CMI Level 6 Diploma in Professional Management and Leadership practice

Unit Aim

This unit enables professional managers and leaders to consider how an organisation’s context influences the way individuals are managed and led. Outstanding managers select and apply the right knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours in their role; while experience develops these, in-depth study sharpens them. Learners will reflect on what is needed not only to deliver successful organisational outcomes, but to lead individuals with confidence.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the influence of organisational context on management and leadership practice.
• Understand the practice of professional management and leadership.

Unit Aim

This unit gives professional managers and leaders an understanding of the principles of developing, managing and leading individuals and teams, who can transform an organisation’s reputation, productivity and success. Learners will explore the factors that influence how people are developed and led, examine the role of organisational structures in managing human resources, and research classic and contemporary approaches. The unit concludes with an assessment of the skills needed to lead people in a way that achieves results and is ethical, fair, empowering and collaborative.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the principles for developing, managing and leading individuals and teams.
• Know how to develop, manage and lead individuals and teams to achieve results.

Unit Aim

This unit gives professional managers and leaders an understanding of the role and impact of culture within organisations. Beliefs, principles, behaviours and values can shape an organisation’s success. Culture develops over time, influenced by staff and stakeholders, leadership approaches, and the organisation’s history, purpose, vision and values. Learners will also explore approaches to making and sustaining cultural change.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the role of culture within organisational contexts.
• Understand approaches required to make and sustain cultural change.

Unit Aim

This unit equips professional managers and leaders to respond proactively to the demands of programme and project management, whatever their type, size and complexity. Managing programmes and projects is complex, shaped by stakeholder involvement, financing, resourcing, and risk appetite. Learners will explore how success is judged on achieving goals within the limits of cost, quality, resources and time, and how to lead programmes and projects to achieve results.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand programmes and project management in an organisational context.
• Understand factors and approaches for delivering a strategy for programme or project management.
• Know how to lead programmes and projects to achieve results.

Unit Aim

This unit enables professional managers and leaders to understand innovation and change within organisational contexts. Innovation, simply doing something new or different, can transform operations, create new opportunities, and help achieve strategic goals, while leaders must respond to radical, incremental, or evolutionary change. Learners will explore the reasons for innovation and change, such as technology and digitalisation, and the knowledge, values and behaviours needed to drive them successfully.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand innovation and change within an organisational context.
• Know how to drive innovation and change.

Unit Aim

This unit enables professional managers and leaders to understand approaches to developing organisational strategy, and how to formulate and lead operational strategy to achieve a strategic aim. Organisational strategy acts as a blueprint that sets direction for stakeholders and helps measure success, evolving in response to new opportunities and challenges. Ultimately, successful outcomes depend on how the strategy is led, managed and implemented.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand approaches to developing organisational strategy.
• Know how to develop and lead operational strategy to achieve a strategic aim.

Unit Aim

This unit enables managers and leaders to achieve business objectives through competent, ethical and professional procurement, purchasing and contracting. Doing this well strengthens decision-making, strategic and operational planning, and on-budget delivery of outcomes. In this unit, procurement is treated as the strategic activity, supported by purchasing and contracting.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the principles of procurement, purchasing and contracting within organisational contexts.
• Know how to apply the principles of procurement, purchasing and contracting to achieve an operational requirement.

Unit Aim

This unit enables professional managers and leaders to understand corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in an organisational context. CSR and sustainability are closely linked to organisational accountability, and approaches vary with an organisation’s type, purpose and governance. Learners will assess the enablers, constraints and barriers to success, present a case for organisational commitment, identify approaches to implementation and develop strategies to gain ongoing stakeholder commitment.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand corporate social responsibility and sustainability in organisational contexts.
• Know how corporate social responsibility and sustainability are applied in an organisational setting.

Unit Aim

This unit enables professional managers and leaders to understand the rationale for quality management and the approaches used. Effective quality management meets stakeholder needs, builds trust and reputation, and affects profitability, processes and the achievement of strategic objectives. Quality doesn’t happen by chance, so the unit focuses on building quality and continuous improvement into every aspect of practice.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the factors which influence organisational approaches to quality management.
• Know how to lead quality management to achieve strategic objectives.

Unit Aim

This unit enables professional managers and leaders to take a fresh look at the role policy plays within an organisation. Policies set strategic direction and the behaviours and values expected of staff, and writing effective policy takes real skill, along with an understanding of its context, drivers and stakeholder influences. Learners will explore how policy is developed and successfully cascaded to its intended audience.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the context in which a policy is developed.
• Know how to develop, implement and evaluate policy.

Unit Aim

This unit gives professional managers and leaders an understanding of how knowledge management affects an organisation and the people working within it. How knowledge is managed influences productivity, competitive advantage, succession planning, and overall success. Knowledge management goes beyond technology for sharing data, covering strategy, experiential learning, context and human interaction. Learners will develop a strategy to drive knowledge management in an organisational context.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand knowledge management within organisational contexts.
• Understand the human and cultural dimensions of knowledge management.
• Know how to develop a strategy to drive knowledge management in an organisational context.

Unit Aim

This unit focuses on the coaching skills, techniques and approaches leaders need to develop the knowledge, skills and resourcefulness of others. Coaching has become an essential leadership tool that supports, motivates, and empowers people through conversation, complementing traditional directive approaches. Learners will explore the benefits and types of coaching in different contexts, use coaching skills in their own leadership practice, and critically reflect on their ability to coach.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the benefits, types and application of coaching used by leaders.
• Know the skills, techniques and approaches required by leaders to coach.

Unit Aim

This unit equips professional managers and leaders with the understanding and knowledge to lead equality, diversity and inclusion with confidence. Doing this well requires insight and a genuine commitment to valuing every individual, while staying up to date with legal and regulatory frameworks. Learners will explore how to create an environment where individuals and teams feel able to have honest conversations and share their needs and opinions openly and constructively.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the context for leading equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Know how to lead equality, diversity and inclusion in an organisational context.

Unit Aim

This unit equips professional managers and leaders to make ethical decisions in different organisational contexts. Making ethical decisions under pressure is a fundamental requirement of the role, and it is especially difficult when stakeholders are watching, constraints apply, ambiguity exists, risks are high, or outcomes may be unpopular. Learners will explore how ethical decision-making goes beyond choosing between alternatives, focusing on value-based judgements and complex issues.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand ethical decision-making within organisational contexts.
• Know how to make an ethical decision.

Unit Aim

This unit explores the types and purposes of stakeholder relationships and the skills needed to overcome challenges and manage them effectively. Good relationships with customers, suppliers, partners and staff are a key contributor to an organisation’s success. To be long-lasting and sustainable, these relationships need planning and development.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the different types and value of stakeholder relationships.
• Understand the frameworks for stakeholder management.
• Know how to manage stakeholder relationships.
• Know methods for measuring the impact of stakeholder engagement on organisational performance.

Unit Aim

This unit gives learners an understanding of the scope and purpose of business risk management. Business outcomes are at their best when risks are identified and managed effectively. Learners will evaluate the types of business risk, the governance and approaches for managing them, and how risk management can be implemented successfully within organisations.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the scope of business risk management.
• Understand the process for managing business risk.

Unit Aim

This unit develops managers’ understanding of their role and responsibilities in managing the customer experience. Delivering an exceptional customer experience takes skill, commitment and an in-depth understanding of customer needs. Learners will explore the key features of a customer service culture and the customer journey, which, managed well, can have a real impact on an organisation’s success.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the principles of managing the customer experience.
• Understand the customer journey in the context of an organisation.
• Know how to manage the customer experience.
• Know how to monitor and measure the customer experience.

Unit Aim

This unit gives learners an understanding of the value of reflective practice and how it can form the basis of meaningful personal and professional development. By consciously analysing their performance, decision-making, leadership, and management skills in different situations, learners can identify opportunities for ongoing workplace development.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the value of reflective practice to inform personal and professional development.
• Know how to apply reflective practice to inform personal and professional development.