A senior manager leadership program develops senior managers, AGMs and DGMs who lead managers and large portfolios. Bodhih's three-module design covers thinking beyond the department, enterprise-wide decisions, leading through other leaders, influencing peers and the CXO layer, building bench strength, running a portfolio of priorities and leading AI-era change, customised with the ADDIE model.
- Recommended: three 1-day modules in person over 10 to 12 weeks, or 6 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, with work-based assignments between modules
- Level: Advanced · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: senior management development program, leadership program for senior managers, AGM and DGM leadership training, senior leader development program India
Where and how: senior manager leadership training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed by Siddharthan VGJ, Founder · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why the senior manager layer needs its own program
Senior managers carry an awkward load. They are too senior for first-line management courses yet not quite in the room where strategy is set, and they translate that strategy into work for hundreds of people. When this layer thinks only about its own department, the organisation fragments into well-run silos.
Most senior managers were promoted for delivering results through their own teams. The next step asks for different muscles: trading off across functions, letting capable managers lead, and building successors deliberately. A senior manager leadership program builds those muscles before the function-head role arrives.
46% of CHROs name leadership and manager development as a priority for 2026, ranked first for the second year.
Leadership and social influence rose 22 percentage points as a core skill since 2023, the largest increase of any skill.
What participants will be able to do
Think enterprise-first
Weigh decisions by their effect across functions and customers, not only on your own department's targets.
Lead through leaders
Set direction and decision rights for the managers who report to you, then get out of their way.
Influence across and up
Win support from peers and the CXO layer with well-framed proposals, early conversations and honest trade-offs.
Run a portfolio
Prioritise a portfolio of initiatives, stop the weakest ones and protect capacity for what matters most.
Build bench strength
Identify successors for your key roles and give them real stretch, visibility and feedback.
Lead AI-era change
Guide your managers and teams through changes in roles and workflows as AI tools enter daily work.
Who should attend
- Senior managers, AGMs and DGMs leading two or more layers of managers
- Heads of large operations, delivery, sales or shared service portfolios in GCCs, BFSI, manufacturing and consumer companies
- Senior managers identified as future function heads
- Leaders recently moved into a broader portfolio after a reorganisation
- Experienced managers of managers who want to step up to enterprise roles
- HR and talent teams building a pipeline into the function-head layer
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01Module 1A: From function champion to enterprise leaderModule 1 · Half day+
- What changes when you lead managers and a portfolio, not a team
- Reading the business model and where your portfolio creates value
- Spotting where your department's wins cost another function
02Module 1B: Enterprise-wide decisionsModule 2 · Half day+
- Framing cross-functional trade-offs with customers and cost in view
- Deciding with incomplete data and explaining the call
- Assignment: one live cross-functional decision analysed with peers
03Module 2A: Leading through other leadersModule 3 · Half day+
- Setting direction and decision rights for managers who report to you
- Reviews that hold managers accountable without doing their job
- Skip-level conversations that listen rather than bypass
04Module 2B: Building bench strengthModule 4 · Half day+
- A bench review of your key roles: ready now, ready later, gaps
- Stretch moves, sponsorship and honest career conversations
- Assignment: one stretch move agreed with a potential successor
05Module 3A: Influence across and upModule 5 · Half day+
- Mapping peers and CXOs: interests, concerns, timing
- Framing a proposal around enterprise outcomes, not your function
- Early, one-to-one conversations before the big meeting
06Module 3B: Portfolio choices and AI-era changeModule 6 · Half day+
- Prioritising a portfolio of initiatives and stopping the weakest well
- Leading managers through AI-driven changes to roles and workflows
- Capstone: a portfolio proposal to a mock leadership panel
Sample training plan: 3-day hands-on design
This three-module design moves senior managers from running a strong department to leading as part of the enterprise. Module one widens the lens: participants map value across the business and make cross-functional trade-offs in a business game. Module two is about leading through managers: decision rights, skip-levels and a frank bench review. Module three covers influence with peers and the CXO layer, portfolio choices and leading AI-era change, ending with a proposal to a mock leadership panel.
Participants can see their portfolio through an enterprise lens and make cross-functional trade-off decisions they can defend.
- 09:30–10:00Whose win, whose costEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Where my portfolio creates valueDiagnostic
- 11:15–12:45Three functions, one budgetBusiness game
- 13:30–14:30Deciding with half the dataCase clinic
- 14:30–15:30Our stuck decisionsPeer coaching
- 15:45–16:45The sponsor's viewFishbowl
- 16:45–17:30Module 1 assignmentAction planning
Participants can set direction and decision rights for their managers, use skip-levels well and build bench strength.
- 09:30–10:00Assignment report-backFeedback round
- 10:00–11:00Am I doing my managers' jobsDiagnostic
- 11:15–12:15Direction for my managersBuild sprint
- 12:15–13:15The skip-level conversationRole-play
- 14:00–15:15Bench reviewGroup challenge
- 15:30–16:30The career conversationReal-play
- 16:30–17:30Module 2 assignmentAction planning
Participants can influence peers and the CXO layer, prioritise a portfolio and lead managers through AI-driven change.
- 09:30–10:00What moved since module 2Feedback round
- 10:00–11:00Mapping the room before the roomDiagnostic
- 11:15–12:15Portfolio triageGroup challenge
- 12:15–13:00Leading the AI shiftCase clinic
- 13:45–15:15Capstone: the leadership panelPresentation
- 15:30–16:30What the panel told meReflection
- 16:30–17:30My 90-day leadership planAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: three 1-day modules in person (09:30–17:30) spaced over 10 to 12 weeks, or 6 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, with work-based assignments between modules and sponsor check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is the senior manager leadership program?
The recommended design is three one-day modules in person spread over 10 to 12 weeks, or six live virtual sessions of three hours, with work-based assignments between modules and sponsor check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days.
What activities are included in the senior manager leadership program?
Participants play a shared-budget business game, work decision cases, coach each other on stuck decisions, run a bench review, rehearse skip-level and career conversations, triage their portfolio, plan an AI change and present a capstone proposal to a mock leadership panel.
How we deliver it
Spaced across a quarter
Three modules over 10 to 12 weeks give senior managers time to apply each one to their real portfolio before the next.
Work-based assignments
Between modules, each participant completes a live assignment, such as a bench review, and reports back to peers.
Senior sponsor involvement
A function head or CXO sponsor briefs the cohort at the start and joins the capstone panel to give feedback.
Peer learning groups
Small groups from different functions meet between modules, which builds the cross-functional relationships the role depends on.
Tailored versions
For GCC senior leaders
Adds influencing global stakeholders, building the centre's mandate and growing India-based leaders into global roles.
For BFSI and manufacturing
Cases cover large branch or plant portfolios, cross-region trade-offs and leading change across permanent and frontline teams.
Virtual cohort for distributed leaders
Six live virtual sessions over the same 10 to 12 weeks, with peer groups and the capstone held online.
How we measure impact
We evaluate impact within the Evaluate stage of ADDIE. Participants complete an AssessAll pre-assessment, including the Established Manager Excellence Assessment and Strategic Thinking & Business Judgment, with an optional 360° view from their managers and peers, and repeat it as a post-assessment at day 90 after the final module. A 30-60-90 day follow-up with each participant's sponsor reviews assignments completed, bench decisions taken and progress on the capstone proposal.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is a senior manager leadership program?
A senior manager leadership program develops leaders who manage other managers and large portfolios, typically senior managers, AGMs and DGMs. It focuses on enterprise thinking, leading through other leaders, influencing peers and senior executives, managing a portfolio of priorities, building successors and leading change, rather than first-line management skills.
What should a senior manager leadership program cover?
It should cover thinking beyond one department, making cross-functional trade-offs, setting direction for managers, skip-level leadership, influencing the CXO layer, prioritising and stopping initiatives, building bench strength and leading change as AI alters roles. Bodhih's program spreads these over three modules with real assignments in between.
How is a senior manager different from a middle manager?
A middle manager usually leads team leads or individual contributors and focuses on delivering their unit's targets. A senior manager leads other managers, owns a larger portfolio and must balance their area's goals with the wider organisation's. The shift is from delivering results to shaping the conditions in which other leaders deliver.
How do senior managers lead through other managers?
They set clear direction and decision rights, agree how progress is reviewed and then avoid doing their managers' jobs. They use skip-level conversations to listen, not to bypass. They also develop their managers deliberately, because the senior manager's results now depend on how well those managers lead.
How do I prepare to become a function head?
Broaden your view of the business, take on cross-functional responsibilities, build relationships with peers and senior executives, and develop at least one successor. Practise presenting proposals that weigh trade-offs for the whole organisation. This program is designed as a step before Bodhih's function head readiness program.
How long is the senior manager leadership program?
The recommended design is three one-day modules in person over 10 to 12 weeks, or six live virtual sessions of three hours, with work-based assignments between modules. The design is customised to your organisation's strategy, leadership expectations and the portfolios participants lead.
Where is the senior manager leadership program delivered?
Bodhih delivers the program at client offices and offsite venues in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Chennai and Pune. Master trainers also travel to Singapore, the Middle East and other regions, and a live virtual cohort suits senior managers spread across locations.