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- The first point to draw to the attention of development professionals is that this study produced an overwhelming view that these skills are of critical importance to success. It could be argued that many of the skills delineated are already well known; however, it should be noted that all of the respondents were cognisant of the nature of this survey, i.e. that it was to better understand the nature and criticality of political skill. Hence by participating they were also indicating their interest in this area. The literature review identified that there is in appropriate situations, merit in adopting a political theory of leadership. This being the case, serious consideration should be given to reviewing existing development programmes to increase the prominence of influencing and political skills, particularly bearing in mind that we have identified a lack in this area. This lack may be more about perception than reality and that what is missing is the adoption of the political perspective within organisations' training programmes. Read More
The Criticality of Political Skill — Conclusion
To bring this article to a conclusion, we decided to comment on the implications of this work for those responsible for senior management development. These remarks may also be useful to individuals who are interested in developing their political skill.