Managers have a huge impact on the experience people have at work. They influence engagement, performance and retention, which is why manager development is so important for any organisation.
However, when someone is promoted into management, often one of two things happens. Either they receive very little development and are expected to learn on the job, or they’re sent on a one-off course and expected to come back with all the skills they need to be a great manager.
The reality is that becoming a good manager requires a completely different set of skills from the job they were doing before. It also takes much longer than a single workshop or course.
Management Is a Different Role
People are usually promoted because they’re good at what they do. They’re knowledgeable, reliable and consistently deliver results in their existing role. But when they become a manager their role changes. Instead of focusing on doing the work themselves, they’re now responsible for helping other people do their best work. They need to delegate, coach, give feedback, manage performance, motivate people and lead through change. For many people, these are skills they’ve never really had to use before.
A Course Is Just the Start of Manager Development
Some form of management training is a great place to start. It gives managers the opportunity to learn new ideas, develop new skills and spend time thinking about how they lead. Sometimes that’s an e-learning module. Sometimes it’s a workshop or a management course.
The difficulty is that this is often where manager development ends.
Actually developing those skills takes time. People need the opportunity to put what they’ve learnt into practice, see what works, learn from experience and build confidence. Like any new skill, becoming a good manager takes practice.
That’s why effective manager development usually includes more than just the learning itself. Managers benefit from having time between sessions to try new approaches, reflect on what’s happened and come back ready to share their experiences. Practical activities and workplace assignments help turn ideas into habits, while opportunities to discuss real situations with others help build confidence and keep the learning moving forward.
Manager development is much better thought of as an ongoing process than a one-off event.
If you’re reviewing manager development in your organisation, it might be worth looking beyond the course itself.
- What support do managers receive afterwards?
- How do they continue developing?
- How do you help first-time managers build confidence?
- What opportunities do experienced managers have to keep developing their leadership skills?
First-Time Managers and Experienced Managers Need Different Development
It’s also worth remembering that managers don’t all need the same development.
The support a first-time manager needs is very different from the support an experienced manager needs. Someone who’s just been promoted is often learning the fundamentals of managing people. Someone who’s been managing for several years is more likely to be building on those skills by coaching others, leading through change, influencing across the organisation and developing future leaders.
As managers grow, their manager development needs change too.
Taking a Longer-Term View of Manager Development
When organisations take a longer-term approach to manager development, managers have the opportunity to keep building their skills, confidence and capability over time. That’s good for the manager, good for their team and ultimately good for the organisation too.
Developing capable people managers takes time. The more opportunities managers have to learn, practise and reflect, the more confident and capable they become.
At Willow & Puddifoot, we often describe leadership as a craft. Like any craft, it develops through learning, practice, reflection and experience over time. That’s why we believe manager development works best when managers have the opportunity to learn, apply what they’ve learnt in the workplace, reflect on their experiences and keep building their skills over time.
Whether you’re developing first-time managers or more experienced people managers, taking a longer-term approach to manager development is far more likely to build the confidence and capability organisations are looking for.
About the Author
Louise Puddifoot is the founder of Willow & Puddifoot, where she and her team CRAFT™ confident, capable leaders at every stage. With over 20 years’ experience in leadership and learning, Louise designs practical development that builds confidence, capability, and impact. Her work is built on the CRAFT™ Leadership Framework, focusing on communication, resilience, authenticity, future focus, and transformation, to create real behaviour change that lasts.