Are your managers up to the job?

Blog Author
Mike Spick
Product Manager - Management & Leadership

Over the course of our working lives, we work hard to thrive and develop in our careers. Businesses, too, are always looking to promote employees who impress with the right technical skills. Once in a managerial post, however, people can find themselves struggling to make the desired impact.

They have been promoted on the basis of their technical expertise, but find themselves in a managerial role without the skills to lead and develop their team. While the ‘accidental manager’ is nothing new, it is something that still plagues industry and costs firms vast sums of money as 75% of workers waste up to 2 hours a week due to inefficient managers.

Four years ago, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Management (APPGM) investigated how management and leadership in the UK would need to change by 2020, to achieve sustainable economic growth.

The Commission on the Future of Management and Leadership was created with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), with members of both Houses of Parliament and sector leaders joining forces. The Commission consulted entrepreneurs, academic experts, young managers and established business leaders. A substantial amount of evidence raised concerns about management and leadership shortcomings affecting organisations of all sizes.

There was a general agreement that the quality of managers was integral to performance, productivity and growth. Nevertheless, the research demonstrated that many managers were simply not up to the job.

A study by CMI found that nearly half (43%) of UK managers rated their own line managers as ineffective. Going on to explore the impact of management and leadership development, it suggested that developing managers could make a real difference - effective management development was linked to 23% higher organisational performance scores.

Meanwhile, a survey of UK employers by Cranfield School of Management revealed that nearly two-thirds (64%) of employers thought that a lack of leadership and management skills is holding back growth. Even more (68%) believed these deficiencies were preventing their employees from reaching their full potential.

John W Stephens, in written evidence to the Commission, said:

We need a change in attitude in the UK, whereby management is seen as a highly professional role, where integrity is seen as a virtue, and where ethics are valued as highly as profitability. Until attitudes change, we’ll continue to focus on the short, rather than the longer, term.

That’s the whole strategy of our programme at MOL – helping individuals and companies to become more effective and productive. Our new management programme, launched next month, supports business growth across the UK.

The CMI Level 3 in First Line Management and Level 5 in Management and Leadership qualifications have been designed to help employees who find themselves in a managerial role, but lack the requisite skills and knowledge to be successful in the job.

The qualifications focus on supporting businesses in solving the issues that arise due to poor management. In today’s competitive world, training managers and leaders is not a ‘nice to have’, but rather a necessity. Our new programmes are specifically geared towards enabling companies to become more efficient and effective.

Through the new MOL qualifications, learners will get the chance to become a Chartered Manager, which is the ultimate recognition of the professional manager.

Given that CMI research shows that Chartered Managers on average provide their employer with £391,000 of value, there is a significant benefit to organisations and individuals alike. We are proud to be leading the way and driving positive change.

Find out more about our Management and Leadership courses to help you develop your potential and qualifiy your management ability.