According to the 2007 National Leadership Index
Growing concern about an across-the-board ‘leadership crisis’

November 12, 2007 – A new survey reveals that Americans’ growing dissatisfaction with their leaders extends far beyond the executive and legislative branches of government. According to the 3rd annual National Leadership Index (NLI) released today, Americans believe that leadership in nearly all of the nation’s major institutions is weak—so weak in fact, that the number of people who believe the country has a leadership crisis has jumped by almost a fifth in just two years.

For several years running, research has uncovered a deepening pessimism among Americans from across the political spectrum about the priorities and agenda of the president and Congress. The 2007 National Leadership Index, conducted by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in cooperation with U.S.News & World Report and Yankelovich, Inc., echoes these findings but also shows that the pessimism is much more widespread.

Americans now lack even a moderate amount of trust in the leaders of ten of the 12 principal sectors of society. For the second year in a row, confidence has not increased in a single sector. Indeed, confidence in the leadership of five sectors—education, nonprofits and charities, local government, the executive branch, and the press—has declined since last year. The wake-up call is especially strong for the media: Americans’ confidence in its leadership is now the lowest of all the sectors.

The saving grace in the 2007 NLI is that Americans retain a sense of optimism about the future. Survey respondents said they are confident that voters will select a good president in next year’s election, regardless of whether they expect a Democrat or Republican to win. Moreover, most Americans believe the nation will have better leaders in 20 years.

Among the specific findings of this year’s NLI are the following: 

• More than three-quarters of those surveyed (77%) believe there is a leadership crisis in this country (up from 65% in 2005).
• Nearly eight in ten Americans (79%) believe that the United States will decline as a nation unless we get better leaders (up from 73% in 2006).
• Only 14% of Americans believe the country is moving in a positive direction, while 48% believe the direction is negative.
• Americans express the highest confidence for leaders in the military and medical sectors, and the lowest confidence for those in Congress, the executive branch and in the press. 
• Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed (64%) say they distrust media coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign, while 61% believe the media focuses too much on trivial issues rather than important ones.
• Despite their pessimism about current leadership, almost two in three Americans (66%) say they are very or somewhat optimistic about the nation’s prospects.

“The trends show that the American public is even more disappointed in the state of our leadership today than they were last year or the year before,” says David Gergen, U.S. News’ Editor-at-Large and director of the Center for Public Leadership. “We should all be alarmed about the credibility of our leadership, especially at a time when Americans are looking for strong leaders to help steer the nation in the right direction.”

“The findings tell us that people are increasingly skeptical about the people in key leadership positions,” said Todd Pittinsky, an associate professor at the Kennedy School and Primary Investigator of the research program. “But there is also a sense that things can change, and will change for the better, in coming years.”

Seth Rosenthal, the Lead Author of the report, commented, “Leaders in the media sector should pay particular attention to this survey. By an almost two-to-one margin the American people distrust the news coverage of the upcoming 2008 elections, and that credibility gap is something that must be addressed quickly.”

Looking ahead, approximately two in three survey respondents (65%) say it matters “a great deal” which candidate is elected president in 2008. Other NLI results specific to the 2008 elections include:

• More than a third of survey respondents (36%) are “excited/hopeful” about the 2008 presidential elections. Forty-six percent believe things will be better following the election; only 7% believe things will be worse. 
• Almost eight in ten Americans (79%) are at least moderately confident that the next president will be good for America, although only 29% say they have a “great deal” of confidence.
• Almost all Americans (97%) agree that honesty and integrity are important qualities for the next president to possess. Intelligence (92%) and an ability to communicate well (91%) are also considered important qualities.
• Democrats express the most confidence in Sen. Hillary Clinton (57%) among the field of presidential candidates. Republicans rate Fred Thompson (27%) highest, with Rudolph Giuliani (26%) close behind.

The National Study of Confidence in Leadership is a social science research program examining the attitudes of the American public toward the nation’s leadership.  The study includes the National Leadership Index 2007, a measure of the public’s confidence in the leadership of different sectors of society. The complete report for this year’s Index can be found at www.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/nli.

The Center for Public Leadership and U.S.News & World Report created the Index with the help of TSC, a division of the market research firm Yankelovich. TSC then conducted more than 1,200 interviews in September 2007, and the results were released in conjunction with the 2007 edition of “America’s Best Leaders,” an annual editorial feature of U.S. News. This special feature, on newsstands today, explores the issue of leadership and profiles America’s foremost current leaders. A complete list of those leaders is available at www.usnews.com.

Survey Methodology
Survey results were obtained through telephone interviews among a representative sample of adults (18 years of age or older) in the continental United States. A total of 1,207 respondents were interviewed. The interviews were conducted from September 4–17, 2007. The sampling error is plus or minus 2.8%.

About U.S.News & World Report
Founded in 1933, the weekly national news magazine U.S.News & World Report is devoted to investigative journalism and reporting and to analyzing national and international affairs, politics, business, health, science, technology and social trends. Through its annual rankings of America's Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and America's Best Hospitals, and its News You Can Use® brand, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. Available online at www.usnews.com, the U.S. News Web site extends that brand promise and delivers the best, most accurate information on the Web, organized in a way that is accessible and easy to use.

About the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Established in 2000 through a generous grant from the Wexner Foundation, the Center for Public Leadership was created to serve the common good by promoting excellence in leadership research, education, and development. CPL provides cutting-edge teaching and research as well as hands-on training in the practical skills of leadership for people in government, nonprofits, and business. This fall, for the second year in a row, Leadership Excellence magazine rated CPL second among all university-based leadership development programs in North America. For more information, go to www.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership.

About Yankelovich
The Segmentation Company (TSC), a division of Yankelovich, is a full-service custom research division conducting research for business, the media, associations, and government. We specialize in studies conducted for media release as well as in segmentation research, positioning studies, brand equity, and market sizing.

Yankelovich, Inc. (www.yankelovich.com) delivers measurable breakthroughs in marketing productivity for it clients.  For more than 30 years, the Yankelovich MONITOR has tracked and forecasted consumer value and lifestyle trends. Yankelovich is headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, with offices in Norwalk, CT and Atlanta, GA.

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For more information or to receive a complete copy of the Index, please contact:
Doug Gavel—(617) 495-8290—doug_gavel@harvard.edu.