Majority of workers refuse to turn to the boss for help

85 per cent of employees would rather seek help elsewhere than turn to their managers when they need guidance at work.  The finding forms part of research published today – World Book Day - by CMI (Chartered Management Institute) and the British Library, as they launch the Management Book of the Year award.

A survey of the UK workforce (2,000 adults questioned by OnePoll) shows that people are either too scared of looking incompetent (30 per cent), reluctant to bother their boss (48 per cent), or worried that they will be judged for being unsure of what to do (20 per cent). Instead, they are turning to books, the internet, colleagues or friends to avoid seeking help from their managers. Worryingly, just under a quarter of those questioned (23 per cent) also said they wouldn’t turn to their manager for advice because they don’t trust their judgment, or simply think they would be unable to help. 

Ruth Spellman, CMI chief executive, said: “These new figures paint a worrying picture. The job of a manager is to guide and instruct, ensuring their teams are performing at the top of their game. If you’re ever unsure of how to tackle something at work your manager should be the first person you turn to – the one with the support and answers. Any workplace culture where people are scared to speak up or fear appearing foolish is not going to be conducive to getting great results or nurturing a talented and productive workforce. If the UK’s businesses are to rise up out of the recession and flourish, we need to get these things right by vastly improving the quality of our managers and leaders.”

To support those turning to books and to help managers develop their own skills, CMI and the British Library are launching a new competition to raise awareness of how management theories and thinking can be better applied in practice. The Management Book of the Year competition will aim to uncover the UK’s best books on management – those which will help transform the working practices of managers. Its goal is also to raise the profile of the great management writing being produced by UK authors and bring it to a wider audience and demonstrate the relevance and impact of management research on the UK economy.

From today, publishers and authors can enter books across three competition categories, ‘Practical Manager’, ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Digital Management Book’. Management Book of the Year is also the first book competition to have a category dedicated to digital books. As well as entries from authors and publishers, CMI and The British Library are calling on all UK managers to get in touch – via managementbooks@managers.org.uk  – to nominate the books on management and leadership they would like to see in with a chance of winning the £5,000 prize.

The CMI / British Library survey found that 30 per cent of people have read a management book, but just five per cent are turning to them when they have work issues, suggesting that managers are struggling to find useful, practical texts. Perhaps surprisingly, when it comes to topic choice, more people would like to read about how to achieve a good work/life balance (40 per cent) than how to get a pay rise (30 per cent). In addition 31 per cent are interested in guidance on how to manage people while just 19 per cent would like tips on securing a promotion. 

Simon Bell, Head of Partnerships and Licensing said: “At The British Library we’re committed to helping build the UK’s knowledge economy. We see the Management Book of the Year as a great complement to the existing support we offer to the country’s businesses, including our dedicated Business & IP Centre and the forthcoming management and business studies portal. We hope this competition will seek out the very best management writing the UK has to offer, so we can take it to as wide an audience as possible. Encouraging transfer of knowledge from the research community by encouraging accessible management writing aimed at the practitioner audience will allow them to learn vital new techniques and skills and open themselves up to better ways of working.”

Ruth Spellman continued: “We are acutely aware that when it comes to management roles, often the wrong, or inadequately skilled, people occupy the top jobs. To revitalise and professionalise management, we need to expose our managers to good ideas and innovative thinking and encourage them to be resourceful and think for themselves. We know the printed word has a vital role to play in this and we’re launching this competition to highlight the best management thinking to the business community so they know what to read to help them get to the top. We want to encourage all the UK’s managers and leaders to commit to reading to aid their professional development and become more approachable, better managers. We also really want to hear about the books you’ve read that you think are contenders for the top prize.”

The closing date for entries is 31 July 2010. For more information, to enter or to nominate a management book you would like to see in the competition, please visit www.managementbookoftheyear.org.uk.

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Further information:

Faith Riding/Victoria Cole

Telephone: 020 7 612 8865/020 7 612 8953

Email: faith.riding@kindredagency.com / victoria.cole@kindredagency.com

British Library Press Office

Jacob Lant – Business Science and Technology Press Office

+ 44 (0) 20 7412 7105

jacob.lant@bl.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

• The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to promoting the highest standards of management and leadership excellence.  CMI is the guardian of the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership and sets the standards that others follow

• As a membership organisation, CMI has been providing forward-thinking advice and support to individuals and businesses, for more than 50 years, and continues to give managers and leaders, and the organisations they work in, the tools they need to improve their performance and make an impact

• As the only organisation to offer qualifications from Level 2 (GCSE) to Level 8 (PhD), CMI is committed to equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge to be exceptional managers and leaders.  Qualifications and accreditations such as Chartered Manager, combined with products such as CMI’s Continuous Professional Development scheme and the online support resource, ManagementDirect, support the development of management and leadership excellence across the UK

• Through in-depth research and policy surveys of its 86,000 individual and 450 corporate members, CMI maintains its position as the premier authority on key management and leadership issues

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. www.bl.uk