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from the issue of August 26, 2004
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Poll: Many consider their leaders 'authentic'
How authentic do Americans perceive the leadership of their organizations?
A first-ever poll by UNL revealed that many believe their leaders are doing quite well.
"The results are actually more positive than I expected," said Bruce Avolio, director of the Gallup Leadership Institute at UNL. "Being seen as an authentic leader is a pretty high standard, and we found that a considerable number of American workers are reporting evidence of authentic leadership in their organizations."
The nationwide telephone poll of 1,008 workers over age 18 was conducted in May and June by The Gallup Organization for the UNL College of Business Administration. Responses to the items comprising the poll were collected from respondents judging on a five-point scale how frequently the leaders of their respective organizations displayed specific actions and behaviors.
Some of the findings:
• About one-third of U.S. working adults indicated the leadership in their organizations exhibited authentic leadership behaviors "frequently, if not always." Thirty-nine percent of workers surveyed reported their leaders "frequently, if not always, act in the best interest of the organization" and "are genuine people."
• The lowest-rated items were leaders who "make personal sacrifices for the benefit of the organization," with only 22 percent rating that item "frequently, if not always," and "admits when mistakes are made," with only 23 percent reporting that type of leadership "frequently, if not always."
Avolio said authentic leaders are "transparent" about their intentions and desires. They say exactly what they mean, go beyond self-interest for the good of the organization and act in the organization's best interest. They consider moral and ethical consequences of their decisions and admit when mistakes are made.
"More Americans these days are thinking about leadership and how to best assess and develop leadership, whether selecting project leaders or CEOs," Avolio said. "There will be increasingly greater attention paid to placing leaders in positions of power that are authentic."
Avolio and his colleagues at the institute developed the poll on authentic leadership as a benchmark for further research and to highlight the need for further attention to this basic form of leadership. The intent is to conduct the poll on a biannual basis to track how leadership of American organizations changes over time.
Avolio said much attention appears today to be paid to bad leadership.
"It's probably harder in this day and age to be an authentic leader," he said. "There's more noise. There's more scrutiny from all levels."
"Many leaders from the past may have operated with a more guarded, top-down decision-making style, which is simply not acceptable today in many organizations," he said. "The standard should be that anything one does in a leadership role should be justifiable and open to public scrutiny."
More
More information about this poll can be found at the Gallup Leadership Institute Web site, http://gli.unl.edu.
GO TO: ISSUE OF AUGUST 26
NEWS HEADLINES FOR AUGUST 26
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Magazine ranks UNL in top 50 universities
Poll: Many consider their leaders 'authentic'
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