How a laboratory diagnostics business lifted manager confidence from 64% to 93%
A laboratory diagnostics business raised average manager confidence from 64% to 93% with World Class Manager®, the CPD-accredited management development programme. The result comes from 402 matched start and end ratings from 52 managers between 2022 and 2026, and 98% of those managers ended their modules more confident than they began.
The challenge: what laboratory diagnostics managers said at the start
Laboratory managers are often technical specialists who move into leading people without formal management training. When they joined, managers described their three greatest challenges in their own words. The most common were time and prioritisation (33%), motivating and engaging the team (27%) and communication (25%), coded from 60 managers’ answers.
What the organisation did
Between 2022 and 2026, 74 managers took part in World Class Manager®, the CPD-accredited management development programme from the Global Growth Institute. Managers worked through online modules, answered reflection questions in their own words and committed to actions with their own teams. Start and end ratings could be matched for 12 modules.
Manager confidence, start to end of each module
Results: manager confidence rose from 64% to 93%
Average confidence rose by 29 points, from 64% at the start of each module to 93% at the end. Across all World Class Manager® managers the rise is 23 points (71% to 94%). 98% of managers in this organisation ended their modules more confident than they began. The biggest gains came in these modules:
| Module | Start | End | Rise (points) | Matched ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Being A Strategic Leader | 45% | 86% | +41 | 23 |
| Great Goal Setting | 59% | 97% | +38 | 45 |
| Better Meetings, Better Results | 60% | 93% | +33 | 36 |
What laboratory diagnostics managers said about the impact
In their own words, from the programme’s reflection and review questions. Verbatim and unedited, original spelling kept, shortened only where marked.
I have had a senior manager advise that I seem a lot calmer and focused. They have also noticed that I listen more and am not so quick to speak.
The day feels much more structured and I feel that I am much less stressed and able to think more clearly.
My confidence in meetings has increased and my participation has meant raising of issues that will help improve service delivery.
My staff feel more engaged and feel listened to having had a conversation outside of the busy work environment where they can express concerns.
More confident in providing a safe space for my team to have open and honest conversations with me.
How the results were measured
At the start of each module, every manager rated themselves on the module’s core skill. At the end of the module, they rated their confidence again. Both ratings are shown as a percentage of the top of the scale (1 to 5, or 1 to 10), matched for the same manager and module, and averaged across 402 matched pairs from 52 managers. Challenges are coded from managers’ own words. All figures are self-reported: they show how managers rate themselves, not business outcomes. The organisation is anonymised and shown by sector and region only.
Frequently asked questions
Does management training improve manager confidence in laboratory diagnostics?
In this laboratory diagnostics organisation it did. Average manager confidence rose from 64% at the start of each World Class Manager® module to 93% at the end, across 402 matched ratings from 52 managers (2022 to 2026). 98% of those managers ended their modules more confident than they began.
Which management skills improved most?
The largest rises were in Being A Strategic Leader (45% to 86%); Great Goal Setting (59% to 97%); Better Meetings, Better Results (60% to 93%).
What challenges did managers in laboratory diagnostics face?
In their own words at the start of the programme, managers most often named time and prioritisation (33%), motivating and engaging the team (27%) and communication (25%) as their greatest challenges.
How is the confidence score measured?
At the start of each module, every manager rates themselves on the module’s core skill. At the end of the module, they rate their confidence again. Both ratings are turned into a percentage of the top of the scale, matched for the same manager and module, and averaged. The score is self-reported: it shows how managers rate themselves, not business outcomes.
Are these results typical?
Yes. Across all 177 organisations in the matched data (28,460 ratings from 3,397 managers), average confidence rose from 71% to 94%. Every one of the 35 organisations with 15 or more managers in the matched data saw a rise, of between 16 and 34 points.
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