Management Development Training
Organizations thrive when their managers excel in their roles. Effective management development training is essential for achieving this. However, research carried out by The Development Company reveals a common practice: promoting employees based on their technical skills rather than their managerial capabilities. This often leads to situations where the top salesperson becomes a sales manager, despite lacking the necessary managerial skills for the new role.
Essential Subject Areas Within Management Development Training
Here are the top 8 subject areas that are essential for management development training:
Self-awareness
A manager needs to have self-awareness. If a leader is managing others and they are unaware of their impact on others, this can have negative results.
Feedback skills
Feedback is crucial for personal and professional growth. Effective managers actively seek feedback on their leadership style and provide timely, constructive feedback to their team members.
Be a good listener
Time and time again when we research what we consider being the most effective communication skill, listening comes up top of the list. All human beings like attention and being a good listener means you will be one of those people we enjoy being around. Good listeners are trusted, and they often find out valuable information. Learning to use active listening is a valuable management skill.
Use influencing skills
A good manager will know how and when to use the push and pull style of influencing. They will not have a one size fits all approach to every person or every situation. They will always aim for an agreeable solution.
Be emotionally intelligent
Having awareness of your emotional state is essential to be an effective manager. You are a role model and so if you lose control in a situation, your staff will do the same, perhaps by shouting at a supplier or client. Learning to embrace our emotions, yet work positively with them, is a skill that can be developed.
Know how to set meaningful goals
Every manager has to be able to direct their own workload, which means setting goals and making them happen by managing their time effectively. Once the skill of goal setting has been developed, the manager can then enable their staff to manage their workload effectively.
Develop their staff
One of the best pieces of feedback I have had is that I develop my staff to go on to do different things, sometimes bigger and better and sometimes a change of direction. Every manager I come across agrees that their people are their biggest asset I know, that often used cliché. Yet our research show that when those same managers analyse their time spent with their staff, a whopping 97% of their time is spent talking about the task and not developing their staff’s potential. Appraising, feedback, monitoring, mentoring and coaching are essential management skills.
Having a sense of fun
I am not what I consider being old. When I started work in the 1980s, we used to have fun. Fun helps us relax and be more creative. Fun helps relationships and lifts the soul. Most organisations nowadays seem to have lost their sense of fun, yet if we build in fun to our day, you will reap the benefits. Think about how you can do this in meetings, brainstorms, lunches and off the cuff.
Summary
Being a manager is like being a parent, it is a skill that practise and review helps us to improve. There is no right management style, however the above are what I value when designing and delivering management development training.
Additional Information on Management Development Training
A typical course
Courses
For more information on our training courses or management development, contact us on 01933 227 695.
