Management Development and Assessment

Aspiring and established managers usually have no shortage of training options. The challenge for HR Directors is deciding which management development and assessment option will genuinely improve judgement, people leadership, communication and performance, without creating a cumbersome, superficial process that looks busy but delivers very little.

The most effective starting point is careful assessment. Before selecting workshops, coaching or qualifications, organisations should identify the manager’s current context, the expectations of the role, the capability gaps that matter most, and the practical outcomes that success should produce.

What A Credible Assessment Should Test

1. Role demands, including decision-making, delegation, accountability and team leadership.

2. Current strengths and risks, not just what a manager says they want to learn.

3. Business priorities, so development links to performance, retention and culture.

4. Preferred learning format, time pressure and the likelihood of practical application.

How to assess options

Strong assessment looks beyond course brochures and generic promises. It compares development options against real management challenges such as holding difficult conversations, leading change, setting expectations, improving team standards and building confidence under pressure.

Start with the role

New managers often need core people management capability, while experienced managers may need sharper strategic thinking, coaching skill or stronger leadership presence. The right option depends on what the role demands next, not what sounds impressive on paper.

Look for evidence

Useful development should include behavioural outcomes, manager feedback, opportunities to practise and some way to measure transfer back into work. If value cannot be explained clearly, it is usually weak or superficial.

Avoid over-engineering

Assessment should be disciplined, but not bureaucratic. Short interviews, observation, targeted feedback and a clear skills review often produce better decisions than complicated frameworks nobody uses properly.

Choosing the best pathway

The best development pathway usually blends formal learning with real application. For some managers, that means a focused programme that builds core skills quickly; for others, it means combining training with coaching, feedback and stretch assignments over time.

A sensible choice should feel proportionate. It must be robust enough to address real capability gaps, yet simple enough to maintain momentum and relevance.

Define Value

Decide what better management should improve: team performance, confidence, engagement, communication, retention or readiness for promotion.

Match the Method

Use short programmes for essential foundations, coaching for individual barriers, and on-the-job practice for behaviour change that must stick.

Review Impact

Revisit goals after the intervention, test practical application, and refine the next stage rather than assuming one course solves everything.

What to avoid

Many management programmes fail because they are too generic, too detached from day-to-day work, or too focused on attendance rather than behaviour change. That is why development should be judged by usefulness, application and measurable value.

Off-the-shelf content

• Looks polished, but ignores business culture and the manager’s real pressures.

• Creates short-term enthusiasm without lasting change.

• Makes value difficult to justify.

Superficial assessment

• Relies on self-report alone.

• Misses team feedback and performance evidence.

• Produces weak training choices.

Cumbersome processes

• Add too many forms, models and review stages.

• Delay action and reduce engagement.

• Turn development into administration.

Summit’s approach

Summit offers customised, value focused management training and coaching designed around the realities of the organisation, the role and the individual manager. The aim is not to deliver superficial, off the shelf training whose value is questionable, but to build practical capability that improves management performance where it matters.

That may include targeted programmes for first-line managers, coaching for established managers, tailored workshops linked to business priorities, or blended pathways that connect learning directly to workplace application. Good management development should feel purposeful, relevant and commercially worthwhile.

The most popular management training course for new managers is the two-day People Management Essentials course.

The most popular course for established managers is the one-day Emotional Intelligence for Managers programme.

To discuss your organisation's management development and assessment priorities, please use the Contact Form or call us on 0845 052 3701.