Being a manager is often likened to a pressure cooker experience. Most often than not, your quintessential designated guru has to put himself always in a tight spot juggling the most infamous mantra one has to practice every single working day: Coordinating with your team to meet your goal, keeping cost at a minimum while achieving results, and inspiring the entire department (or company) towards greatness. If doing the the juggling act of the first two is not enough, a manager always does that hallelujah pass to achieving that quarter or annual target. At some point, you may think being in management is a rather disdainful experience. Absolutely not. Most management course experts and business organizations beg to differ on this idea.
The Management Challenge
Being a manager could give you some pretty cool benefits. Is it achievable? Certainly. All you need is a vast experience in leadership, great communication skills, and a winner like attitude. Lest we forget, being in the business for an x number of years completes the experience. Yet is it everything? well no. In this age of information, there is a viable pursuit that may trump some of the seasonal employee’s recipe for management success: an exceptional management course.
Fast facts about the job
It is interesting to note that a lot of training is required in a management role; sadly, only a few are getting it. Surveys reveal that employees think that their managers are not receiving proper training for their roles which in effect account for employee disengagements and increasing turnover; in addition, individuals in the organization feel that their managers take months and even years to at least cover their management ‘bare minimum’ effectively. This becomes a catalyst for underperformance or non-compliance of expected standards such as poor culture fit insufficient onboarding, job dissatisfaction, and even personal issues to name a few. Key management skills are more than just engaging employees to meet company goals; a great deal of strategic planning, technical knowledge and extensive skill-building experience builds that kind of leadership brand a manager should possess - in fact, a significant number of employees believe that employee engagements are all about management performances and prerogatives. That goes without saying that quality management is tantamount to creating impactful lead turn around for everyone in the organization; all thanks to management courses and programs that center on strategic management.
Management Learning
Continuous learning is a must. But the caveat is one should choose a management course strategically for optimum result. The goal is to effectively develop technical and leadership skills in order to increase employee satisfaction and also to essentially improve chances of career growth.
Career benefits to taking management courses:
· Improved management skill sets. Management courses are designed to help you navigate aspects from strategizing plans, allocating resources, directing and motivating employees to executing successful projects in order to achieve company goals.
· Broadened perspective on current role as a manager. In building a more robust approach towards managerial roles, the following abilities are enhanced: effective delegation, conflict-management, efficient decision-making, problem-solving and strategic thinking.
· Enhanced communication skills. In management, communication is not simply essential, it is strategic. Helping prompts and relevant tasks are included in learning packets and modules that will help managers express themselves effectively, as well as create opportunities to acquire or expand on communication tactics to increase individual and team performance.
· Developed understanding on change management and leadership role transitions. Advanced studies or certificate programs aid in managing adjustments to company operations such as promotions, transfers, mergers, buy-outs, and even take-over. This may be apparent when discussions and changes in terms of technology systems, migration of data and software, tapping new markets, economic changes, and new product or service offerings.
· Gained insights on performance evaluation and management. Expect improvements on handling performance management programs once you sign in on a management course. It may actually work both ways – quality instructions provide comprehensive approaches, principles and even discussion on optimizing in-house talents, enhancing performance and productivity and establish systematized performance evaluation system to meet the ever changing and/or challenging workforce.
Top Management Course
Linkedin and Harvard Business School listed down some of the top management courses and certifications in 2023:
- General Management Program
- Google Project Management
- Agile Project Management
- Advanced Management Program
- Program for Leadership and Development
- Project Management Principles and Practices
- Plan and Change Management
- Construction Management
- Risk Management
Productivity Efficiency and Financial Rewards
How to Select the Right Management Course
Some self-evaluative reflection may help you in your thought process when choosing the right provider for your preferred programs:
- Would I go for an in-person learning experience where there are more physical interaction and hand on experience or an online learning opportunity where it is more cost effective and there is flexibility in classroom approaches?
- Do the school’s strongest areas of study align with your aspirations? What are the acceptance requirements for the program, and do you (or can you) fulfill them?
- Do you prefer large lectures with more independent learning or do you thrive in discussion-based and small group environments?
- What kind of academic support—tutors, access to professors, mentorship programs, career services, internships, or other—do you need to succeed?
- Are you most comfortable attending a business school nearby or are you ready to explore a new location, either abroad or domestically?
- Are you paying for business school yourself or do you have help?
- How long are you willing to wait to generate a positive return on investment (ROI) for your business school investment?
As to whether or not you want to pursue a post graduate degree or a graduate certificate, you may want to clarify your own expectations by asking yourself:
- How does the content align with the skills you want to gain?
- What is the course or program’s format and schedule?
- What is the school or the instructor’s expertise
- What course/program content actively engages you
- Would this course/program contain real-world business examples to learn from
- Would this course/program be more cost-effective
- Would this course/program generate a positive (and immediate) return on investment?
Strategic Gains in Choosing a Management Course
In a nutshell, use the following statements as your vision board in making a strategic choice in choosing a management course that would advance your management career:
- It allows me to show my deep sense of commitment to the organization
- It places me in a favorable leadership spot where I can handle challenges and opportunities well within my improved abilities.
- It broadens my career plans
- It increases my earning potential
- It improves my team’s performance
- It bolsters greatness towards a meaningful business culture
- It helps the company increase its profits and prospects
- It gives me the opportunity to network and connect with other leaders
The College of Contract Management offers multiple courses that can help you on your journey to successful team leadership and management!
