How to Use Training Courses to Become a Better Manager

Being a manager is a career goal for many people. Different roles have different responsibilities, but managerial positions generally involve taking charge of people and/or projects and having more say in the work that a company does, which can be very rewarding and exciting.

Managers tend to end up in their roles because they are experienced and knowledgeable about the industry or area that they work in. But if you’re a manager, you may find that there are aspects of your job that you feel unprepared for or that you would appreciate more opportunities to develop in.

As you progress in your role as a manager you’ll naturally pick up new skills and knowledge. But training is the best way of speeding this up and ensuring that you hit the ground running when you step into a role.

In this article, we explain how to become a better manager by using training courses to boost your skills and expand your knowledge. We also discuss the importance of being a better manager by completing training courses for managers and some of the advantages that it offers you and your employer.

The Importance of Management Skill Training

Being promoted to a management position, or moving jobs upwards into such a role, is often a great time in your career. You’ve been rewarded for the work you’ve done and the knowledge and skills that you’ve built, and have been given more responsibility and influence at work as a result.

However, being a great manager isn’t something that always comes naturally. It’s also not always something that employers expect you to be capable of as soon as you take up the role. 

Indeed, many people will have been promoted into managerial positions because they’re great at what they do, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they have all of the skills to be a great manager. That’s where training comes in.

Training for management is really important because it ensures that you’re prepared to deal with the potential scenarios that the role is going to put you in. Not only will you be dealing with your colleagues and handling potentially challenging conversations, but you may also have responsibilities that tie into legal standards and expectations, which are really important to understand and comply with.

Learning how to be a better manager and leader with training courses is also important because it can help you to feel more confident and prepared in your role. This will increase your enjoyment at work, which in turn will help you be more productive and engaged with your responsibilities, as well as decrease overall stress levels.

The Benefits of Training Courses for Managers

As well as being important for both the managers themselves and the company they work for, there are a number of other benefits of training courses for managers. Below, we discuss some of the advantages that can come with management training courses.

Adaptive Leaders

When you undertake training courses for managers, you gain a wider range of skills which means that you’ll be better at adapting to a wider range of situations. This makes you a manager who can overcome setbacks and challenges faster to get a project on track, improving productivity and making you useful in a wide range of roles.

Long-Term Personal Development

Undertaking training programs for managers is particularly useful when you’re early in your career, but it shouldn’t just be something that you do when you start a managerial role. In fact, one of the main advantages of training courses for managers is that you can use them to continuously develop and improve in your role, ensuring that you remain a competitive candidate and understand the best ways to manage a team, project or product.

Better Decision Making

When you undertake training to become a better manager, you’ll gain more experience in different situations and feel more prepared to deal with a variety of situations. This can help to improve your decision-making skills because you’ve got more experience and insight to base your choices on, which in turn benefits your employer because you and your teams will work faster and more confidently.

Talented Employees

A benefit for employers of providing management training and development is that your employees will become more talented. This is a real advantage for the business because the workforce becomes better at their job and produces a high quality of work as a result, which in turn leads to increased profits.

The Best Training Courses for Managers

If you decide to undertake training courses as one of the ways to become a better manager, there are a range of different topics that you can focus on. Here are some of the key topics that management skill training covers, and recommendations of some of our courses which you can complete.

Budgeting and Resourcing

Managers are often responsible for budgets, which can be one of the most challenging aspects of the job. Being given responsibility for money often brings stress, and this is certainly the case if it’s not something you’re particularly experienced with. 

There can be many questions from a wide range of employees when you’re a manager, often concerning when to use a budget, when to save it and what this might mean for next year’s finances. Training courses in budgeting and finance will focus on how best to manage money, both in terms of how to decide how it’s used, but also the technical aspects of financial management, which includes suggestions on processes and how finances are recorded.

If you’re a manager looking to improve your budgeting and resourcing skills, some of our most valuable online manager training courses include ‘Effective Budget Controls’, ‘Financial Management Including Budget Setting’ and ‘Financial Updates and Reporting’.

Line Management

Not all managers will have responsibility for people, but for those that do, line management will be a major part of the role and one of the main ways in which performance will be measured. Again, it’s often the case that promotions happen without any prior experience in managing people, so training is hugely valuable. 

Training courses in this area will focus on a number of aspects of line management. This will include things like the daily organising and treatment of staff, as well as longer-term development plans. Conflict resolution and generally dealing with problems is another tricky aspect of managing people that training will help with.

Some of our most useful online courses for line managers include ‘Managing Challenging Conversations’, ‘Performance Management’ and ‘Coaching’.

Project Management

Project management is a skill in itself and indeed is also often its very own job role. However, aspects of project management are common for managers of all kinds. 

Project management training is designed to help managers understand how they should organise a project, including everything from the assignment of staff, to managing expectations, setting deadlines, and more. Project management can be one of the most useful skills to learn and is also suitable even for those who aren’t managers but are looking for skills that they can take into management.

If you’re looking for specific project manager training courses, take a look at ‘An Introduction to Project Management’ or ‘Project Planning’.

Compliance

Issues of compliance can be particularly stressful for new managers if they hold any responsibility. There can be legal issues to be aware of, which is why it’s imperative that any good manager takes training on matters of compliance that they might have to think about. 

There are general courses that will apply to many workplaces, such as those on health and safety, but if there are additional, industry or role-specific compliance considerations such as safeguarding, then managers need to seek these out. Not only do you need to know exactly what you should be doing to stay on the right side of laws and regulations, but those you manage will be following your example.

If you’re a manager looking for a straightforward way to ensure compliance in the workplace, our ‘Business Compliance Essentials Package’ is the ideal resource, covering topics including health and safety training, data protection and cyber security.

FAQs

Why is a manager important?

A manager is a really important role in a team and a company because they act as a leader, making decisions, taking responsibility and holding themselves and their team accountable. Managers are essential for providing direction, allocating tasks and keeping employees motivated and productive, along with being coaches and mentors for more junior employees and providing support that helps them develop.

What qualifications do you need to be a manager?

There are some industries where managers require specific skill-based qualifications, but there aren’t any universal qualifications that you need to step into a management role. The majority of companies will look for experience managing people and leading projects instead of qualifications, but training courses and skills development programs can be really useful in demonstrating your abilities and preparing you for all of the requirements of the role.

What are the responsibilities of a manager?

The responsibilities of a manager will vary between companies and between roles, as it’s a general job title that can describe a wide range of responsibilities and levels of seniority. In general, managers will be responsible for a specific team of employees and their wellbeing and progress at work, they’ll be responsible for meeting deadlines and helping projects progress, and they’re responsible for managing budgets and keeping key stakeholders updated on what’s happening. 

Summary

There’s plenty of room for development when you’re a manager, which is why online manager training courses can be so useful as a way to keep gaining new skills and honing your existing knowledge. There’s a huge amount of resources out there that offer ways to become a better manager through courses, so no matter where you are in your career, it’s easy to find new ways to progress and develop.

If you’re looking for online training courses for managers, we have a host of leadership and management options to choose from that will be suitable for managers of all kinds.