Jody Tranter, head of Kaplan Altior
Law is a competitive industry and from the very beginning of your career, you’ll be competing for training contracts and as you progress, you’ll be competing for additional opportunities, promotions and cases. But if you truly wish to get ahead in the sector, you have to develop exceptional management skills to help stand out from the crowd and showcase what differentiates you. This is where Management and Leadership courses can prove pivotal and Jody Tranter, head of Kaplan Altior, explains more.
Understand your strengths
Continuing professional development courses such as Management and Leadership can help individuals to have a heightened level of self-awareness and understand their strengths and capabilities. According to Forbes, only 10-15% of people are self-aware for three reasons: we have blind spots, we’re wired to operate on autopilot and we like to see ourselves in a positive light. Training can prove most helpful in improving your self-awareness, by giving you experience and knowledge of best practice people management which you might not otherwise have had.
Prepare for progression
For those looking to build their professional status and continue to climb the career ladder, preparation is key. Yet, in 2016, only 37% of employers were reported to be investing in management skills, despite the fact that 58% of respondents said that management skills are lacking in UK businesses. Figures remain particularly low for formal training prior to promotion or appointment. According to Forbes research, 58% of survey respondents said that they didn’t receive any formal training before undertaking their managerial roles. This is surprising considering that we expect managers to have a wide range of skills including people management, strong communication, the ability to manage workloads and more. However, these skills cannot be enhanced through experience alone – there needs to be effective training undertaken to understand best practice approaches and to experience an outside perspective. That’s where an external training provider can prove essential.
Increase productivity
Whether you want to develop skills to manage yourself, manage others or manage the firm, it’s important to remember that good management can increase productivity levels by 10%. So, individuals operating within these roles need to be nurtured to remain motivated whilst also helping the firm to achieve more efficient results. Statistics from the ONS also show that how a manager is received by their team and how they operate, directly correlates with productivity levels. This is a critical consideration, especially as the UK lags behind in productivity levels, with output per British worker lagging behind every G7 country except Japan. Therefore, training and better managerial self-awareness can have a lasting impact on a team or firm.
Ultimately, a Management and Leadership course can help showcase a forward-thinking approach to your professional development and demonstrate your commitment to your firm and career. It can also help solicitors to develop essential management skills and learn how to balance client requirements and team morale, whilst meeting the demands of their role to mould a successful career with longevity.
For more information about Kaplan Altior’s Management and Leadership programme or to book your place, click here.
