High demand for political skills met with low levels of ability

Political skills are increasingly being seen as vital to career success, but many managers admit they have room for improvement when it comes to influencing others.

A study by the Chartered Management Institute and Warwick Business School reveals that most individuals believe the political skills that build alliances will grow in importance in the next 5 years. Respondents suggest that by 2012, partnership working is expected to become a priority for UK business leaders (63 per cent, up 6 points from today), followed by the need to influence regulators or government (53 per cent, up 10 points) and secure external funding (35 per cent, up 3 points).

Encouragingly, only a minority of the 1,495 respondents view politics as ëpursuing personal advantageí (21 per cent). Nearly twice as many (39 per cent) believe political skills are about ëreconciling differencesí, but only 1 per cent think their own capabilities are ëexcellentí and 18 per cent suggest they are ëaverageí.

To address these low levels of expertise and provide guidance for managers and leaders, the Chartered Management Institute will run a special session on ëDealing with political awarenessí at its National Convention, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, 11-12 October 2007. Focusing on the benefits of mastering political skills it will enable participants to benchmark their own abilities and explore routes to develop greater political astuteness.

Under the theme of Management and Leadership for Tomorrow, the seminar will form part of a series of 40 workshops at the two-day conference. Issues such as inspirational leadership will be covered, alongside seminars on performance management and preventing fraud in organisations.

The conference will also host keynote addresses from senior business leaders, including:

ï Patrick Dunne, group communications director, 3i
ï Richard Bowker CBE, chief executive, National Express Group
ï Sir Gulam Noon MBE, chairman, Noon Products

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the Institute, says: ìIn a dynamic business environment, the shift to external partnership-building is good news for UK business. Increasingly, how good an individual is at using their political skills, with employees and external audiences will determine personal, and business, success.î



At the 2007 National Convention, the Chartered Management Institute will also showcase two major new pieces of research. The reports will highlight the Quality of Working Life amongst UK employees and provide an insight into the learning and development habits preferred by individuals and their employer.