CMI study plan

CMI · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 6 hours per week

Week 1

Middle, Operational & Departmental Manager (Level 5) & Professional & Senior Manager (Level 6)

Map the Level 5 and Level 6 responsibility boundaries (budget, people, stakeholder) into a one-page comparison table
Explain in writing how operational planning differs from strategic planning using two workplace examples
Draft five exam-style questions on departmental objective-setting and answer them closed-book
Identify the three weakest sub-topics from your self-assessment and rank them by exam weighting

A one-page Level 5 vs Level 6 comparison table plus a ranked list of your five weakest sub-topics

Week 2

Compare decision-making authority across Levels 5, 6 and 7 in a written summary
Analyse one real organisational change you have observed and classify it by management level
Practise three stakeholder-mapping scenarios and justify each classification
Write model answers to four questions on performance management across levels

A 600-word cross-level decision-authority summary with three worked examples

Week 3

Distinguish the senior leader, director and CEO remits and record the differences in a matrix
Explain the consultant engagement cycle (scope, contract, diagnose, deliver, exit) in your own words
Draft a short client-facing proposal outline for a fictional improvement project
Answer six closed-book questions on governance and board-level accountability

A one-page consultant engagement cycle diagram plus a 300-word fictional proposal outline

Week 4

Describe the team leader and first-line manager spans of control and list five differences
Write three worked examples of giving developmental feedback to a team member
Draft a 15-minute team briefing on a change initiative and note the key messages
Complete ten rapid-fire recall questions on front-line supervision without notes

A 15-minute team briefing script with facilitator notes and five anticipated questions

Week 5

Contrast junior manager and higher technical qualification expectations in a written comparison
Explain how technical specialists transition into people management and list three common pitfalls
Produce a short case analysis of a technical project that slipped and identify management causes
Answer five exam-style questions on professional standards and technical governance

A 500-word case analysis of a fictional technical project failure with three management lessons

Week 6

Summarise the leadership implications of AI adoption (data, ethics, workforce) in bullet form
Map sustainability leadership responsibilities across Levels 3, 5, 6 and 7
Draft three scenario answers linking AI governance to sustainability reporting
List five ethical risks of AI in the workplace and one mitigation for each

A two-column AI-ethics and sustainability risk register with mitigations for eight risks

Week 7

Compare command structures in armed forces and police settings and note leadership implications
Explain how accountability and public scrutiny shape decision-making in uniformed services
Write two scenario answers on leading under pressure in a hierarchical organisation
Identify transferable leadership principles shared across both contexts

A one-page comparison of command-and-control versus public-accountability leadership with four transferable principles

Week 8

Complete a full timed mock exam under exam conditions and self-mark against the criteria
Revisit every sub-topic flagged as weak in weeks 1 to 7 and re-test each one
Condense all domain notes into a single two-page revision sheet
Rehearse three high-frequency question types aloud to build exam fluency

A marked mock exam with a written remediation list of every remaining weak sub-topic

Week 2: Can you state the core differences between Levels 5, 6 and 7 without notes, scoring at least 8 of 10 on a self-written recall quiz?

Week 4: Have you completed closed-book practice on Domains 1, 2, 4, 8 and 9 and scored at least 70 percent on each?

Week 6: Can you explain AI and sustainability leadership requirements across their respective levels in under five minutes each with no prompts?

Week 8: Have you scored at least 75 percent on a full timed mock exam and cleared every item on your remediation list?