UK businesses are increasingly rejecting turf wars and the pursuit of petty personal advantage in favour of partnership and alliance building, according to a report by the Chartered Management Institute.

The report, Leading with Political Awareness, reveals that only 31% of the 1,495 respondents view business politics as protecting their turf. It found that 21% believe that it is about pursuing personal advantage, 59% say political skill are about alliance building.

However, despite recognising the value of political skills, UK business leaders’ admit there is significant room for improvement. Only 58% claim they have good political skills, 18% say theirs are average and 1% say they are excellent.

Mary Chapman, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, says: “In a dynamic business environment, where globalisation is opening new doors on a daily basis, the shift to external partnership-building is good news for UK business.

“It shows leaders accept that success can be achieved by the way they work with individuals. They recognise the need to talk, and relate to, people on a personal level.  Of course, internal relationships will continue to be important, but there is now a clear understanding that results will be achieved through wider collaboration.”

The report shows that the majority of business leaders have developed their political skills through bitter experience, 88% say that learning from mistakes has been key and 85% say that the experience of managing crises has been valuable. Two-thirds also suggest that learning from role models’ has been useful.