Making UK managers among the world's best

Citation

(2002), "Making UK managers among the world's best", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 26 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2002.00326eab.002

Making UK managers among the world's best

Making UK managers among the world's best

The Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership is drawing up a strategy for management and leadership development in the UK, which will ensure that the country's managers and leaders match the best in the world.

The focus of the Council, chaired by Sir Anthony Cleaver, is on the gaps and barriers which inhibit the development of better managers and lead-ers at all levels in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Its work looks at the provision of business education, its take-up and its relevance to managing in the workplace. The Council is paying particular attention to large corporations, small firms and the professions.

A Council spokesman commented: "Much has been done to improve management development in the UK in the last ten years, but a shortage of skills and abilities is still identified at the top and throughout organizations. Predictions about the future give every indication that the demand for more and better managers is not likely to diminish – hence the importance of developing a strategy to meet current and future management and leadership needs.

"That is the business of the Council, in consultation with management councils which have been established in Scotland, Wales and NorthernIreland."

The Council defines excellence in management and leadership as the combination of management skills with leadership abilities. Its members believe that excellent organizations of the future will have individuals who combine good management skills in terms of managing projects, finance, marketing and people, with the ability to think creatively, to inspire trust and motivate, and to be part of a culture which promotes challenge, encourages risk and celebratessuccess.

The spokesman continued: "The council is finding that there is a huge market in management and leadership development, but too few buyers of what the market offers. There is a frenzy of activity within and outside the publicly-funded management and leadership training sector, and yet still a patchy take-up by individuals and organizations.

"It is therefore Sir Anthony's mission to establish a better market in management and leadership learning opportunities through an online system, linked to other learning opportunities. This is intended to provide a conducted tour through the maze of qualifications and non-accredited learning opportunities which exist but are not easy to access or assess by those seeking solutions to management and leadership-development problems.

"Sir Anthony is exploring the possibility of linking learning opportunities to an analysis of skills and abilities which have been identified as key characteristics of becoming an excellent manager and leader. His initiative is seen as a key opportunity to overcome the fragmentation which exists in the marketplace and to demonstrate a connection with the skills which are in demand, the learning opportunities which exist to meet those needs and the individuals who have them."

Further information is available from the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership, 211 Piccadilly, London W1V 9LD. Tel: +44 20 7830 9780; Fax: +44 20 7830 9781; E-mail: mail@cexml.org.uk