Management

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

One of the biggest misconceptions in management is that coaching requires long conversations, complicated frameworks, or becoming a professional coach. In reality, coaching skills for managers are practical workplace skills that help employees think for themselves, take ownership and commit to action. When done well, coaching improves performance, confidence and relationships, without adding unnecessary paperwork.

In This Article You Will Learn

• Coaching skills for managers are about creating the right intervention, so the employee owns the outcome
• Coaching is not therapy, and it is not the same as mentoring or giving advice
• The most effective managers coach through listening, emotional intelligence and powerful feedback, not by talking more

What Do We Mean by “Coaching Skills for Managers”?

Coaching skills for managers are the communication and intervention skills used to help employees think, reflect and act, without the manager solving the problem for them. The manager creates the conditions

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

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

When you step into a new management role, it's normal to feel a mix of excitement and uncertainty. You're no longer just responsible for your own work. Now you're supporting others, answering questions, and setting the tone for how your team learns and grows. It can feel like a lot to take on, especially when everyone's looking to you for guidance from day one.

That's where training the trainer can help. It's about learning how to deliver content and how to build your own confidence so the people around you trust what you're saying and how you're saying it. When new managers develop these skills early, they walk into meetings ready to speak with clarity, support team learning, and lead with steadiness, even when everything feels brand new. It helps shift the focus from just managing tasks to helping the people behind them grow better too.

Why Confidence Is One of the First Things New Managers Need

Feeling confident when you're new to management isn't always easy. The pace can feel fast,

HR leads often find themselves wearing more hats than they expected. One day it is policy updates, the next it is onboarding a new hire, followed by leading a workshop no one planned for. What is tricky is that many of these tasks involve some form of training, yet most HR professionals have not been taught how to train others properly. That is where gaps show up, unstructured sessions, unclear delivery, or that awkward feeling of standing in front of a group without knowing how to guide them well.

Train the trainer courses are a way to close those gaps. They are not about reading bullet points off a screen but about learning real, practical skills that strengthen how we communicate, guide, and teach within our roles. With end-of-year planning coming up, the timing could not be better for reviewing what is working, spotting where support is needed, and building better ways to lead others through learning.

Understanding the Role Gap in HR

For many HR professionals, training has never been

Stepping into a new management role can feel exciting, but also a little overwhelming. There's a lot to take in quickly. One thing that often surprises people is how soon they're expected to pass on what they know. Teaching team members, leading sessions, and showing others how to do the job well often comes with the role. That's where the term "train the trainer" tends to pop up.

By early October, holidays are behind us, and workplaces usually settle back into routine. Teams start charging ahead with goals again, and learning becomes a top priority. For new managers, that can bring pressure to hit the ground running. But when you're trying to lead and train others at the same time, without any clear direction or support, stress can grow. With so many training options out there, it's easy to feel stuck trying to figure out what's right. Let's break it all down so it feels a bit easier.

Why New Managers Are Expected to Train Without Being Trained

Many new managers are asked to run with things