5 Essential Manager Training Topics To Learn
I have a soft spot in my heart for new managers. Most likely a result of my time newly managing people and feeling like I was in a game where no one told me the rules. The word I have used over the years to describe my transition to managing is “clunky.”
The whole experience was a clunky, in-the-dark, make-things-up-as-you-go-along experience and one I’ve spent most of my career trying to spare other new managers from.
It’s not only my own experience managing that makes this a hot topic for me, but also the volume of stories I hear from others about their less-than-stellar managers who wreaked havoc on them and their teams.
I mean, we want to make sure new managers are successful, right? After all, managers have a huge impact on their entire team. And yet, when it comes to offering new manager-specific training, I really don’t see many intentional and purposeful programs designed to bolster someone’s skills at this critical career juncture.
Gallup spends quite of bit of time and energy every year sharing their statistics with us about the effects of bad managers.
Productivity, engagement, creative output, belonging, fulfillment, overall happiness at work, and, ultimately, retention all are contingent on the skills of a team’s manager. This is important stuff!
I know you have heard the phrase, “people join a company, but they leave a boss”? And it’s true. A study found half of all employees admit to leaving their companies because of a bad boss, which could result in high (and unnecessary) turnover, and in the time of this Great Resignation, we can’t afford it.
What Is Manager Training?
I know, I know. That sounds like a silly question. What is manager training? Um, training for managers. But, I’d like to at least make one thing clear when defining what I think manager training is. It’s intentional.
That’s right. Manager training is intentional. As in, we make a plan and purposefully invest in our team leaders.
See, I think some companies - whether or not they intend to - believe that managers are being trained all day long through something like osmosis. That, just by doing their job, they are being “trained.” Mostly, I say this because of the severe lack of formal management training programs at the clients who come to me for support.
Manager training is an intentional plan to build up the skills of the leaders who oversee staff. It’s planned. It’s purposeful. It has a goal and an intended outcome. It’s NOT just happenstance or randomness. It doesn’t need to be as robust as a Ph.D. program, it can be succinct, relevant and, when properly planned, equally powerful.
While some employees may pursue development on their own (trust me, this is rare), a company’s formalized approach to management development can ensure they are setting employees and managers alike for a better work experience.
We can define manager training through the efforts we make to identify where there might be a skills gap, what opportunities managers have to improve, and what might be most impactful when it comes to building up their ability to lead a team. That definition will look different for each company, depending on their focus, their resources, their time, and their budget to dedicate toward manager training.
Manager training - when done right - provides leaders of all levels with the skills, abilities, and knowledge to contribute to the results and productivity of their employees.
The Importance of Manager Training in Business Success
Here’s why I think that the most important training to do in any business is with managers (especially new ones), perhaps you will agree?
Managers touch other lives all day long.
I know that sounds huge and philosophical, just stay with me for a sec. Managers have this incredible responsibility when they are managing other people, as they hold their employees’ futures in their hands.
Think about it. A manager is the main driver of an employee’s growth and where, when, and how that direct report’s career moves forward. A manager essentially is the conduit to a successful career trajectory which is such an important facet of anyone’s life.
Plus, a manager is involved on a day-to-day basis with almost everything their team is doing. Communication, delegation, collaboration, productivity and so much more are all impacted by the interaction between and among a manager and their team.
Training managers has an exponential impact on a company. Nothing could be more important (IMHO) when it comes to building the skills that will have an impact than the time and effort put into new manager training.
The training a company does at this initial tier of management sets the foundation for their future success. Managers who move up the ranks bring their skills and competencies (or lack thereof) with them as they become more senior and take on bigger responsibilities.
Key Reasons to Invest in New Manager Training Programs
I’m tempted to say, “Because I said so” but I know that’s not enough!
The rationale for new manager training is simple. Think of it like throwing a stone in a pond…there’s a ripple effect when it comes to the strength -or not- of your managers. So many new managers start out with little to no support. What that means is, lots of teams are operating with an ineffective or ill-equipped leader. When a manager isn’t strong, the team itself is negatively impacted.
Companies receive a powerful return on investment in terms of the time and money it takes them to train managers. For each skill improvement of one single manager, there is impact on every person that the same manager oversees. There are so many benefits when managers are more confident and more skilled to handle the day-to-day challenges that come with team management, such as:
Increased productivity
Happy employees do more and better work. Period. A strong manager inspires people to do their best and will know ways to keep them motivated to do so (especially critical in our hybrid/remote work environments).
Better communication
There isn’t one thing that I can think of that happens at work that doesn’t involve communication to some degree. EVERYTHING is contingent on communication and the better a manager is at it, the more ease and success a team will have.
Improved company culture
Gallup tells us every year that there is a strong correlation between employee engagement and well-trained managers. When training is elevated, it communicates a commitment to the company’s values that help cultivate a strong company culture.
Higher retention
Managers significantly impact employee retention. A good manager understands how imperative it is to make employees feel valued, appreciated, and challenged. This greatly contributes to loyalty and, I tell ya, now is not the time to give any more reasons to employees to leave! Retention is a big enough challenge post-pandemic.
Builds a strong internal pipeline
Growing managers through training builds up talent from the inside. Developing the strengths of managers at all levels throughout a company insures a bigger pool of employees who may be better equipped to rise through the ranks when openings occur.
Beneficial to recruiting
When a company can tell its candidates about its robust management training program, that development opportunity becomes a powerful recruiting tool. In the time of the great resignation and how hard it has become to source candidates, being able to offer a differentiator in a recruiting conversation is key.
Less strife and drama
Things just run a bit smoother when a confident, equipped manager is at the helm. It takes finesse and skill to help a team work together with greater ease. Adept managers address problems more readily which reduces the potential for conflict.
There are so many more benefits, too many to list here. The main takeaway is to recognize that a lot of success a company desires to have – in results, in productivity, in a healthy culture, and so on – rides on the quality of their managers.
Planning and Implementing These 5 Essential and Effective Management Training Topics
Now that it’s clear the importance of new manager training, it’s time to plan and create a program that’ll teach them how to navigate being the leader of a team.
Here are five essential management trainings topics I believe a new manager training curriculum should include to set managers up for success:
1. The Value of Consistent 1-on-1 Meetings
We’re not talking about status meetings or the times when a manager checks in on workload or deliverables. All managers (especially new ones) need to understand the power of weekly or bi-weekly 1-on-1 coaching training meetings with each team member where the conversation is less about to-do lists and more about career, overcoming challenges, and growth.
1-on-1s accomplish three critical things when it comes to having strong employee-manager results. 1-on-1s open and maintain communication lines which are critical in fast-paced, high-volume companies; They provide the time and space to build trust; They help deepen relationships as the frequency and quality of these meetings improve.
2. The Art of Giving Feedback.
Yes, giving feedback is an art. There are nuances in interpersonal communication, especially in a feedback situation which often puts people on guard, that are critical for managers to master.
What I hear the most when it comes to manager training is that they need help with delivering tough feedback and doing so in a way that inspires the employee to adjust and improve.
New manager training should provide managers with a framework and tools to help them learn how to deliver constructive feedback that encourages vs. discourages the people on their team. From knowing the right way to initiate the conversation to learning what to do when the conversation goes awry, in-person training for managers on giving feedback can drastically improve the outcome of these often tough conversations.
3. Awkward Management Dynamics – Including Moving from Peer to Manager
So much about managing other people can be awkward, especially if it’s someone’s first time managing. Perhaps the manager was formerly the peer to the group they now oversee; maybe they are managing someone way more experienced or older than they are; or they are managing a friend. All of these examples can potentially throw a curveball into the dynamic of managing.
You’ll need to teach your new managers how to maneuver sticky situations where most of the challenge might be in their head – the stories they are making up about being younger than a direct report or being less experienced.
They’ll need to learn how to get results through others, despite what the dynamic might be. When training new managers, helping them understand the potential complications that might come their way when it comes to awkward team dynamics gives them a leg up when it comes up in real time.
4. Setting Expectations and Accountability
Critical to every employee’s success at work is knowing what’s expected of them. It would be like hiking a mountain in the dark without a flashlight if no employee was ever told what was expected of them at work. You might get somewhere, but there’s little chance it is where it was intended.
Learning why verbalizing expectations is a good first start, leading into how to set them and subsequently hold people accountable to them are all important skills for managers to learn.
For loads of reasons, managers may not clearly communicate expectations, leading to mistakes, re-work, frustration and all that comes with the time and energy put towards the wrong deliverable.
5. The Impact of Self-Awareness in Management Training
This may sound like a fluffy addition to a management training program, but I promise it is probably one of the most important manager training topics to address.
I read a while back about a survey that was done with Fortune 500 CEOs. They asked these leaders what the most important skill that made an impact in their career trajectory. Their answer? A higher level of self-awareness!
Managers who learn how to develop self-awareness and the difference it can make as a team lead will certainly impact the quality and success of their careers.
Self-aware managers know their strength zones; they know areas that may need focus or improvement; they have a way to evaluate themselves through feedback or reflection. Self-aware managers are humble enough to know they’ve got space to improve AND, they spend time and energy doing it.
Biggest Roadblocks to Existing and New Manager Training
The number one thing that has the potential to derail any training efforts is - Time.
Due to client demands, the speed of business, the priorities of work deliverables, and the ever-present and incredible crunch on every single workday, time will always be the commodity that holds training efforts back.
The lack of time to initially plan and develop training programs; the lack of time for employees and managers alike to dedicate to a live or virtual learning session; the lack of time to apply learning concepts and be held accountable for skills growth and improvement.
Additionally, there seems to be a budget struggle that never seems to be solved. It’s like a vicious cycle: We have managers who are ill-equipped to manage, who are causing problems that cost us money, but we aren’t dedicating the money to training them, so we still have managers who are ill-equipped to manage. How does that cycle stop?
Time and money will always be a roadblock to training unless a company steadfastly commits to the elevation of its employees.
I’ve also heard about another roadblock that faces human resources and learning and development teams, and that is not having support from upper leadership. When the biggest roadblock to improving the skills of employees is up in the C-Suite, I’m not sure how the problem ever gets resolved.
Roadblocks or not, there are plenty of low-cost/no-cost training ideas that would prove valuable to managers. If you need help here, drop me a note. I’ll send a PDF called 10 No-Cost/Low-Cost Training Ideas your way.
Innovative Ideas for New Manager Training Topics
Listen, I’m biased here because I’m going to share my own program as an idea for new manager training as a thought-starter to your own efforts to build a training program for your team. But, let me be clear: ANYTHING you do that is designed to grow the skills of your managers gets my vote. Well, anything that’s purposeful, consistent, and impactful I should say.
So many managers are neglected when it comes to training and development efforts, especially at the lower ranks. It’s high time we realize that the time and money put towards early management development pays off hugely as these same folks rise up the ranks.
Manager Boot Camp is a 4-module digital training program designed for managers of all levels. It was birthed out of my own experience managing a team where I felt unequipped to handle a lot of what was coming my way.
I purposely created this program to be concise and streamlined (I call it micro-learning)- so fitting it into busy schedules is manageable. Students are given 8 weeks to complete 4 modules with 5 or 6 lessons each that range from 3 to 18 minutes long (PLUS they get 1-year access!).
The content is instantly usable–with a range of critical lessons including the five management training topics I mention above as well as evaluating performance, motivating teams, crafting a personal virtual leadership style, in-person training, leadership coaching and so much more.
It doesn’t take much to help grow your managers with stronger skills and confidence to lead their teams, but it does take something. A company cannot say they want great success and results in one breath, then say they don’t have time or money to invest in training in the next.
New manager training is likely to most powerful place you can impact the quality of communication, collaboration, and outcomes in a company - and it’s a great place to start when it comes to developing a training program.
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About The Author
For the past two decades, Cecilia Gorman has helped advertising agencies and other creatively-minded companies fix costly communication and productivity issues by teaching managers how to become better connectors, motivators, and leaders. Cecilia is the author of Always Believe In Better, creator of the digital learning course for managers—Manager Boot Camp, and co-founder of the global training and support community for working women—Empowership.
Interested in growing your skills as a manager? Check out how Manager Boot Camp might help.