Best manager training
programs.
For HR, L&D, and People teams choosing courses, workshops, or coaching for new and experienced managers.
Manager training programs teach people managers the skills of the job, such as giving feedback, delegating, running 1:1s, and handling hard conversations, through courses, workshops, and digital libraries. The best-known training providers are the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Dale Carnegie, FranklinCovey, DDI, Harvard Business Impact (Harvard ManageMentor), the American Management Association (AMA), SkillPath, LinkedIn Learning, and Coursera for Business. Many companies add coaching for managers alongside courses, or in place of them, from providers such as Boon, BetterUp, CoachHub, and Torch.
Boon Grow is cohort-based manager development: six months of 1:1 coaching and peer cohorts, measured before and after on the customer's own competencies, with +23% average competency growth across six-month Grow programs. Boon's 300+ ICF-accredited coaches also run Scale, always-on 1:1 coaching for managers and employees at every level.
A disclosure: this page lives on Boon's website, and Boon is one of the providers compared, judged by the same criteria as everyone else. Weigh our view accordingly. Details for other providers come from their own websites as of October 2026, and where a provider does not publish something, we say so. If you find something inaccurate, let us know.
What are the best manager training programs?
The right program depends on how many managers you need to reach and whether the gap is knowledge or behavior. Start with the situation closest to yours.
Best for manager programs measured on your own competencies: Boon Grow
Six months of 1:1 coaching and peer cohorts, assessed before and after on your company’s competency framework, with +23% average competency growth across six-month Grow programs.
Best for an intensive, research-based program for one frontline manager: CCL Maximizing Your Leadership Potential
Three days in person or five half-days online, with a 360 and three hours of 1:1 coaching.
Best for one shared management vocabulary across a large, multilingual company: FranklinCovey
A widely known curriculum available in many formats and 24 languages through the All Access Pass.
Best for assessment-led skills courses rolled out across a large enterprise: DDI
A deep assessment toolkit paired with a subscription library of leadership courses.
Best for a two-day course for a new manager, in person or live online: AMA Management Skills for New Managers
Delegation and coaching conversations practiced in role-play, with a pre-assessment and post-assessment.
Best for a live class near you, open to individuals: Dale Carnegie
Local offices with published prices and in-person or live online classes.
Best for short seminars and one-hour webinars for supervisors: SkillPath
Workshops, live virtual courses, and webinars, with an unlimited training subscription.
Best for on-demand management content for thousands of employees: Harvard ManageMentor
A large self-paced library that reaches many people quickly at low cost per person.
Best for a broad course library in many languages: LinkedIn Learning
24,000+ courses in 25 languages, with published team pricing.
Best for university and business school courses with certificates: Coursera for Business
Courses and Professional Certificates from 350+ universities and companies, with published team pricing.
Best for manager coaching in many languages across many countries: CoachHub
3,500+ coaches in 90+ countries and 80+ languages.
Best for human and AI coaching for managers from one vendor: BetterUp
BetterUp Manage for people managers, alongside AI coaching for the wider workforce that escalates to a human coach.
Best for coaching tiered by seniority, with 360 data: Torch
Emerging, Core, and Executive tiers, with a 360 at the start that can use your own competencies.
Need proof your managers changed?
See how Grow measures growth on your own competencies before and after a six-month program.
Explore GrowTraining vs coaching for managers.
Training teaches a skill to many people at once. Coaching works with one manager, or a small cohort, on how they use the skill with their own team. The two answer different questions, so the first decision is which gap you are closing. For a longer treatment, see coaching vs training.
| If your need is | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Every manager needs the same model or vocabulary (how the company runs 1:1s, reviews, or hiring) | Training | A course delivers the same content to everyone quickly and at a low cost per person. |
| Compliance or policy knowledge every manager must have | Training | This is knowledge transfer with a completion record. Coaching adds cost without adding much. |
| Hundreds or thousands of managers need to start this quarter | Training | A library or open-enrollment catalog reaches that many people on that timeline. Coaching does not. |
| A wave of first-time managers promoted at the same time | Both | Shared fundamentals in a course or cohort, then 1:1 coaching as each manager applies them to their own team. |
| Managers know what good looks like but do not do it under pressure | Coaching | The gap is behavior, and behavior changes through practice on real situations with someone holding you accountable. |
| Leadership wants proof that managers changed | Coaching | Programs that measure competencies before and after show change. Course completion shows attendance. |
When training is the right choice
Courses are the right answer for many manager needs, and often the cheaper one.
You need a shared language
When every manager should use the same feedback model or the same 1:1 format, a course is the fastest way to put it in front of all of them.
You need scale on a budget
Published team prices for LinkedIn Learning and Coursera for Business run under $400 per license per year, so a library can reach every manager at a low cost per head.
The gap is knowledge
If managers do not know the review process, the leave policy, or the basics of running a meeting, a course or a clear document closes the gap.
One manager wants a class on their own
Open-enrollment courses from CCL, AMA, Dale Carnegie, and SkillPath let an individual manager sign up without a company-wide program.
When coaching is the better fit
Coaching earns its higher cost when a manager already knows the model and still avoids the hard conversation, holds on to work they should delegate, or runs 1:1s that go nowhere. Course completion does not show whether that changed, which is why course libraries and LMS completions rarely satisfy a leadership team asking what the program did. Many companies use both: a course for the shared basics, then coaching for the managers whose behavior matters most. See workshop vs cohort vs 1:1 for how to sequence them.
How to evaluate a manager training program.
These six questions apply to courses and coaching alike, and show whether a program will hold up when someone asks what it changed.
Which gap you are closing
Training transfers knowledge; coaching changes behavior. Decide which gap you have before you compare vendors. Many manager programs need both, in a specific order.
What gets measured
Completion rates and post-course satisfaction measure exposure. Look for a measure before and after, ideally on your own competency framework, and change that direct reports can see.
Practice on real work
A role-play in class is a start. Ask what happens in the weeks after the course, and who helps the manager apply the skill to their own team.
How long it runs
Skills fade when managers go back to a full calendar the day after a workshop. Programs that run for months, with practice between sessions, give new habits time to stick.
Format and reach
Self-paced libraries reach everyone. Live classes and cohorts build peer accountability. 1:1 coaching addresses each manager’s situation. Match the format to the number of managers and the depth of change you need.
Total cost per manager who finishes
Per-license libraries, per-seat courses, per-participant programs, and per-session coaching behave differently when attendance does not match the plan. Compare the cost per manager who completes the program.
For how to measure the result, see the best coaching ROI measurement tools and manager leadership training: what works.
Manager training programs compared.
"Not published" means the provider does not state it on its website. Course providers tend to publish prices; coaching providers mostly do not.
| Provider | Type | Format | Length | Pricing | Measurement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCL | Training provider | In person or live online, with a 360 and 3 hours of 1:1 coaching | 20-hour intensive within a five-month journey | US$4,400 per person (open enrollment) | 360 assessment and self-assessments |
| Dale Carnegie | Training provider | In person or live online classes | Seven weekly sessions or three consecutive days | Set by local office | Not published |
| FranklinCovey | Training provider | Live online public course; All Access Pass library | Two half-day sessions (public course) | US$479 per person (public course); All Access Pass is custom quote | Impact assessments on its platform |
| DDI | Training provider | Subscription of courses, microlearning, and assessments | Ongoing subscription | Custom quote | Assessments, 360s, simulations, impact evaluation |
| Harvard Business Impact | Training provider | Self-paced library (Harvard ManageMentor); blended cohorts | Self-paced | Custom quote | Self-tests and admin dashboards |
| AMA | Training provider | In person, live online, on demand, or at your company | Two days (Management Skills for New Managers) | Published per seminar on its website | Online pre-assessment and post-assessment (new manager course) |
| SkillPath | Training provider | In-person workshops, live virtual courses, webinars, on demand | One-hour webinars to multi-day workshops | Per event, or an unlimited training subscription | Not published |
| LinkedIn Learning | Training provider | 24,000+ self-paced courses in 25 languages | Self-paced | Teams $379.88 per license per year (2 to 50) | Skill insights from LinkedIn data |
| Coursera for Business | Training provider | Self-paced university and company courses and certificates | Self-paced | Teams $399 per license per year (2 to 499) | Course and certificate completion |
| Boon | Coaching for managers | Grow: 1:1 coaching plus peer cohorts. Scale: always-on 1:1 coaching | Grow: six months, twelve 45-min 1:1 sessions. Scale: ongoing | Grow: flat fee per participant or per session, by contract. Scale: per completed session | Pre and post competency scores on the customer’s framework |
| BetterUp | Coaching for managers | Human 1:1 coaching (Manage, Lead) and AI coaching (Grow) | Ongoing | Not published | Whole Person assessment baseline, Reflection Point every four months |
| CoachHub | Coaching for managers | 1:1, group, and AI coaching in 80+ languages | Ongoing; CoachHub Rise is a 12-month program | Not published | Goals and milestones tracked in CoachHub Insights |
| Torch | Coaching for managers | Individual, group, and team coaching in seniority tiers | Custom programs; sample program is 12 months | Not published | Torch 360 at the start, Coaching Impact Report at the end |
Features and published prices come from each provider's website as of October 2026 and are not independently audited. Boon pricing is described on the pricing page.
Provider-by-provider breakdown.
Training providers: courses and workshops
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)
Training providerCCL is a nonprofit leadership research and training organization founded in 1970. Its program for first-level managers, Maximizing Your Leadership Potential, is a 20-hour intensive inside a five-month journey, delivered over three days in person or five half-days live online, with a 360-degree assessment and three hours of 1:1 coaching.
Strengths
- +Deep research base; CCL pioneered 360 feedback and the 70-20-10 model
- +Includes a 360 assessment and a small amount of 1:1 coaching
- +Published open-enrollment price
Limitations
- -Premium per-seat price for an individual program
- -Coaching is capped at a few hours inside a fixed program window
Best for: Individual frontline managers who want an intensive, research-based program with a 360
Dale Carnegie
Training providerDale Carnegie’s Leadership Training for Managers is built for new and mid-level managers, delivered in person or live online, most often as seven weekly sessions or three consecutive days. Local offices set prices and run the classes. 1:1 coaching is a separate offering.
Strengths
- +More than a century of management training and a large network of local offices
- +Open enrollment with published prices
Limitations
- -Event-based classroom training, with coaching sold separately
- -Price and delivery vary by local office
Best for: Individual managers or small teams that want an open-enrollment class near them
FranklinCovey
Training providerFranklinCovey’s manager program, The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team, runs publicly as two half-day live online sessions. Companies can license its full content library through the All Access Pass, delivered live in person, live online, and on demand in 24 languages. Coaching is sold separately.
Strengths
- +Widely known frameworks that give a whole company a shared management vocabulary
- +Many formats and 24 languages through one subscription
Limitations
- -The core manager course is short, so practice depends on what happens afterward
- -Coaching is sold separately as an add-on
Best for: Companies that want one management vocabulary across a large, multilingual workforce
DDI
Training providerDDI sells its Frontline Leader Program through a Leadership Development Subscription that includes assessments, in-person and virtual courses, microlearning, and practice tools. It is known for leadership assessment and research, including its Global Leadership Forecast. 1:1 coaching is not part of the frontline program.
Strengths
- +Extensive assessment toolkit, including 360s and simulations
- +Large research base and impact evaluation dashboards
Limitations
- -Enterprise subscription only, with no individual enrollment
- -Course-centered, with no 1:1 coaching for frontline managers
Best for: Large enterprises that want assessment-led skills courses rolled out at scale
Harvard Business Impact
Training providerHarvard Business Impact (formerly Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning) offers Harvard ManageMentor, a self-paced digital library of management content, videos, and tools, along with blended cohort programs and learning sprints for companies. Individual managers can also enroll in Harvard Business School Online’s self-paced Management Essentials course.
Strengths
- +Harvard and HBR brand with a very large content library
- +Reaches a large population quickly at low cost per person
Limitations
- -Core offering is self-directed, so completion depends on the learner
- -No 1:1 coaching listed
Best for: Companies that need on-demand management content for a large population
American Management Association (AMA)
Training providerAMA has run business and management training for more than 100 years, with 160 courses delivered online and in more than 10 cities. Its management and supervisory catalog lists 71 programs across live online, in-person, and on-demand formats. Its best-known course for new managers, Management Skills for New Managers, runs two days in person or live online, or at a company’s own location, and is aimed at managers with one to three years of experience.
Strengths
- +A large catalog of short, instructor-led management courses with open enrollment
- +The new manager course includes an online pre-assessment and post-assessment
- +Practice in class: participants plan a coaching conversation and run a delegation discussion in role-play with instructor feedback
Limitations
- -Courses are short events, so practice after the class depends on the manager and their company
- -No ongoing 1:1 coaching inside the core management courses
Best for: New managers who want a two-day, instructor-led course they can join on their own
SkillPath
Training providerSkillPath has run business training for more than 35 years and lists 2,000+ live and online courses. It sells in-person workshops, live virtual courses, one-hour webinars, and self-paced on-demand training, plus group training for companies in person or online. Its leadership and management catalog covers supervisory and management training, coaching and mentoring, and performance management, and an unlimited training subscription covers its live virtual courses and webinars for one rate.
Strengths
- +Short formats, including one-hour webinars, that fit a busy manager’s week
- +An unlimited training subscription for people who want many courses
- +Group training for a company’s own managers, in person or online
Limitations
- -Courses are broad business training, so manager content sits alongside many other topics
- -Its website does not describe how it measures behavior change after a course
Best for: Supervisors who want short, low-commitment courses on specific skills
LinkedIn Learning
Training providerLinkedIn Learning offers 24,000+ expert-led courses in 25 languages, including leadership and management content, with skill insights drawn from LinkedIn data. LinkedIn Learning for Teams is published at $379.88 per license per year, for 2 to 20 licenses at first purchase and up to 50 in total; larger companies buy through sales.
Strengths
- +A very large catalog in many languages
- +Published pricing for small teams
- +Skills data tied to the LinkedIn network
Limitations
- -Self-paced content; completion does not show a behavior change
- -Enterprise pricing is not published
Best for: A broad, multilingual content library for every employee
Coursera for Business
Training providerCoursera for Business offers 10,600+ courses, 1,400+ specializations, and 165+ Professional Certificates from 350+ companies and universities, including more than 20 business schools. Coursera for Teams is published at $399 per license per year for 2 to 499 licenses; larger companies buy through sales.
Strengths
- +University and business school content
- +Published pricing for teams up to 499 people
- +Certificates people can carry with them
Limitations
- -Self-paced content; completion does not show a behavior change
- -Enterprise pricing is not published
Best for: Academic and business school management content at scale
Coaching for managers
Boon
Coaching for managersBoon runs manager development through coaching. Grow is a six-month cohort program for new and rising managers: twelve 45-minute 1:1 coaching sessions, peer cohorts, and competency measurement before and after, built on the company’s own competency framework, with +23% average competency growth across six-month Grow programs. Scale is always-on 1:1 coaching for managers and employees at every level, billed per completed session. Exec, Together, and Adapt cover executive coaching, team coaching, and AI change management on the same network of 300+ ICF-accredited coaches.
Strengths
- +Pre and post competency measurement on the customer’s own competencies, with +23% average growth across six-month Grow programs
- +Coaching and structured cohort learning in one program, so managers practice skills on real situations between sessions
- +Grow includes three touchpoints with each participant’s manager: kickoff, midpoint, and close
- +HR sees aggregate progress while individual sessions stay confidential
- +Grow is a flat fee per participant or per session, set by contract; Scale is billed per completed session; programs launch within a week
Limitations
- -No course catalog; teams that need self-paced content for thousands of employees will want a content provider alongside it
- -A six-month program asks more of managers’ calendars than a one or two day workshop
- -English-first coaching; multinational programs in many languages are better served by CoachHub
- -Less brand recognition in Fortune 500 procurement than CCL, FranklinCovey, or DDI
Best for: Cohorts of new and rising managers where the company needs measured behavior change
See Grow for cohort manager development, and manager development for how Boon works with managers at every level.
BetterUp
Coaching for managersBetterUp offers BetterUp Lead for leaders, BetterUp Manage for people managers, BetterUp Grow, AI coaching for the wider workforce that escalates to a human coach, and BetterUp Ready for resilience. Members take a Whole Person assessment after onboarding and are nudged to complete a Reflection Point, a pulse review of the assessment, every four months.
Strengths
- +A dedicated product for people managers
- +Human and AI coaching in one product line
- +A baseline assessment and a regular four-month reassessment cadence
Limitations
- -Measurement is built on BetterUp’s own Whole Person Model; mapping its dimensions to your company’s competencies is offered at a certain partnership level
- -Coach network size and pricing are not published
Best for: Large enterprises that want human and AI coaching from one vendor
CoachHub
Coaching for managersCoachHub is a digital coaching platform with 3,500+ coaches in 90+ countries and 80+ languages. It offers 1:1 and group coaching, an AI coach called AIMY, a hybrid product called CoachHub Rise that combines AI with live sessions, and CoachHub Insights for tracking goals and progress.
Strengths
- +The widest language and country coverage among coaching providers here
- +1:1, group, and AI coaching from one vendor
- +Goals and milestones set at the start and tracked in CoachHub Insights
Limitations
- -CoachHub Rise, its offering for individual contributors and first-time managers, includes 3 to 5 live sessions in the first six months, with the AI coach covering the rest of the 12-month program
- -Pricing is not published
Best for: Multinational companies that need manager coaching in many languages
Torch
Coaching for managersTorch offers individual, group, and team coaching for leaders in three tiers: Executive (VP to C-suite), Core (director to senior director), and Emerging (individual contributor to senior manager). Its reports include a Torch 360 at the start of coaching and a Coaching Impact Report at the end, and an AI agent called Spark supports roleplay between sessions.
Strengths
- +Coaching tiers mapped to seniority, including a tier for managers
- +The 360 can be configured to your own leadership competencies, or used with Torch’s standard leadership domains
- +AI roleplay between sessions
Limitations
- -Sold as custom programs scoped in a consultation; its sample program is a 12-month engagement for a defined group of leaders
- -Pricing is not published
Best for: Companies that want manager coaching tiered by seniority with 360 data
For a wider view of manager programs, including how coaching and training combine, see the best manager development programs. For course libraries and learning platforms alongside coaching, see the best leadership development software.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best manager training programs?
The best-known manager training programs come from CCL, Dale Carnegie, FranklinCovey, DDI, Harvard Business Impact (Harvard ManageMentor), the American Management Association (AMA), SkillPath, LinkedIn Learning, and Coursera for Business. For managers who need to change how they lead, coaching providers such as Boon, BetterUp, CoachHub, and Torch are the alternative or complement to courses. Boon Grow is a six-month cohort program measured before and after on the customer's own competencies, with +23% average competency growth across six-month Grow programs. Boon publishes this guide and is one of the providers compared.
What are the top management training providers?
For live, instructor-led courses: CCL, Dale Carnegie, FranklinCovey, AMA, and SkillPath. For enterprise subscriptions with assessments: DDI. For self-paced libraries: Harvard ManageMentor, LinkedIn Learning, and Coursera for Business. For coaching instead of courses: Boon, BetterUp, CoachHub, and Torch.
Which management training courses teach delegation skills?
AMA’s Management Skills for New Managers has participants prepare and run a delegation discussion in role-play with instructor feedback, over two days in person or live online. When comparing other courses, check whether delegation is practiced in class or only described. Delegation is also one of the competencies Boon Grow measures before and after, with a coach working on it with each manager’s own team.
Is training or coaching better for managers?
Training is better when managers need a shared model, a policy, or the basics, quickly and for many people. Coaching is better when managers know what good looks like but do not do it under pressure, because the gap is behavior. First-time managers usually benefit from both: shared fundamentals in a course or cohort, then 1:1 coaching as they apply them to their own team.
How much does manager training cost?
Published prices vary widely. LinkedIn Learning for Teams is $379.88 per license per year and Coursera for Teams is $399 per license per year. FranklinCovey’s public manager course is US$479 per person, and CCL’s open-enrollment program for first-level managers is US$4,400 per person. DDI, Harvard Business Impact, BetterUp, CoachHub, and Torch do not publish prices. Boon Grow is a flat fee per participant or per session set by contract, and Boon Scale is billed per completed session.
What is manager training?
Manager training is a course, workshop, or digital program that teaches people managers specific skills, such as giving feedback, delegating, running 1:1s, managing performance, and handling difficult conversations. It differs from manager development, the longer process of a manager changing how they lead, which usually combines training, practice on real work, coaching, and feedback over time.
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