A study by management consultancy Hay has found that a majority of mangers fail to deliver a positive working environment, with four out of 10 actually making things worse. The worst managers only succeeded in creating a demotivating climate for staff, according to the study.

The study discovered that although as much as one third of an organisation's business performance was dependent on the creation of a positive working climate, fewer than a quarter of business leaders created a high-performance climate, while only a fifth managed to generate an energising working atmosphere. This failure costs the UK's financial services sector alone some £8.5bn in reduced profits, it calculated.

Chris Watkin, UK head of talent management at Hay, says: "Our research demonstrates that business leaders are struggling to create the right climate to motivate employees and drive high performance. UK Plc urgently needs a climate change."

The research identified six main leadership styles managers can employ: directive, pacesetting, visionary, affiliative, participative and coaching.

"Our research suggests that the more collaborative styles win out when it comes to creating a high-performance workplace. The message for managers would seem to be: teams respond better to support than to coercion," Watkin adds.

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