Case study 05 · Local government · London, United Kingdom

How a London borough council lifted manager confidence from 72% to 94%

World Class Manager® Research · Published 10 November 2026 · Data 2018 to 2026

A London borough council raised average manager confidence from 72% to 94% with World Class Manager®, the CPD-accredited management development programme. The result comes from 1,390 matched start and end ratings from 163 managers between 2018 and 2026, and 98% of those managers ended their modules more confident than they began.

72% → 94%average manager confidence

+22 pointsagainst +23 for all WCM managers

98%of managers more confident

287managers took part, 2018–2026

The challenge: what local government managers said at the start

Council managers deliver services to residents with tight budgets and high public expectations. When they joined, managers described their three greatest challenges in their own words. The most common were time and prioritisation (30%), motivating and engaging the team (25%) and communication (17%), coded from 179 managers’ answers.

What the organisation did

Between 2018 and 2026, 287 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 24 modules.

Manager confidence, start to end of each module

This organisation (72% to 94%)All World Class Manager® managers (71% to 94%, 28,460 ratings)

Results: manager confidence rose from 72% to 94%

Average confidence rose by 22 points, from 72% at the start of each module to 94% 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:

Modules with the largest rise in manager confidence
Module	Start	End	Rise (points)	Matched ratings
Developing Me, Developing My Team	63%	97%	+34	75
Great Goal Setting	68%	95%	+27	140
Optimising Your Time	67%	94%	+27	133

What local government 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 am more confident that the way I manage impacts my team in a positive way. I understand how to deliver inspiring appraisals, hold better meetings and how to deliver engaging presentations.

Manager, local government, 2023, on their impact on themselves

Meetings feel more interesting and engaged and attendee’s leave feeling energised and committed to projects.

Manager, local government, 2024, on the impact of their new actions

I have obtained a new position because of the skills learnt

Manager, local government, 2025, on their impact on themselves

Aligning team meetings with more strategic goals - has made such meetings more engaging, make more “sense” and motivated team and myself.

Manager, local government, 2026, on what they now do differently

Staff more motivated and open when feedback has been given

Manager, local government, 2025, on the impact of their new actions

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 1,390 matched pairs from 163 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.

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Frequently asked questions

Does management training improve manager confidence in local government?

In this local government organisation it did. Average manager confidence rose from 72% at the start of each World Class Manager® module to 94% at the end, across 1,390 matched ratings from 163 managers (2018 to 2026). 98% of those managers ended their modules more confident than they began.

Which management skills improved most?

The largest rises were in Developing Me, Developing My Team (63% to 97%); Great Goal Setting (68% to 95%); Optimising Your Time (67% to 94%).

What challenges did managers in local government face?

In their own words at the start of the programme, managers most often named time and prioritisation (30%), motivating and engaging the team (25%) and communication (17%) 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.