The role of the manager has never been more complex than in today's business environment.
Not only do they have to manage the performance and development of their team, they are now increasingly called upon to manage projects, change initiatives and to operate on both operational and strategic levels. This necessitates a far wider set of skills and competencies to be assessed and developed and calls for far greater flexibility in methods and timescales of management development programmes.


Pearlcatchers Ltd offer a wide range of development techniques from formal training to self-managed learning, learning sets and personal development plans. These can be applied to all levels of management development, from learning basic skills and techniques to honing specialist skills (such as change and project management) or developing strategic middle managers.


Managing for Success

Managing for Success is our series of modular packages, each designed to address a specific management skill or competency. The modules can be run individually or combined to form a management foundation or development programme.

Managing Your Role

Managing for Development

Managing Meetings

Managing Budgets/Planning

Managing Relationships

Managing Decisions

Managing Communication

Managing Customer Service

Managing Business Strategy

Managing Yourself

Managing Performance

Managing Team Briefs

Managing Attendance

Managing Assertively

Managing Problems

Managing Innovation

Managing Complaints

Managing Projects

Managing People

Managing Teams

Managing Presentations

Managing Reports

Managing Conflict

Managing Motivation

Managing Delegation

Managing Interviews

Managing Change

Developing Management Capability

Developing management capability requires more than a series of training courses on basic skills. We can help you design a programme which takes you right from agreeing core competencies to embedding management development into business as usual.

  • Succession Planning - grow your own leaders for the future.
  • Create understanding of the impact managers have on business success.
  • Design and implement a Management Competency Framework.
  • Design a range of assessment techniques to identify current status.
  • Assess capability of current managers and implement development programmes to address key gaps.
  • Roll out assessment programme to supervisors, deputies etc. to identify potential.
  • Roll out development and retention programme to identified managers of the future.


Management Foundation

Management Foundation focuses on developing the basic skills required by managers. It is ideal for new first line managers or those wishing to refresh certain areas. The Management Foundation can be designed to include topics such as:

  • The role of the manager/team leader - management and leadership today.
  • Management/leadership styles and indicators of successful managers.
  • Principles of motivation -what motivates and demotivates people.
  • Developing credibility, confidence and self esteem.
  • Setting objectives and maintaining service levels.
  • Performance management and handling poor performance.
  • Developing communication, interpersonal and influencing skills.
  • Managing different people differently - developing a flexible management style.
  • Giving constructive feedback and developing improvement plans.
  • Managing disciplinary, grievance, dismissal or redundancy processes.
  • People selection - competencies, interviews and assessment centres.
  • Learning, training, developing, mentoring, counselling and coaching.
  • Building high performance teams - characteristics of effective teams.
  • The manager as a communicator - defining your role and style.
  • Writing for business - reports, minutes, customer letters etc.
  • Performing under pressure - time, self and stress management.
  • Managing, valuing and encouraging diversity.


Strategic Middle Management

Strategic Middle Management is aimed at providing managers with the skills and knowledge to both become more involved in planning and implementing business strategy and operating effectively with a wider and more senior network of contacts.

  • What is strategy - the link between strategy and operations.
  • Understanding the role of a 'strategic middle manager'.
  • Vision and values - how do you contribute to them.
  • The business context - developing commercial awareness.
  • Project management (framework, processes and skills).
  • What is change - change in the business context, change and the individual.
  • Planning, implementing and managing change.
  • Strategies for influencing groups and through presentations.
  • Managing upwards and developing political acumen.
  • Building organisational relationships and networks.
  • Developing flexibility in leadership style- what works best and when.
  • Developing Emotional Intelligence and understanding your impact on others.
  • Recognising and managing innovation and creativity.