A comprehensive guide to Managerial Development Programme

Understanding the role of mentoring in leadership- A Guide

November 23, 2023

Businesses opt for various programs and services aimed at enhancing skill sets and capabilities of their employees from time to time. This is applicable to entities hailing from multiple sectors, as it is. However, employee skill development programs are not necessarily limited to employees who have joined recently or those are facing challenges at the workplace. Managerial Development Programmes or Leadership Development Programmes are covetted journeys in most of the organisations. The popularity of Managerial development programmes has gone up significantly in recent years, given the fact that learning is seen as a secret recipe to growth by fast paced organisations.

The Basics of Managerial development programme

A managerial development programme is a specially designed training module meant for people in managerial posts to augment their existing competencies to to achieve further professional growth. Exposure to such programmes enables managers to adapt to changing business needs, face new challenges with confidence and guide teams with efficiency. Besides, managers opting for such specialized skill enhancement programs become capable mentors and guide mentees in the organisation effectively.

These specialized skill and conpetency enhancement programmes targeted at leaders comprise thorough candidate assessments, intensive workshops and interaction sessions, group learning modules, real-life project assignments and more.

The major benefits of a Managerial development programme

Managerial Development Programmes (MDP) can be intense in terms of time and energy investment. It is beyond a one or two day learning experience. MDPs target to build self awareness, reflection, jump in competency level and most importantly a significant change in approach and mindset on the ground. The target is not to “change” but equip managers with tools to help them be more efficient and effortless.

Organisations significantly benefit out of this journey both in the short and long term.

Professional Equation

MDPs help leaders understand their Circle of Influence. How to be emotionally intelligent while managing multiple stakeholders is another significant reflection. An environment where people feel included, and prioritised is evolved with such approach, making business growth seamless.

Evolving as Mentors

A lot of leaders go through inner tussle between directing vs guiding. Often they are interchangeably used. MDPs help leaders acquaint with their role as a mentor in the organisation. Leaders become capable of building more leaders in the organisation, creating a natural succession plan.

Decision Making

Ability to deal with ambiguity and steer through complex decision making process using mental models is a significant gain for leaders and organisations alike.

Better Employee Retention

Another significant advantage of ventures opting for Management Development Programmes is enhanced employee retention. Managers undergoing such specialized programs fathom ways to deal with their teams and colleagues better under various situations and that augments professional rapport. Teams working with such leaders and managers feel positive about the work experience and career progression. This has a significant impact on employee retention rates.

Healthy Conflicts

Being in any form of conflict can be uncomfortable yet a necessity for growth. When managers are prepared to manage and invite different perspectives, opinions and debate, it creates a healthy environment. It also helps managers build readiness for more complex conflicts with stakeholders. Organisations grow faster and are in a position to deal with industry change swiftly, when they have managing (not avoiding) conflicts ingrained in their DNA.

Essential components of a Management Development Programme

Typically, businesses willing to develop their existing leaders as mentors opt for Managerial Development Programmes developed by veteran business consultancies. Ace consultancies offer specialized Management Development Training programs aimed at leaders and managers. They develop multi-stage programs for training leaders and managers to enhance their skills and evolve as mentors.

Such Management Development Training Programmes may comprise steps like:

A thorough analysis and assessment of the participants in the program. This can be done through an intensive survey.
The consultancy offering the training usually conducts experiential workshops to expose the participants to nuances of management and mentorship.
The participants are also offered group learning sessions, to gain from multiple experiences.
One-to-one interaction sessions with ace coaches may also be a part of such programmes. These sessions help them implement learning.
Some programmes offer live projects or action learning projects to help participants experience the implementation with real time hurdles and achievements.
A final assessment or assignment submission can be the last step to such learning journey.

Picking the right entity for Managerial Development Programmes

To ensure their leaders get the benefits of top-notch Management Development Training programs, ventures need to hire the right consultancies. To pick the right consultancy offering such specialized programs, they need to assess the contenders with some key parameters.

Capability

Ideally, you should hire a business consultancy offering Managerial development programmes that has made a name in the sector. Try to find out information on the core team in the consultancy and coaches offering the training to clients. Such coaches and trainers usually have decade-long experience in management training and leadership development.

The Program Nuances

A feasible Management Development Training program should have a balanced mix of theoretical learning sessions and real-life projects. Find out if the module includes both personal and group learning sessions or not. Inclusion of an action learning project is a must in such specialized training programs.

Clientele

Before signing up with a learning partner for Managerial Development, ensure you learn about its client base. Veteran consultancies offer such corporate skill development and leadership programs for clients hailing from multiple niches. They cater to start-ups and bigger entities.

Summing it up

The benefits of Management Development Programmes are manifold and that is why thousands of ventures are opting for such programmes. These specialized training programs meant for leaders and people at managerial positions, enable those people to augment their skills and shine as mentors in the future. The benefits of such programs also seep through all levels of hierarchies eventually, leading to organizational growth.

If you are looking for such a learning experience, you can sign up for Managers as Mentors Certification Programme here.