About the Course

Middle managers carry disproportionate organizational weight, translating strategy into execution while managing both upward and downward relationships, yet weak delegation remains a common and foundational gap at this level in particular.

This programme builds the core capability set first-line and middle managers need: delegation, performance management basics, upward influence, team leadership fundamentals and the transition from individual contributor to manager, positioned as Devimpact’s primary entry point into the management pathway.

Participants leave with a personal management-transition plan and a delegation and prioritization framework, ready to apply immediately to strengthen their day-to-day management practice.

Target Participants

Newly appointed and first-line managers, Middle managers seeking to strengthen core skills, High-potential employees preparing for management roles, Team leaders and supervisors, and Managers returning to a people-management role.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply delegation and prioritization frameworks.
• Manage the transition from individual contributor to manager.
• Apply core performance-management practices.
• Build upward-influence and communication skills.
• Lead a team through day-to-day management challenges.
• Build a personal management-development plan.

Course Duration

• Classroom – 5 Days
• Online – 7 Days

Course Outline

The Transition to Management

• Individual-contributor-to-manager shift
• Common new-manager mistakes
• Role and identity adjustment
• Self-assessment of readiness
• Case introduction

Delegation and Prioritization

• Delegation frameworks
• Prioritization techniques
• Time-management for managers
• Delegation-practice exercise
• Prioritization-case exercise

Core Communication Skills

• Manager communication essentials
• Active-listening basics
• Giving clear instructions
• Communication role-play
• Feedback basics

Managing Upward

• Upward-influence techniques
• Managing expectations with seniors
• Communicating constraints upward
• Upward-communication role-play
• Case exercise

Basic Performance Management

• Goal-setting basics
• Everyday feedback practice
• Handling underperformance basics
• Performance-conversation role-play
• Documentation basics

Team Leadership Fundamentals

• Team-motivation basics
• Building team trust
• Managing team meetings
• Team-leadership case exercise
• Team-charter basics

Managing Conflict as a New Manager

• Basic conflict-resolution skills
• Difficult-conversation basics
• De-escalation techniques
• Conflict role-play
• Escalation-pathway awareness

Decision-Making for Managers

• Everyday decision frameworks
• Decision authority clarity
• Escalation vs autonomous decisions
• Decision-case exercise
• Decision-confidence building

Managing Change at the Team Level

• Change-communication basics
• Supporting the team through change
• Managing team resistance
• Change-case exercise
• Change role-play

Capstone: Personal Management Plan

• Transition-plan finalization
• Delegation-framework finalization
• Peer feedback session
• Presentation to cohort
• Post-training commitments

Practical Outputs

Participants will develop or work with the following tangible outputs during the programme:

• Personal management-transition plan
• Delegation and prioritization framework
• Basic performance-conversation template
• Team-communication charter

Training Approach

The programme combines practical skill-building exercises, role-plays for delegation and difficult conversations, peer discussion of real management challenges participants are currently facing, and a structured planning process producing a personal management-development plan for the first 90 days.

Organizational Benefits

• Stronger foundational management capability across the organization
• Improved delegation and reduced management bottlenecks
• Better new-manager retention and confidence
• More consistent day-to-day people management practice
• Stronger internal management pipeline

Certification

Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a Certificate of Course Completion from Devimpact Institute, recognizing the knowledge, practical skills and competencies developed through the programme.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can be customized and delivered as an in-house programme to address the specific policies, systems, sector context and capacity-development priorities of an organization. The course duration, modules, case studies and practical exercises may be adjusted following a training needs assessment.