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Center for Public Leadership Releases 3rd Annual National Leadership IndexDownload PDF of this document November 2007The American people are alarmed about the quality of their leaders and concerned about the country’s future, yet optimistic that things can improve. This national study of confidence in leadership, our third, reveals that the leadership crisis we first identified in our 2005 report continues—and, in the eyes of Americans, is deepening. More than three quarters of those surveyed now believe there is a leadership crisis in this country, up from 69% in 2006 and 65% in 2005. Fully half of all Americans, when asked how much confidence they have in their leaders, answer “not much” or “none at all.” The message is clear: Americans want more from their leaders—and fast. Americans feel strongly that our country must soon have better leadership if we are to thrive in the future. Only 14% of our survey respondents currently believe the country is moving in the right direction, while 48% believe we are moving in the wrong direction. Bottom line—79% believe the United States will decline as a nation unless we get better leaders. With national elections approaching, it’s easy to assume that politicians are the prime focus of Americans’ disenchantment. But, as you will read in this report, confidence in leadership in many sectors—from religion to business, from education to nonprofits—remains tepid or continues to sink. And the press receives the lowest ratings of all. This is troubling, because democracies rely on a vibrant, probing, and trusted press. This year, we dig more deeply into the public’s views on news media election coverage. The key finding: Americans’ lack of confidence in the press stems from deep unease about bias and editorial content. This is not good news for the professionals upon whom we must rely for information about our leaders. We can take comfort, however, in Americans’ deep reserves of optimism. The public remains hopeful that capable leaders will emerge soon. This year, with the 2008 presidential election approaching, we provide a special section on attitudes toward the election and the major candidates. By and large, Americans like what they see. Almost eight in ten (79%) are confident that the next president will be good for the country. Looking to the future, 59% believe that the country will have better leaders in 20 years. This report is one product of a partnership between the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and U.S.News & World Report. Together, we are exploring public attitudes about our leaders and identifying—through a national selection committee—today’s exemplary leaders. (See U.S.News, November 19, 2007, to read about “America’s Best Leaders” for this year.) Special thanks are due to the chief architects of this project: Todd L. Pittinsky, Research Director of the Center and Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School, and Seth A. Rosenthal, a Research Fellow at the Center. We are very grateful to them and their research colleagues for their stewardship of this project and their insightful analysis. With the hope that this project contributes to widening the civic dialogue and opening new paths of inquiry for scholars, we welcome your thoughts, insights, and comments.
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