What Types of Training Do Managers Need

Strong managers don’t just fall into place. The best ones never stop improving their skills. They constantly upskill through training to handle the evolving challenges they face. From communicating effectively to strategic planning to operational excellence, there’s a diverse set of competencies that extraordinary managers must continuously develop and refine.  

In this guide, we’ll break down the essential types of training that give managers that extra edge. You’ll learn why skills like emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and adaptability are so crucial. And how the right development opportunities can turn a manager into an inspiring leader that brings out the best in their people.  

Key Takeaways 

• Verse management training spans communication, leadership, strategy, operations, and continuous learning. 
• Top managers prioritise ongoing development to cultivate an adaptable, growth mindset. 
• Well-designed programs combine conceptual learning with immersive skill application. 
• Robust management development ensures a pipeline of strategic, impactful leaders. 

The Evolving Role of Managers 

As a modern manager, your role demands much more than just delegating tasks and overseeing day-to-day operations. The traditional command-and-control approach is outdated – organisations thrive on collaboration, agility, and putting people first.  

You now wear many different hats simultaneously. One minute you’re mentoring a team member, the next you’re facilitating a strategic planning session. Your responsibilities span a wide range – from coaching high performers to resolving conflicts between colleagues to ensuring collective efforts align with company objectives.  

This expanded mandate raises the bar for what it takes to be an effective leader. Hard skills like metrics analysis and process management are still essential, but they’re no longer enough on their own. You must also master an array of soft skills to build trust, promote inclusivity, and empower your people to deliver their best work.  

Emotional intelligence, communication savvy, and skilled decision-making are vital tools in your leadership arsenal. You need the ability to motivate and inspire, while also adeptly navigating the nuances of team dynamics. It’s a big ask, but thoughtful training provides you with the right resources.  

Communication and Interpersonal Skills  

As a manager, your ability to communicate clearly and build strong interpersonal relationships is paramount. After all, you’re the ambassador of your team – relaying important messages, aligning people around objectives, and ensuring collaboration flows smoothly.  

That’s why communication and interpersonal training should be at the top of your professional development agenda. You need workshops that drill skills like active listening, giving and receiving feedback effectively, negotiation tactics, and navigating difficult conversations.  

These are talents that require practice and refinement over time. For example, you may think you’re an excellent listener because you don’t interrupt people. But are you truly absorbing what they’re saying without judgement? Or are your mind already racing to craft a response? Active listening is just as much about being present and open-minded.  

The same goes for providing constructive feedback. It’s easy to prioritise being “nice” over giving an honest critique. But great managers learn how to provoke growth within their team by communicating both strengths and areas for improvement in a productive manner.  

Perhaps most critically, you need training that elevates your emotional intelligence – the ability to recognise and manage your own emotions as well as empathise with others. High emotional intelligence allows you to lead with calm confidence during stressful situations and have a higher degree of self-awareness about your own tendencies and biases.  

Leadership Development  

As a manager, you need programs that provide frameworks and hands-on practice for effective coaching and mentorship. These teach you how to identify the unique strengths, motivations, and growth areas of each individual on your team. With those insights, you can then customise your approach to supporting their long-term career development.  

For example, you may have one team member who is a rising star, consistently eager to take on more responsibilities. Your coaching for them would focus on constructive feedback to course-correct minor blind spots and exposure to stretch opportunities. For someone less proactive about their development, you’d concentrate more on helping them discover their inherent abilities and motivations first.  

Coaching is just one aspect of leadership training. You’ll also gain vital skills in motivating teams, setting the tone for a positive culture, and making strategic decisions with conviction. Courses hone your ability to think critically about complex issues and navigate situations where there are no clear right or wrong answers.  

Perhaps just as importantly, this training emphasises methods for continually reinventing your leadership approach as circumstances change. You’ll learn to remain adaptable, curious about new perspectives and open to evolving your management philosophy over time.  

Strategic and Critical Thinking  

In addition to strong leadership capabilities, top-tier managers must also be strategic and critical thinkers. You need training that provides frameworks for analysing data, assessing risks and opportunities, and developing plans aligned with overarching business objectives.  

As a manager, you’re pulled in many directions daily – putting out fires, handling employee issues, and pushing your team’s projects forward. Without keen critical thinking skills, it’s easy to get lost in tactical execution mode and lose sight of the bigger picture.  

Strategic thinking training equips you with tools for stepping back periodically to reassess your approach. You learn how to objectively evaluate performance data, identify underlying issues impacting results, and adjust processes for maximum efficiency and impact.  

You’d also receive training on implementing continuous improvement processes like LEAN, Six Sigma and Agile. These frameworks provide systematic methods for identifying waste, inefficiencies and opportunities across operations, strategy and culture. Mastering these concepts allows you to drive positive transformations.  

Equally important are risk management skills that appear in many critical thinking courses. You’ll learn techniques for proactively identifying potential threats to your department and business objectives and developing mitigation plans before issues manifest.  

Operational and Project Management  

While strategic thinking and planning are crucial, managers also require robust operational and project management skills to successfully execute those strategies. Specialised training in these areas ensures you can optimally allocate resources, maintain schedules, and drive initiatives across the finish line.  

As a manager, you’re essentially the ringmaster overseeing all the various moving pieces – from managing team workloads and deadlines to securing necessary budgets and tools. Without proper operational discipline, even the most brilliant strategies will falter during implementation.  

That’s why operational excellence training should be a must. You’ll learn vital techniques like effective time management, process improvement methodologies, managing distributed teams and vendors, and more. For example, workload management courses teach methods for delegating tasks based on employee skills and bandwidth to prevent redundancies and burnout.  

Project management certification programs are another common training avenue. These provide frameworks for initiatives like defining requirements, risk assessment, quality control, and getting stakeholder buy-in. You’ll master methodologies like Agile, Waterfall, and Scrum that utilise iterative or sequential processes tailored to different project needs.  

Continuous Learning and Adaptability  

The need for continuous learning and adaptability cannot be overstated. As a manager, committing to an ethos of constant growth and skill development is arguably the most vital trait for long-term success.  

The market conditions, workplace expectations, technology landscapes and industry dynamics you navigate today will inevitably shift over time. Training that feels cutting-edge now can become outdated surprisingly quickly. That’s why an appetite for learning must be insatiable.  

Make continuous education a core priority, both for yourself and your team members. Promote a culture of curiosity by providing opportunities like:  

• Coaching from external subject matter experts  
• Peer-to-peer knowledge sharing sessions  
• Attending regional conferences or workshops  
• Online courses & certifications  
• Cross-training in other roles/departments  

The best managers are also self-directed learners who take ownership of their development. They read industry publications, listen to podcasts, join professional associations and networking groups. Learning happens through both formal training and immersive real-world experiences.  

Perhaps most importantly, world-class managers fully embrace an adaptability mindset. They understand that evolving skill sets and flowing management philosophies are imperatives, not luxuries. You must remain open to new ideas and approaches, comfortable with occasional missteps, and willing to course-correct strategies and processes as needed.  

Take The Next Step With Impact Factory 

By investing in training focused on areas like interpersonal skills, problem-solving, coaching and change management, managers cultivate the well-rounded toolkits required to inspire teams and drive impact. These programs provide not just conceptual knowledge, but applied learning through workshops, simulations and other immersive experiences.  

The most effective management training promotes continuous learning as a core tenet. It underscores the importance of developing an adaptable, growth-oriented mindset able to evolve in lockstep with changing business conditions. This commitment to perpetual upskilling ensures your skills and methods never become outdated or obsolete.  

Ultimately, the greatest managers view training not as a box to check, but as a formative process that elevates their abilities to spearhead strategic initiatives, motivate top talent, and respond fluidly to new challenges. With comprehensive management development resources, organisations can cultivate a rich pipeline of inspiring leaders ready to steer teams towards new horizons.  

No great manager reaches the apex of their potential through experience alone. An intentional investment in ongoing education is what unlocks peak performance over the long haul. That’s where we can help at Impact Factory – we have courses that cover all levels of managerial training. Get in touch with our expert team to find out more.  

FAQs 

What is the most important type of training for managers?  

While all the training areas covered are valuable, leadership development is arguably the most crucial for enabling managers to inspire teams and drive meaningful impact. Mastering skills like coaching, motivating staff, navigating change, and promoting an engaged culture is vital. 

How frequently should managers undergo training?  

The most effective managers embrace a mindset of continuous learning and skill development. While periodic intensive training programs are beneficial, managers should also prioritise ongoing educational opportunities like conferences, online courses, and cross-departmental training sessions multiple times per year. 

What are the advantages of comprehensive management training for organisations? 

Providing robust management development resources allows companies to cultivate a strong pipeline of well-rounded leaders prepared to tackle strategic initiatives, motivate high-performing teams, and nimbly respond to changes. This drives elevated execution, innovation, and the achievement of critical business objectives. 

 Further Resources

Communication Training – Helping you gain insight into how to interact with others and learn the art of effective communication

Leadership Training Course – Develop your individual leadership style so you can inspire and motivate your team, department and company

Top Advice on Critical and Creative Thinking – A Guide to key critical and creative thinking techniques