Why General Management Is the Pathway to Leadership Opportunities
In the modern world, there is an increasing obsession with specialisation and thorough technical proficiency. While specialisation serves its purpose in an individual’s career growth to an extent, it also causes stagnancy after a certain point. There is a ceiling after which working professionals specialised in a particular field cannot grow further in their organisation, irrespective of their technical skills.
On the other hand, General Managers enjoy endless growth and opportunities, considering their wide range of skills and knowledge. General Managers are well-versed with the basics of every vertical within their organisation, making them qualified enough to occupy positions in which they oversee and delegate work. In the current Indian economic scenario, with the value of Foreign Direct Investments reaching $547.2 billion in June 2021 and domestic venture capital investments standing at $8 billion, there is immense potential for economic growth and corporate expansion. Growing corporate entities across sectors require trained General Managers to take high-level leadership roles.
General Management Skills Gap
General Managers are essentially in charge of deciding an organisation’s trajectory. They are responsible for strategic planning, setting realistic goals, and executing the organisation’s vision. Execution involves allocating work, delegating tasks, monitoring progress, supervising organisational activity and acting as the face of the organisation whenever required. These responsibilities hold great weight and value, and to fulfil that, General Managers need to possess commercial acumen, managerial pedigree, and interpersonal skills.
General Managers are essentially in charge of deciding an organisation’s trajectory. They are responsible for strategic planning, setting realistic goals, and executing the organisation’s vision. Execution involves allocating work, delegating tasks, monitoring progress, supervising organisational activity and acting as the face of the organisation whenever required. These responsibilities hold great weight and value, and to fulfil that, General Managers need to possess commercial acumen, managerial pedigree, and interpersonal skills.
In today’s fast-paced and unpredictable market environment, the role of General Managers becomes even more significant. While India’s steady economic growth has unlocked many exciting opportunities in this field, there is a lack of professionals who have the necessary generalised expertise across various business domains. Traditional management courses have excessively focused on providing managerial expertise in one area, which makes it difficult for professionals to advance their careers beyond a single domain and take up top-tier leadership roles. Reputed management institutes in India are aiming to solve this problem by conducting short-term general management programmes that will equip managers for these roles.
IIM Kashipur is offering a one-year Post Graduate Certificate Programme in General Management (PGCPGM) that aims to develop the general managerial expertise of participants to suit the requirements of today’s fast-changing business world. This meticulously designed programme suits the needs of professionals aspiring to reach the echelons of management. IIM Kashipur’s general management programme equips learners with core business functions and skills alongside their application across diverse areas. The curriculum includes the fundamentals of multiple business verticals such as finance, marketing, human resources, operations, strategy and communication. The institute’s intense curriculum provides an overview of almost everything a business needs, which trains aspiring leaders to navigate the managerial landscape with ease. The programme lays special focus on interactive, immersive, and practical learning through case studies and simulations in order to equip learners with the ability to apply these concepts and techniques in the real world.
Career Trajectory for General Managers
Trained General Managers are significantly preferred by organisations across sectors, including information technology, FMCG, healthcare, construction, banking, hospitality, consulting, travel and tourism, manufacturing and many more. They go on to occupy roles ranging from branch managers, supervisors, monitoring in-charge, operations managers, zonal managers, country managers and even CXOs. The overall job outlook for General Managers has remained bright for the last two decades, and vacancies have recorded an annual growth of 2.12% since then.
Trained General Managers are significantly preferred by organisations across sectors, including information technology, FMCG, healthcare, construction, banking, hospitality, consulting, travel and tourism, manufacturing and many more. They go on to occupy roles ranging from branch managers, supervisors, monitoring in-charge, operations managers, zonal managers, country managers and even CXOs. The overall job outlook for General Managers has remained bright for the last two decades, and vacancies have recorded an annual growth of 2.12% since then.
General Managers make crucial decisions for organisations and direct their growth. Due to this, they command lucrative salaries and enjoy endless job growth. The figure above provides an overview of the salary prospects of various job roles in general management. The limitless opportunity for career advancement makes upskilling in general management a career investment with incredible returns.
