6.02.2025

More than eight out of every 10 managers in the UK have not had any formal management and leadership training. This startling statistic was uncovered by researchers at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

With tighter budgets, teams need to be more productive than ever. But that means they need great leaders – with proper leadership training.

The changing role of leaders

Senior leaders have a crucial part to play in influencing the culture of an organisation – but their role is shifting.

Successful leadership is no longer about firing out instructions. Leaders need to inspire, empower and nurture talent in teams, championing collective growth and achievement.

And the results are tangible. Teams with effective leaders are 17% more productive and 21% more profitable, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report 2023.

Here are seven key guiding principles to add to your manager’s toolkit.

1. Talk the talk

Develop effective communication that’s clear, honest and timely.

Including regular one-on-one meetings and team gatherings will provide invaluable forums for fostering dialogue. Build trust through active listening.

Good communication directly impacts employee engagement, which has been shown to improve performance by up to 20%, found McKinsey’s researchers for The Boss Factor report.

2. Think positive

Using authority in a positive way – by articulating clear expectations and standards – is a highly effective way of improving employee engagement.

Make UK offers bespoke training on how to incorporate company vision and values into daily habits, along with real-life examples of positive and negative behaviour.

3. Step outside your comfort zone

Embracing failure as a catalyst for growth is essential to boost innovation.

Champion a culture of risk-taking within a supportive framework – although never around health and safety. If ideas don’t work, view this an opportunity for learning and improvement.

4. Recognise effort

Show colleagues that you appreciate their hard work – not just the outcome.

Building genuine praise into your company culture is a great way to boost morale, and will motivate staff to invest greater effort and to aim higher.

Making the appreciation more formal can deliver powerful results. Recognition programmes can increase employee engagement by up to 14%, according to Deloitte’s Employee Engagement Report.

5. Tailor talent development

Identifying and nurturing individual strengths cultivates a sense of collective pride and purpose.

Working with a third party like Make UK can help you develop a training needs analysis, including addressing weaknesses while capitalising on existing strengths.

6. Foster an open environment

Encouraging a culture of transparency with mutual support and respect lays the foundation for trust and collaboration.

By providing ways to address concerns, leaders proactively mitigate potential conflicts.

7. Invest in yourself

You can’t influence others without investing in your own training and self-reflection. Taking time for yourself is vital for personal and professional development.

Many high-profile safety cases over the years have been rooted in failures of leadership, according to the Health and Safety Executive. Don’t make the same mistakes, and ensure that your leaders understand their responsibilities.

Make UK offers a wide range of training courses for senior leaders, including IOSH Leading Safely, and IEMA Leading with Environmental Sustainability.

How Make UK can help

We’re committed to supporting organisations through our comprehensive support package focused on training and consulting.

Getting an objective and invaluable view of the culture within your organisation is much easier when working with an outside agency.

Our team are experts in everything from developing your safety culture to using staff surveys to benchmark improvements.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But embracing the shifting nature of leadership and keeping up with the latest trends will help you to fuel growth into 2025 – and beyond.

• See what management and leadership courses are available from Make UK to help you create more effective leaders.