Political skills high importance but skill levels low

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 ‘pursuing personal advantage’ (21 per cent). Nearly twice as many (39 per cent) believe political skills are about ‘reconciling differences’, but only 1 per cent think their own capabilities are ‘excellent’ and 18 per cent suggest they are ‘average’.

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

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the Institute, says: “In 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.”

The report 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.

Members of the Work Place Learning Centre team are available to provide journalists and media organisations with expert comment on all aspects of learning at work.

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