The politics behind effective leadership

Just before the 1997 election, members of Tony Blair's shadow cabinet team took themselves off to Oxford University's Templeton College for a crash course in management techniques. It may have been a brief brush with the world of the business school gurus, but their enthusiasm for management education seemed to rub off. In the past year alone the Government has commissioned reports into the training of managers, asked an American management guru to report on the effects of poor management on UK productivity and consulted British academics on the best way of nurturing Britain's future business leaders.

Labour's love affair with management has gone from strength to strength as its ministers struggle to get to grips with problems facing everything from the railways to the education system. "It's certainly true that we have become more and more interested in the issue of management and its quality," admits Margaret Hodge, the minister in charge of Higher Education. "For us the whole focus has got to be on delivery. Public services – from schools to the National Health Service – need good management and leadership."

This belief in the importance of management ought to be music to the ears of business school professors. But not all of them are convinced that politicians really understand the complex demands of the services they seek to improve.

Dr Ewart Keep of Warwick Business School says ministers have an oversimplistic view of what can be achieved quickly. "I can see why better management education fits into New Labour's agenda, because they have taken the view that governing the country is more about finding what works than about politics itself." The Government's focus on making managers in the public services reach performance targets is, he argues, an example of unrealistic expectations. "Things tend to come unstuck. Targets get abandoned when they are not met. That kind of approach to running organisations is no longer popular in leading-edge organisations."

Other academics point to the differences between the political mindset and that of the average manager in a large organisation. Professor Stephen Watson, principal of Henley Management College, praises Labour's interest in developing leaders but says the skills needed for getting elected as an MP do not prepare someone for managing a company or a department of state. Even if they realise this, newly appointed ministers are unlikely to have time to learn. "The job of a minister is so demanding that there is little opportunity for development," he argues. "Oratory, persuasion, watching the way the wind blows are all great political skills. But to run a great department of state you also need to be able to manage very clever people, to get on top of detailed briefs quickly and to understand the financial and political implications of your decisions." It would, he says, take more than a quick "sheep dip" in the business school room to re-train politicians' minds.

Whitehall mandarins and public service managers are encouraged to study for MBAs, as part of the Government's commitment to the formal training of its own managers. But the Government thinks these courses could be more flexible and pay more attention to the so-called soft skills of people management and negotiation. It wants formal management training to be offered to more people. Hidden in the detail of today's White Paper on higher education is a plan for so-called leadership colleges for those in higher education – even potential vice-chancellors could be invited to attend. More formal training in management is likely to be the order of the day. But Dr Keep, who is deputy director of a government-funded project into the future of workforce skills, questions whether the leadership which ministers are so keen to foster can really be gained through traditional MBA programmes. He points out that only a tiny proportion of Britain's four million managers in the public or private sectors are likely to study for an MBA.

At a recent awards dinner, Margaret Hodge admitted that the staff in her Whitehall office all considered an MBA a passport for future success – but she insists that the Government is keen to encourage people to get other qualifications. "Getting a proper preparation for management is the key thing, and an MBA is just part of that menu. It's not enough on its own, and the days when you could put letters after your name and get any job you wanted have probably gone."

In the mean time, high-flying civil servants continue to beat a government-sponsored path to MBA courses at business schools such as Warwick, Imperial College London and Cranfield. Dr Keep, based at Warwick, does not disapprove, but he is sceptical that politicians can ever be the best judge of what makes a good operational manager. "MPs have different lines of accountability to most managers in companies. Their skills are different."

MBA graduates such as William Hague and businessmen such as former Labour minister Geoffrey Robinson can both testify to that management experience does not guarantee success at Westminster. When it comes to understanding why UK productivity is low or organisations miss their targets, Dr Keep believes politicians could learn as much from their own history as from the management text books: "Harold Macmillan's observation that events get in the way of strategy are still worth listening to."

Choosing an MBA

* Don't just rely on rankings and other formal criteria. Investigate a school's reputation with alumni and employers. The marketability of your MBA may be the most important factor if you're looking for career leverage.

* Accreditation isn't everything, but think very hard before you consider a non-accredited school. In rare cases it might be the right destination, but as with all things, it's caveat emptor.

* Don't rely on a school's promotional material. Its purpose is to convince you that this course is the best on offer.

* There is no substitute for actually visiting a school. Talk to as many staff and students as possible to get a feel for the atmosphere and ethos, and sit in on a class if you can.

* Look carefully at the application criteria. Good schools will insist on excellent qualifications and substantial work experience. The quality of the cohort is one of the most important factors in a successful MBA course.

* If you're not happy when you arrive, say so as soon as possible. Good schools will respond promptly and fully to your concerns.

* If the school you're interested in is not accredited, it is not unreasonable to ask why. There may be a reason that will offset your reservations.