www.consultant-news.com  31.01.2009

A survey of 1,200 people by international leadership development organisation Common Purpose has found that less than half of people receive leadership development before the age of 25. This is despite the fact that over half of respondents said they had wanted leadership development at a younger age.

The significance of this disparity is underlined by the finding that 60% of respondents had already held leadership positions by the time they reached 25. The survey found that the majority of these leadership positions were in employment. This suggests that there are many young people taking the lead in the UK’s workplaces who feel that they are not getting the leadership development they need. That the UK is neglecting its leadership pipeline by failing to prepare its young leaders to become the senior leaders of tomorrow.
 

Julia Middleton, Chief Executive of Common Purpose says: “We have to redress this imbalance because organisations and society need more young people prepared and able to stand up as leaders.

“You have to learn to lead young because it’s a bumpy ride, you inevitably get it right and wrong for a long time, and you have to be able to bounce back, forgive yourself and keep going.”