Management development needs to be taken more seriously

A report published by the CMI showed that 82% of UK employees become managers with out any formal training. It doesn’t get much better once in post with management development programmes mostly aimed at senior managers. It is no surprise that we trail behind the USA, Japan and Germany in our appreciation of the need for high quality management at every level in order to be successful.
Recently there was disquiet in some quarters that the post of England’s football manager went to a German coach with international experience. Why were top English managers not considered for the post was the out cry on social media.
The simple answer was that there were very few English managers with relevant experience and a view that with a few exceptions management in this country was still stuck in traditional practises which meant they had got rather left behind when it came to competing at an international level.
There are interesting comparisons with business organisations in this country. Where our managers are considered rather parochial and inward looking. Where we have traditionally taken the view that managers are born not made, that it is not necessary to have a management  qualification to be a manager or invest a great deal in management development.
Whilst things have changed from the sink or swim approach to newly appointed new managers many organisations still treat management development as a bit of a luxury and consider a one day course on Health and Safety and two days on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is sufficient. Whilst the Person Specification for senior posts often ask for an MBA or relevant experience at this level, indicating that a management qualification is not necessary. And if you don’t posses one you are unlikely to be funded to obtain one.
At a senior level managers may have access to learning sets, mentoring schemes and executive coaching  but this type of development opportunity isn’t usually widely available to all managers.
Organisations that do have a commitment to management development tend to focus on the practical elements of the role such as sessions with HR on absence management, competence or dealing with ,”difficult” behaviour. Which may be a series of stand alone one day courses or rolled into a in-house management course externally validated.
Other countries place more emphases on management development. We risk being left behind in the race to compete with the best. And it is no surprise that management in this country does not have a good reputation abroad. In too many organisations it does not have a good reputation with HR and employees.
We should require all managers to be formerly qualified ( not necessarily an MBA) as away of raising standards. Mentoring, coaching and the opportunity to join a learning set should be more widely available not just for senior managers and aspiring senior managers. The research tells us this investment in management skills will reduce turnover, support innovation and change and improve performance.  Which is why we should treat management development more seriously.

    Read more

    Latest News

    Read More

    Change that sticks: Aligning strategy, people and process

    13 January 2025

    Newsletter

    Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

    Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

    Latest HR Jobs

    King's College London – People ServicesSalary: £38,232 to £42,999 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

    London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine – DirectorateSalary: £62,928 to £72,092 per annum (inclusive of London Weighting), Grade 8

    Monitor key HR metrics, provide data-driven insights, and report on HR performance to Global HR. Region CEO, responsible for driving HR initiatives that support business

    Monitor key HR metrics, provide data-driven insights, and report on HR performance to Global HR. Region CEO, responsible for driving HR initiatives that support business

    Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

    Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE