Bad bosses curb young ambition

One in ten young workers aged 18-24 feel that their manager is holding them back. This figure rises to one in two among those who have a poor relationship with their boss.

Bad bosses are putting many young workers off management altogether. Twice as many young people who have had a negative management experience don't want to become a manager in the future (28%), compared with those who get on well with their superiors (14%). And British businesses risk losing future leaders, as one quarter (27%) say that they would leave their organisation if they were badly managed.

The lack of management in British businesses is also breeding cynicism in young people, with 25% of young workers believing that they could do a better job than their current manager. This is particularly true of the old style, dictatorial management which is out of favour with young people - 25% of respondents say that their manager looked for someone to blame while 36% didn't allow debate and were obstructive

Young people want progressive management to inspire them - 86% of the younger generation put approachability at the top of the list when it comes to desirable management traits, followed by letting staff get on with the job (66%), being team-focused (47%) and consultative (47%).

While 40% of young workers say they would like to manage a team of their own within five years.

Despite the poor perception of today's bosses, 61% of future leaders expect to learn about management directly from their own managers, not realising that there are other advisory bodies - such as membership organisations - that they can turn to for support and advice.

Kim Parish CEO of ILM comments, 'Just calling someone a manager by promoting them to a management role is not enough. To succeed in that role an individual needs the skills to engage, motivate and develop their staff. While some people will have a natural affinity for this many managers clearly do not - they need training and ongoing support if they are to start achieving results.'

'Good management is fundamental to the success of all types of organisations. We need to up the standard of management in the UK so that we don't put young people off because management is a hugely rewarding career both financially and emotionally. ILM has a tailored package of specialist support for managers through professional membership and it's suite of highly-regarded leadership and management qualifications.'

Methodology

The research was undertaken by YouGov between 18 and 25 July 2006 and surveyed 496 18-24 year olds in full-time employment, across a range of UK regions and industry sectors.

Key statistics from the survey

• 40% of workers expect to manage a team in the next five years (34% managing a small team + 6% managing a large team)

• One in ten (11 %) feel that their manager is holding them back

• Half (51 %) who feel that working with their manager is a negative experience also believe that their manager is holding them back

• 28% who feel that working with their manager is a negative experience do not want to be a manager in future, compared with 14% who have a positive relationship with their manager

• One quarter (27%) of people would leave an organisation where they were poorly managed

• Desirable management traits: approachability (86%), letting staff get on with the job (66%), being team-focussed (47%), being consultative (47%)

• Undesirable management traits: looking for someone to blame (60%), expecting people to do what they are told without debate (36%), being obstructive (33%), not allowing staff to contribute (33%)

• One quarter (25%) believe that they could do their current manager's job better (19% a little better + 6% much better)

• 61% of workers expect to learn management techniques from their own manager

• 10% expect to learn management techniques from a membership body