Latest news : Good management needed

Graduates wanting to get into management might want to reassess their skills and suitability for the role after a survey by Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

CMI questioned UK managers to find out which aspects of management they thought they were best at. Of the 2,158 managers polled, 44% said they excelled at managing people. 21% were target-busters, 19% believed they were strongest at managing themselves and just 14% felt they were born to lead.

The managers' perceptions were then put to the test when CIM invited UK workers to use a specially-developed self-diagnostic tool to work out where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The results strongly contradict managers’ perceptions, revealing that, in practice, UK managers are best at getting results (41%) and strong leadership (37%). Just 14% of the 6,056 people who used the tool excelled at people management and a paltry 8% proved to be best at managing themselves.

‘We’re desperately short of good leaders in this country – just look at how many FTSE 100 companies have sourced CEOs from abroad and how many Premier League clubs have foreign managers. We’re crying out for much-needed home-grown leadership talent and it’s frustrating that employers are failing to capitalise on the dormant leadership skills that their employees don’t yet realise they have,’ said Ruth Spellman, chief executive of CMI.

‘Management and leadership skill development has been neglected by employers, government and managers themselves for far too long. We need a renewed focus on investment in training and development in this field, both for the current generation and future generations of managers. The first step is for individuals to get serious about their personal development by working out where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Then we’d like to see employers, supported by the new coalition Government, embracing and facilitating this desire to develop.’