What is the difference between management development and training?

There is some confusion about what constitutes management development as opposed to training. After all, training teaches management skills, so how is management development different?

The subject matter often overlaps, but management development usually goes beyond the scope of non-manager training to include supervisory, leadership and strategic elements.

Traditionally, the term management development refers to training programs, some of an individual nature, provided to middle- to upper-level managers and executives.

While classroom training certainly is sometimes used in management development programs, the courses are usually more individualized and given to smaller groups. Attendance at specialized seminars, leadership conferences, small groups led by celebrity authors, and multi-summer academic programs are used more often than classroom lecture. Finally, a frequent distinction is that management development programs are often more personalized to the individual and have more design and content input from the participant.