A managerial skills gap exists when a manager finds himself/herself in a position where he/she does not have the requisite managerial knowledge or skills necessary to perform at a high level. This skills gap is frequently exposed by rapid organizational change, structural realignments, promotions and/or the addition of new responsibilities, all of which are common occurrences in modern enterprises. This article chronicles the cost of the managerial skills gap and provides the reader with a discussion of the causes and cures, based on a decade of research with seasoned business leaders. To this end, organizations that operate with significant gaps in the talents of their managers do so at their own risk for their long-term survival and success.

The quote above speaks of some realities that is confronting organizations around the world: (1) properly training managers is and has always been a challenge for most organizations (even in more normal times); (2) the downturn in the world economy has caused organizations to focus on their immediate and short-term survival; and (3) the rapid changes in the environment require better performance from managers, which frequently requires the acquisition of new skill sets. Organizations are depending heavily on their managers to help lead their enterprises in the midst of myriad of challenges brought on by a sluggish world economy, and this is nothing new. But, because of the nature of these changes, managers operating in dynamic environments can easily find themselves needing skills that they do not possess. In this sense, `skills gaps' can exist in such critical areas as rapid problem-solving, process redesign, supply chain redesign, technology alignment, team building and strategic forecasting, just to name a few.

A `managerial skills gap' exists when a manager finds themselves in a position where he/she does not have the requisite managerial knowledge or skills necessary to perform at a high level. These gaps are frequently exposed by rapid organizational changes, structural realignments, promotions and/or the addition of new responsibilities, all of which are common occurrences in modern enterprises. Considering the pivotal role that managers play in helping their organizations deal with change, it is quite surprising how many organizations place little or no emphasis on management training in this regard. Effective organizations and HR leaders realize that there are real problems associated with having a poorly trained management workforce. And, at the same time, in one of our recent studies, 84% of managers believed that effective management training had a positive impact on an organization's ability to deal with change, compete more effectively and create competitive advantage. This article discusses why organizations do not properly train their managers and what to do in such situations.

HRM Review Magazine, Organizational Change, Structural Realignments, Managerial Skills Gap, Oranizational Performance, Team Building, Strategic Forecasting, Management Training, Process Redesign, Supply Chain Redesign, Technology Alignment, Team Building, Strategic Forecasting, Managerial Knowledge, Management Training Programs.