The Communication Directors' Forum 2011/12 market research report is now available! The report offers an overview of the comms industry including...

- Their budget expectations for the year ahead

- Where practitioners are spending their budgets

- The most effective marketing activities to get in front of comms decision-makers

- Which market sectors suppliers are currently targeting
 
- Latest readership stats

This report is free of charge - to request a copy please contact Kirsty Brown.

We're delighted to announce that the excellent explorer and presenter Monty Halls will be opening this year’s ship forum with his unique insights into the complex world of human change behaviours.

You may know Monty from his recent TV programmes ‘Great Escapes’ and ‘Great Barrier Reef’, and with his 20 years’ experience of observing people all over the world, he is well placed to explore the dynamics of the team, the individuals within it and the common themes of how we all deal with change.

Illustrated with stories of individuals and teams getting it magnificently right and hideously wrong, this keynote is set to be an education for us all. 

• Almost 75% of the panel feel they are good leaders and 13% are prepared to claim they are excellent! 
• IT are the most are most bullish about their leadership abilities, followed by Marketing and Finance.
• 100% are honest enough to admit their leadership skills can be improved, be it slightly or significantly.
• The majority of the panel feel their leadership style involves them supporting and developing their staff (we haven’t asked the staff).  The panel also feel they value input and seek commitment.
• When asked where improvements can be made in terms of leadership, the most popular responses were relationship building with senior colleagues, followed by better communication skills and encouraging more innovation and creativity.
• The majority of people have picked up their leadership skills from a combination of people they’ve worked for.  Only 10% say they acquired them from their current boss.
• The panel has more confidence in their team delivering the strategy and vision of their organisation than they do in the organisation’s leaders.
• Over 75% of the panel admit at some stage to experiencing anxiety in their role, with the  majority feeling at some point it affects their ability to do the job.
• Only just over 25% currently admit to having both the desire and ability to one day become the leader of an organisation.
• Unsurprisingly the current economic situation is the biggest challenge that over half the panel face.  This is followed by growing their businesses and culture change.  Budgets are in 4th place, followed by increased regulation.
• Good news for David Cameron, less so for Ed Miliband.  Whilst 65% of the panel rate Cameron’s leadership qualities as good or excellent, the corresponding figure for Miliband is 8%.  In terms of being poor / very poor the figures are 8% and 56% respectively.