Accidental managers’ with no formal leadership training are contributing to almost one in three workers quitting, finds research from the UK’s Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
The survey of more than 4,500 workers and managers conducted by YouGov, found that 82% of those who take up management positions have no proper training.
Some 26% of senior managers and leaders and 52% of managers also claimed they’ve had no formal management or leadership training. Thirty-one per cent of managers and 28% of workers have left a job because of a negative relationship with their manager, according to the report, Taking Responsibility: Why UK plc needs better managers.
Only 27% described their manager as “highly effective”. Of those workers who did not rate their manager as effective, 50% planned to leave the company in the next year. Of those who rated their line manager as effective, 21% had the same plan.
Accidental managers are often promoted for the wrong reasons, with 46% of managers believing colleagues won promotions based on internal relationships and profile, rather than ability and performance.
Ann Francke, CEO of the CMI, said the research was “a wake-up call for low-growth, low-productivity and badly managed Britain to take management and leadership seriously”.