Working in the field of training and development its hard not to be struck by the level of enquiries for leadership courses. It’s fantastic to see the level of interest and engagement from business to individuals, particularly when anyone can be a leader, it is no longer the domain of where you sit in the organisational hierarchy, its all about that followership.
But it is interesting to ponder why management programmes don’t seem to have that same appeal. Is it as Steve Bartlett writes in The Diary of a CEO (smarturl.it) in law 11 about semantic satiation and habituation where the term slowly loses its meaning and is wallpaper in our minds, has the language of management been overused, that it’s been tuned out? Or is it the term manager has become connected to negative connotations in the press from the many scandals Top 10 Biggest Corporate Scandals - IG UK? Interesting that many of those scandals could be associated with leadership issues. Is it our technical experts don’t fully understand the knowledge, skills and expertise it takes to become a good manager? Not surprising when general management doesn’t feature on UK regulated professions and their regulators - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Or perhaps the profile of the management professional bodies CMI Membership | Join the Professional Body for Managers - CMI hasn’t yet reached the heights of perception as technical expertise professional bodies?
Maybe it’s time to change that? Without good management our businesses would not operate Good management is critical to professional development and employee well-being | International Journal of Pharmacy Practice | Oxford Academic (oup.com). Leadership is great and is of value, but how do you make that vision a reality? Of course, only through good management Would you rather be a manager or a leader? (economist.com).
Good managers just make processes work without anyone even realising, it is perhaps taken for granted. Only when something goes wrong that management is highlighted, yet day in day out lots is going right.
Over the last period, management tasks have expanded, the manager’s role getting deeper and wider than it’s ever been Middle Managers Are Exhausted. Top Teams Need to Listen. (mit.edu). So isn’t it about time that recognition for management becomes much more attractive than leadership because that’s where the magic happens, where reality takes shape.
If you’re interested in becoming a great manager, learning up to date practices for today’s environment or perhaps you’re interested in gaining a professional qualification that aligns with your management role, visit us at In Professional Development - Transforming Learning (inpd.co.uk) where we celebrate management Management Courses | Virtual & Face-to-Face | InPD just as much as leadership Leadership Courses | Virtual & Face to Face Training Courses | InPD. We’ll connect you or your team to the right programmes suited to your skills, experience, and aspirations.