Why Daisy Chose to Invest in Leadership Development Before She Needed To

Daisy Stewart was not looking for a qualification to put on a CV. She was not stepping into a management role and she was not being sent on a course by an employer. She came to the CMI Recognised Aspiring Manager programme because she wanted to understand leadership properly before she was ever asked to do it, and she wanted to do that alongside her degree rather than waiting until after it. 

That combination of circumstances, a university student, no formal management experience, balancing academic study with professional development, is one we see more often than people might expect – and it is exactly the kind of learner this programme is built for.

The flexibility of the course made a real difference to how Daisy was able to engage with it. “I really liked the structure,” she told us. “It was flexible and allowed me to do it in my own time.” For someone managing university deadlines alongside their learning, that mattered. The format helped too. “The video format was really good,” she said. “It helped with understanding.” Short, focused content that she could work through at her own pace rather than trying to keep up with a fixed timetable.

Before starting the programme, Daisy had a basic awareness of leadership but not much depth to it. What changed was the range of what she now understood. “I knew there were a couple of leadership styles, but I didn’t know there were so many,” she said. That shift, from seeing leadership as a single approach to recognising it as something contextual and adaptable, is one of the most important things this kind of programme does. Daisy also started to spot leadership styles in the people around her, connecting what she was learning to what she was observing in real time.

She was still able to apply what she was learning even without a formal role to apply it in. “On the opportunities I’ve had, I’ve looked at different styles and the positives of each one,” she said. The sections on motivation and self-management stood out to her in particular. “The sections on motivation and self-management were really beneficial,” she told us, and it is easy to see why. Understanding how to manage yourself is the foundation that everything else is built on, and it is something learners can begin developing long before they have a job title that asks it of them.

The impact of the programme extended into her university work as well, which is not something learners always anticipate when they sign up. “When I have been in, I can definitely see the difference,” she said. That broader effect on thinking, communication and self-direction reflects the real value of leadership development done well.

On the course itself, Daisy had only positive things to say about the structure, the platform and the accessibility of the content. “It was all really good and easy to navigate,” she told us. She did note that some of the reflective questions, particularly those relating to managers or workplace scenarios, could be harder to answer for learners without a current job.

As for whether she would recommend it, the answer was straightforward. “I would say definitely do it,” she said. She has already recommended it to others at university, and when asked to describe the course in her own words she put it simply: “It’s really accessible and really good at developing knowledge.”

Daisy is already thinking about what comes next and considering further CMI qualifications as her career develops. That is exactly what the programme is designed to do, not to be a one-off experience but to be a starting point. Completion of the CMI Recognised Aspiring Manager programme earns learners Foundation Chartered Manager status and full Chartered Management Institute membership, and for those who want to keep building, the pathway is there.

If you are a student, an employer or an individual who wants to develop leadership understanding before a role demands it, get in touch and we will talk you through what the right next step looks like.