A new survey carried out for Adult Learner’s Week by NETg, has revealed that TV presenter Cat Deeley – ahead of nine other celebrities, including Frank Skinner, Margaret Thatcher and Mr Bean – would be most people’s choice of line manager, polling 58%. In contrast, over half of respondents claimed that their current line manager had management skills that reminded them of Margaret Thatcher.
The survey also asked respondents which celebrity most reminded them of their IT Manager. Though Homer Simpson and Frank Skinner scored highly, TV’s bumbling Mr Bean topped the poll. Though slightly tongue-in-cheek, this result highlights the changing role of IT Managers. They can no longer just be outstanding technical people. As IT plays an increasingly strategic role in the development of competitive advantage, so IT Managers need to play a more visible, central role in organisations. This means that communication, presentation and leadership skills are becoming every bit as important as technical ability.
The survey (and, it appears, quite a few others) was commissioned to tie in with the 10th Adult Learner’s Week (May 11th – 17th) – the national promotional campaign to raise awareness of lifelong learning and continuing education. Respondents were asked to choose from a list of ten celebrities with different levels of leadership and communication abilities. The list consisted of: Margaret Thatcher, Frank Skinner, Homer Simpson, Mr Bean, Cat Deeley, Melinda Messenger, Graham Norton, David Brent (from BBC sitcom ‘The Office’), Basil Fawlty, and Martin Johnson.
