[Infographic] 10 Management Development Training Topics to Invest In

Management development training isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have.

According to LinkedIn, companies who invest in strong management training are 8.8x more likely to have high-quality leadership, 9x more likely to outperform competitors financially, and 7.4x more likely to have highly-engaged leaders that stay with the company. All of which are arguably more important now given what’s happening in the world of work, like the great resignation, the talent shortage, and the move to remote/hybrid work.

To help you make the most of your investment in management development training, check out the following infographic to learn what topics should be at the top of the priority list.

Once in a blue moon, does someone promoted to management come along with the natural abilities, skills, and techniques needed to be a great leader.

Rather, it is far more common for those promoted to management to need training, experience, support, and time to hit their stride as a leader. 

Fortunately, management development training exists for this reason. In the following infographic, we’ll review this type of training and the topics that you should consider investing in and prioritizing when seeking out management development training. 

What Is Management Development Training?

Management development training equips people leaders with the skills, knowledge, and techniques needed to lead others effectively. Topics covered typically include developing competencies like empowerment, communication, change management, and business acumen, to name a few. However, the needs of every organization and management team is unique, and so the topics you choose should reflect that.

what topics should management development training cover? 

1. Communication
2. Strategy and Execution
3. Developing Others
4. Collaboration
5. Empowerment
6. Navigating and Resolving Conflict
7. Business Acumen
8. Resilience and Agility
9. Leading Change
10. Emotional Intelligence

Communication

If there’s one topic that’s a cornerstone of nearly all management development training, it’s communication; and for a good reason! Leadership communication training gives managers the necessary skills and confidence to speak like a leader in all situations, whether it’s an impromptu hallway conversation, formal presentation, or a Zoom call with their team. 

Strategy and execution

To excel in management, individuals must gain the ability to think strategically, plan cross-functionally, and oversee the execution. To do so successfully, they will require the skills and tools to develop and sell the strategy to others, create alignment, implement a tactical plan, and relay progress and feedback across departments. 

Developing Others

Developing others refers to a manager's ability to share knowledge, pass on their strengths, assess others, provide coaching and constructive feedback, and recognize others. It’s an essential skill for those in management as it helps employees improve and advance their skills, knowledge, and performance, which has been found to increase employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention. 

Collaboration

Managers always have and always will need the skills and tools to break down silos, create psychological safety, encourage information/resource sharing, set clearly defined roles, and open the lines of communication. In addition, however, today’s managers need to know how to encourage collaboration among employees both in-person and digitally, given the rise of remote and hybrid work arrangements.

Empowerment

There are many benefits when employees are empowered. From increased engagement to greater motivation and trust in management, learning the skills to empower employees and give them autonomy over their work should rise to the top of every management development training list. However, empowerment will not be successful without knowing how to set boundaries and hold people accountable, which can be acquired through training.

Navigating and Resolving Conflict

Those in management are not just responsible for navigating conflicts that they are personally involved in, they are responsible for monitoring their team and addressing disputes that arise so that they do not put the dynamics and culture of the team at risk. Fortunately, conflict resolution training can give managers a better sense of their own conflict style, help them build their confidence, and equip them with actionable techniques.

Business acumen

Business acumen is the combined knowledge of strategy, financial acumen, operations, strategic HR, and marketing. Understanding these areas allows those in management, regardless of their department, to see the big picture and better comprehend the organization's interconnectivity so that they can make sound strategic decisions.

Resilience and Agility

We have been and will continue to live and lead in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. For managers and their teams to succeed in such an environment, they need resilience and agility to bounce back from setbacks, pivot quickly, rally employees, identify creative solutions, and make sound decisions quickly. 

Leading Change

Change will always be difficult in the workplace, but it can be much less tumultuous when managers know how to create and unite employees around a compelling and clear vision, thoroughly explain why change is needed, define expectations, answer questions, develop a communication strategy, and celebrate milestones with employees.

Emotional Intelligence