Ten reasons why you need a professional qualification to boost your management prospects

So, you want to find a job, get a different/better job, or move up to doing your boss's job? Great, good for you. If that job is in a management or leadership capacity, you really should be considering taking a specialist professional qualification that establishes your credentials as a manager and leader. Why? Well, there are lots of reasons: here are 10:

1.????Competitive advantage. According to the Chartered Management Institute, less than 1 in 5 managers have a recognised qualification that confirms their capabilities as a manager and leader. There is no better way to stand out from the crowd, and these days there is frequently a crowd for most decent jobs.

2.????Confidence. So many managers are promoted based on their technical credentials and then suffer from a lack of confidence because they don’t have all the necessary skills to lead and manage people. A good qualification programme will benchmark the skills you have, give you the skills you don’t and put them in a context that makes them relevant to your career.

"82% of people have suffered from imposter syndrome... a professional qualification will get rid of it"

3.????Crush imposter syndrome. I once had a conversation with a regional MD of a well-known utility company, someone who had worked their way up and was very good at their job, who said: “I just have this fear that one day I’ll be found out…” One study found that up to 82% of people have suffered from imposter syndrome. If you are one of those, a professional qualification will get rid of it. (More on beating Imposter Syndrome here.)

4.????Physical Evidence. You may know you’re a good manager and leader. Well… prove it. Get a (virtual) piece of paper that you can point to and take away the need to convince other people with long rambling stories about that time you lead your team to achieve a 5% uplift in production efficiencies.

5.????Freshen up. What is your personal brand at work? Are you the good, solid hand that gets things done… so much so that you get left to do it and no one really notices? Make them take notice by gaining a qualification that says: “I’m developing myself for better things… either here or elsewhere.”

"Leaders are NOT born – they are made, and if you want to become a good one, you need to learn the latest leadership skills."

6.????Leadership skills do not equal management skills. Some may believe that managing is easy, so why do they need a qualification? Because leadership isn’t easy – it’s a developing discipline that evolves with the constantly changing business landscape. The good news is that leaders are NOT born – they are made, and if you want to become a good one, you need to learn the latest leadership skills.

7.????Demonstrate commitment. Technical qualifications will get you on to the first couple of rungs of the ladder. But to get much higher you need to show that you are as committed to learning how to lead people as you were to learning how to code/sell/fill in a spreadsheet.

8.????Make your qualifications match your role. You may well have completed a degree straight from school – but ask yourself: is that Media Studies/Greek History/Baking and Pastry Technology qualification relevant to the management role you have now? If so - great, crack on. If not….

9.????Broaden your thinking. There are approximately 22,387 (not a scientific estimate) management podcasts available, all of which claim to keep you up to date with the latest management fads. No one has the time to listen to them all, let alone also squeeze in the latest true crime/sport/#influencerlife pod as well. Choose a professional qualification programme that is designed to bring you up to date with contemporary management and leadership thinking and leave you plenty of time to work your way through Serial.

10. Benchmark yourself internationally. Some qualifications, such as those accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), allow you to find out how your skillset compares against international management standards. That means that if you were ever to think of working abroad, your qualification would be relevant and you could look for a similar role.

"There is a big difference between taking a course and a well-designed leadership development qualification programme"

You may have noticed how I have consistently referred to a qualification programme. This is because there is a big difference between simply taking a course and signing up for a well-designed leadership development qualification programme. The former will give you that piece of paper, but you may have to undergo hours of tedious lectures, followed by more hours of pointless assessments that are exercises in box-ticking, bearing little or no relevance to your professional life.

A leadership development qualification programme, however, will be designed to ensure it is relevant to your work, fits in with the modern work life, and will embrace the latest management thinking. In short, it will give you tools that you can use in the workplace from day one, instead of making you sit through hours of presentations listing ancient management models you'll never use.

To find out more about the Inspirational Development Group's professional management and leadership qualifications please visit our website.