Statistics highlight 'perception gap' in how managers see themselves

ETS management statistics of 160,000 employees confirm MMBM trials data

UK managers divided over company issues

Management statistics derived from the initial trials of Make Me a Better Manager paint a fascinating picture of the relationship between senior and more junior managers in some of Britain's biggest companies and highlight a 'perception gap' in how managers see themselves.

'Sometimes,' observes ETS managing director John Southwell, 'British industry deserves its reputation for excellence. But MMBM findings show there are occasions when junior managers are less than happy with how the top brass are running the show. What's more, these variations are amply confirmed by the very much bigger sets of statistics that we have collected (see editor note 1 below) and which contain 2 million responses from over a hundred thousand managers.'

The MMBM findings are also backed by a recent survey by Investors in People (see editor note 2 below).

Figures derived from the nearly 800 participants who responded to MMBM during the trial phase suggest that although 63 % of managers usually show good leadership skills no less than one third of British managers were considered lacking when it comes to leadership.

There also seems to be a gap between how managers see themselves and how their colleagues see them. For example, 84% of managers think they are fair, while conversely only 69% of their colleagues thought they were. And while only 39% of managers thought they were good at objective setting, as many as 56% of their colleagues thought they were good - suggesting widespread lack of management self-confidence.

These statistics compare with those from managers who responded to the statement, 'I believe that the company is well led' where 78% agree, and, 'I feel that I am well managed', where 79% percent of respondents agree.

Similarly high figures were chalked up for statements such as 'Senior management communicates everything we need to know from them' (72%) and 'I feel free to communicate upwards through the company' (72%)

However, when it comes to a proposition like 'The company treats everyone fairly', only 54% of managers agreed, while a whopping 46% disagreed to some extent.

Again, with a statement like 'Employees are sufficiently involved when the company undertakes change', barely half of managers agreed (51%).

Perhaps curiously, as many as 85% of managers agree that 'I have enough say over how I do my work', but against this only 47% agree that 'I am happy with my prospects for promotion' while a worrying 53% disagrees.