participants rework real messages that did not get across
Escalations to senior management are prepared and then role-played with a demanding manager
A message preparation grid is applied to every situation covered

Programme

1Listening Before Responding

Receiving the message

  • Listening to a team member without interruption or an immediate solution
  • Questions that clarify a confused request
  • Reformulation that checks understanding without agreeing
  • Identifying what is not said explicitly

2Framing a Clear Message

Construction and verification

  • Distinguishing observed facts from interpretations
  • Structure of a short message and its supporting point
  • Adapting the level of detail to the person addressed
  • Checking understanding through the other person's feedback

3Communicating Downwards to the Team

Decisions and cascaded information

  • Explaining a decision you did not make
  • Answering questions without making unsustainable promises
  • Handling immediate negative reactions
  • Communicating in periods of uncertainty

4Escalating to Senior Management

Alerts and requests

  • Preparing an alert supported by facts and consequences
  • Framing a request for resources together with a proposal
  • Expressing disagreement with your own manager
  • Declining a request that cannot be delivered

Who is it for

Front-line managers and team leaders acting as the link between their team members and senior management.

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge required

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.