BUSINESSES in the UK are not reaching their full potential because their managers are lacking in essential qualities and skills, according to research.

This research has revealed that directors and chief executive officers are weak at coaching and developing others, and are criticised for their poor people management, leadership and communication skills.

Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire reckons it has found the perfect solution - a coaching service specially designed for directors and senior executives of small- to medium-sized enterprises. The knock-on effect of this lack of skills has been estimated to cost the UK economy around £12 billion a year and, it is claimed, one of the primary reasons for the poor performance is that UK organisations spend less time and money on the training and development of their senior staff than their European counterparts.

The total spent in the UK is less than half that spent by Germany.

Business Link's objective is to improve business performance via an executive coaching service designed to improve the effectiveness of senior executives and directors as business leaders.

The service will help identify the skills and qualities that each senior executive needs to develop or refine, as well as find the training that will fill those gaps.

Tailored executive coaching has become the most popular method of leadership development, used by 34 per cent of financial services firms.

The Business Link coaching service is available to directors or senior executives from Wiltshire organisations that employ between 20 to 249 employees.

Janet Robbins, business development manager for Business Link, said: "Effective leaders change the organisations around them and make a significant difference to the success of a business.

"However, there is a general perception in the UK that the more senior you are, the less training and development you need.

"In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that senior personnel lack certain skills and qualities that can have a positive and significant impact on the success of a business.

"Our new coaching service works with individual leaders on a one-to-one basis to improve their effectiveness as a leader in a way that fits with their lifestyle and the needs of the business."

Places on the executive coaching service are limited and will be on a first-come first-served basis.

To pre-register and to check eligibility, log on to www.blbw.co.uk