News: Performance Management
Management training in focus following BBC 'Manuelgate' inquiry
24 November 2008
A rigorous review of the "calibre and training" of senior managers at the BBC could be on the horizon following an investigation into the Radio 2 "Manuelgate" affair.
Corporation watchdog the BBC Trust suggested in its inquiry that serious leadership failings were in evidence, not only at the station formerly controlled by Lesley Douglas, but across the broadcast organisation as a whole.
Friday's (November 21st) release of a report on the scandal came on the heels of earlier accusations by MPs regarding a lack in the BBC's management skills, which Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons and director general Mark Thompson denied.
Asked by the government's culture, media and sport committee if the transmission of lewd answerphone messages highlighted a "personal failing" of both individuals' leadership skills, Sir Michael replied that strong management is not synonymous with "making no mistakes".
"The right test of leadership is not that you won't from time to time find members of your organisation doing things that you wouldn't approve of; indeed, of which you have categorically disapproved," he remarked.
Managers' response to such circumstances is the more pertinent issue for judgement, he continued.
The BBC Trust concluded in its report that the corporation's highest-paid presenter - Jonathan Ross - would not be dismissed for his part in Russell Brand's prank, over which the comedian himself resigned.
