Over the boom period of growth and prosperity in the not too distant past, salespeople and managers alike were encouraged to enter onto management training courses to provoke some ‘blue skies thinking’ to make bolder, bigger choices to further increase their company’s revenue.

Now in the midst of an economic downturn, management schools and universities all over the UK are formulating new courses aimed at the promotion of business stability, sustainability and efficiency. There seems to be a shift back towards more traditional values of management, and ultimately leadership.

Essentially, managers are beginning to realise the benefits of moving away for a ‘wham, bam, quick-fix’ culture and more towards tried and tested methods of problem solving, efficiency and effectiveness.

However, some sceptical managers may feel that they have enough on their plates, and that classroom led training and development doesn’t reflect the reality of their day to day challenges.

The true fact is, like all good learning, it needs to be applied and those managers should consider staggered training periods to give them an opportunity to practically apply their new knowledge in the workplace.

Training and development can also give managers a great opportunity to share their ideas and challenges with like minded colleagues, and may find added value from that interaction.