The importance placed on leadership development has doubled in the last year according to results from a new survey.

More than a third – 38% - of respondents said that leadership was the hottest training topic for 2005 as opposed to only 19% of respondents who had it at the top of their training agenda this time last year.

The survey, conducted by Video Arts, examined key training issues among over 150 training and HR professionals.

When respondents were asked which skills their bosses and CEOs were lacking most, leadership (18%) and a lack of people skills (15%) were the most popular answers.

Martin Addison, director of Video Arts said: "This considerable focus on leadership development stems from a number of factors which include societal and organisational change as well as an increase in competition in the market place. The figures showing leadership development to be the most frequently cited skills gap among employers suggests that this current focus on leadership development will continue in the foreseeable future."

Other key findings from the survey include:
* 12% of respondents believe that customer service is the hottest training topic for this year
* Compliance and talent management are low on the list of training topics for this year with only 2% of respondents deeming them to be priorities
* 32% of respondents believe that leadership will be the most important training topic in their organisations next year
* When asked what training their bosses needed, answers included, anger management, training to improve attention span and relaxation.
* Only 2% of respondents believed that their boss didn't need any training

The face-to-face survey was carried out by Video Arts at the annual HRD Conference and Exhibition in April 2005.