Lampard collected the Sir Alex Ferguson Trophy at the LMA's annual ceremony in London on Tuesday night, with England head coach Thomas Tuchel presenting the award in place of Ferguson, who is recovering from medical treatment and was unable to attend.
Tuchel read out a letter from Ferguson written specifically for the occasion.
"Your personality as a manager and a leader is so clearly defined in how your team has played great football this season — with confidence and self-belief," the letter read. "I have enjoyed watching you. Best of luck in the Premier League next season."
Coventry finished the Championship season 11 points clear at the top with 97 goals in 46 league games — the division's highest scoring total. They also conceded the fewest. Lampard took over in November 2024 with the club in 17th place and has lost just seven league games since.
It is the most significant individual honour of his coaching career.
Speaking after the ceremony, Lampard described the moment promotion was confirmed at Blackburn Rovers earlier in the season.
"I was emotional the other night because it dawned on me in that moment what we had achieved," he said. "A club that I walked into 16 months ago that had gone to the depths and back up, and football is always about people and always about supporters and I'd missed it."
He added that the quality of the group he found at Coventry had been the foundation of everything.
"When you walk into a group — forget the football talent, that's obviously important — but when they look after themselves, they train well, they support each other, they have a laugh, that's the gold."
The award covers success across all divisions and takes into account the resources available to each manager. Lampard's Coventry have no parachute payments and no recent Premier League revenue. That context strengthened his case considerably.
Mikel Arteta, who led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years, won the top-flight divisional award. Michael Skubala won the League One award for his title-winning work at Lincoln City. Bromley's Andy Woodman took the League Two prize. Andree Jeglertz won the WSL award after leading Manchester City Women to the title, while Karen Hills was recognised for guiding Charlton Athletic to the WSL for the first time.
Steve Bruce and Martin O'Neill were inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame, each having managed more than 1,000 games across their careers.
Coventry return to the Premier League for the 2026-27 season. Lampard's redemption arc, long in the making, is complete.