Many organisations struggle with performance, engagement, and delivery for one simple reason:

They confuse management with management consultancy.

On the surface, the roles look similar. Both talk about performance. Both discuss strategy. Both aim to improve results.

But here’s the truth most businesses learn the hard way:

Consultants recommend change. Managers make change happen.

If your managers aren’t equipped to lead effectively, no amount of consultancy will fix the problem.

Want managers who deliver, not just manage? Explore practical, results-focused training here: Management Courses.

What a Manager Really Does (When They’re Properly Trained)

A manager isn’t just

A Management Development Programme is a practical development pathway that equips managers with the real skills to lead people successfully. In this guide, I’ll explain what it is, what it should include (and what it shouldn’t), and the outcomes I’ve seen first-hand after more than 20 years of delivering management development across the public and private sector.

After more than 20 years of designing and delivering Management Development Programmes, I can say this with confidence:

Most organisations don’t have a management problem: They have a development problem.

People are regularly promoted into management roles because they’re

Over the years, we have worked with thousands of trainers, managers, and supervisors across a wide range of industries. One pattern appears again and again: learning happens in the room, but reflection and improvement often stop once people return to work.

Training does not fail because people are not capable. It fails because people are busy, distracted, and rarely given the space to think properly about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how they could do it better.

We are well known for our term Throwing the Monkey and that is exactly why we created the Monkey Journals.

Reflection Is Where Learning Actually Happens

On our Train the Trainer programmes, we place a strong emphasis on learning transfer. Training is not about what happens during the session; it is about what people do differently afterwards.

The same principle applies in management development. On our Leadership and Management programmes, we regularly see that managers improve most when they take time to reflect

Presentation skills training is often misunderstood. Many organisations invest in it because they want people to stand up and speak more confidently, deliver information professionally, and represent the organisation well.

Confidence is a major driver. For many people, standing up in front of others is uncomfortable, intimidating, and stressful. Organisations hope that presentation skills training will help people overcome this fear and give them practical tools to present with confidence.

However, confidence alone is not enough.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Presentation skills training is about confidence, structure, and engagement, not slides.
• Many people can present information but struggle to engage an audience.
• Reading PowerPoint slides is not presenting and causes people to switch off.
• Effective presentations rely on questioning, storytelling, and involvement.
• Poor presentation skills damage learning transfer, decision-making, and credibility.
• Presentation skills are both a workplace

This question is often asked by organisations struggling with inconsistent performance, poor learning transfer, and frustrated managers. The short answer is simple: yes, managers are absolutely supposed to train.

The longer answer is where things usually go wrong.

In many organisations, managers either don’t believe training is part of their role, or they believe it is but have never been taught how to do it properly. The result is frustration on all sides. Managers feel people “just don’t get it”, and staff feel they’ve been shown something but don’t really understand it.

This is a theme we regularly explore on our Train the Trainer programmes, and it also sits at the heart of our Leadership and Management programmes, because training capability is a core part of effective management.

Key Takeaways from this Blog

• Yes, managers are supposed to train. Induction and continuation training are part of the job.
• Telling is not training. People forget what they are told if understanding is not

One of the biggest misconceptions in workplace training is that success is measured by how well a session is delivered. Clear slides, confident facilitation and positive feedback at the end of the day can all feel reassuring. However, great trainers know that delivery alone is not the goal. What really matters is whether learning transfers into the workplace.

This is a key theme we explore on our Train the Trainer programmes, because training that looks good in the room but changes nothing afterwards has limited value.

In This Article You Will Learn

• What learning transfer actually means in practice
• Why strong delivery is not enough on its own
• How effective trainers design sessions that lead to real behaviour change

What Is Learning Transfer?

Learning transfer is the process of learners applying what they have learned in training back in their real working environment. It is the point where knowledge becomes action and confidence turns into competence.

If learning transfer does not happen,

When trainers think about delivering a successful training session, they often focus on content, slides, timing and delivery. But there is one factor that influences learning more than all of these put together: group dynamics.

Understanding how groups behave, react and learn together is what separates a good trainer from a great one. Even the best-designed session can fall flat if the trainer fails to manage the people in the room.

If you'd like to deepen your skills as a trainer, our ILM-accredited Train the Trainer courses can help you develop practical techniques you can apply immediately.

In This Article You Will Learn

• What we mean by group dynamics
• Why group dynamics are crucial in every training session
• Common challenges trainers face with groups
• Five practical techniques to manage group dynamics with confidence

What Do We Mean by Group Dynamics?

Group dynamics refer to the behaviours, relationships, interactions and emotional climate within a group. Every group — regardless of

In the world of learning and development, effective trainers do more than deliver information — they reflect, adapt and continuously improve. One of the most powerful yet underused tools for trainer development is reflective journaling. It’s simple, structured and proven to transform how trainers think, behave and perform.

If you're looking to strengthen your delivery skills and develop deeper trainer self-awareness, our ILM-accredited Train the Trainer courses show you exactly how to apply these reflective techniques in practice.

As we head into the new year, Target Training Associates is excited to introduce a new tool designed specifically for trainers: Monkey Journal for Trainers — part of our brand-new Monkey Series of books. This journal has been created to help trainers build habits of reflection, self-awareness and deliberate improvement.

Before we explain what makes reflective journaling so impactful, let’s explore why reflection matters so much in the first place.

The Missing

As we move into 2026, the workplace is changing faster than ever. Managers are being asked to support development, improve performance, handle complex conversations and help people grow — all while keeping teams motivated and productive. More than ever, managers need to know how to train people effectively.

Training isn’t just about teaching a topic. It’s about helping people understand what good looks like, building confidence through practice and ensuring learning transfers back into the workplace.

For managers who want to deliver clear, structured and confident training, an ILM-accredited Train the Trainer course provides a simple and effective framework.

Many managers want to train effectively but have never been shown a simple structure for planning and delivering sessions. A practical Train the Trainer course gives managers the tools and confidence they need.

Why Managers Need Training Skills

Good managers don’t just supervise; they develop people. They help team members improve their