Learning to Lead

Moving into management means your results now come through other people rather than your own expertise. 

First-time managers need to set direction, give feedback, delegate, and build trust with a team, often while still delivering their own work. Learning to Lead focuses on building these skills early, so new managers avoid common first-year mistakes.

Learning to Lead focuses on the first step into management: leading a direct team for the first time. The High Impact Leadership Programme is for professionals with 3 - 6 years of experience who are ready to lead across teams, influence peers, and engage with the wider organisation.

Leadership transitions are a high-risk moment. McKinsey research finds that between 27% – 46% of them are seen as failures or disappointments two years on. This often results in less engagement in the team, as well as lower overall performance. The success of a manager also causes 70% of variance in employee engagement. A successful first leadership transition also accounts for 90% higher likelihood that teams will meet their 3-year performance goals, and a 13% lower risk in team attrition.

Supporting a new manager early protects both the team’s performance and the organisation’s investment in promoting them. Here are some points to build your case:

• Enhance team capabilities and build a positive culture from the ground up: Develop the self-awareness and people leadership skills needed to improve team morale, collaboration, productivity, and retention among employees who drive the day-to-day operations of the organisation.
• Deliver tangible business results for your organisation: INSEAD learning coaches work with you to build your real-life case studies. This coaching element helps ensure that your learning is applied directly to workplace challenges, creating meaningful and lasting organisational impact.
• Develop a strong leadership pipeline for long-term organisation success: INSEAD Leadership programmes equip you with mindset, skills, and confidence to deliver immediate value to your teams and organisation while building a stronger leadership bench for the future.

Sources: 

• McKinsey & Company; Successfully transitioning to new leadership roles
• GALLUP; Managers Account for 70% of Variance in Employee Engagement  

We have prepared a short leadership-development letter which you can use to adapt to your role, and share with your manager and HR. We also encourage you to reach out to our Programme Advisor to prepare for this conversation together. Please reach out to us at [email protected]

Download the request template here (18.71 KB)