Global Leadership Crisis Continues to Damage the Bottom Line, But the Future of Leadership Communication is More 'Feminine'

NEW YORK, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Women leaders are performing far better than men on almost every one of the key attributes identified as being the most critical to effective leadership, according to the third annual Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor (KLCM), a global study which polled 6,509 people in 13 countries across five continents for their views on effective leadership, effective communication and the link between the two.

Signaling the rise of a new "feminine" model for leadership communication, the research found that female leaders came out comfortably ahead on all of the top-four most crucial traits of effective leadership, including: leading by example (57 percent scored female leaders higher vs. 43 percent rating males better), communicating in an open and transparent way (62 percent vs. 38 percent), admitting mistakes (66 percent vs. 34 percent), and bringing out the best in others (61 percent vs. 39 percent). Male and female leaders came in roughly even on a fifth attribute – handling controversial issues or crises calmly and confidently (48 percent vs. 52 percent). In total, female leaders won out on five of the top seven traits examined by the research.

And yet, the research also found that globally, male leaders narrowly edge out their female counterparts – 54 percent to 46 percent – as the gender the world expects to navigate us through the challenges of the next five years.

"This is not to say that all future leaders should be women and that men have no place in leadership. Rather, our findings reveal vitally important lessons for leaders of both genders, as they continue to grapple with the ongoing leadership crisis," commented Rod Cartwright, partner and director of Ketchum's Global Corporate & Public Affairs Practice.

Barri Rafferty, Ketchum senior partner and CEO, North America, added, "Our study clearly shows that to inspire trust, leaders of both genders need to avoid a 'macho,' command-and-control approach to leadership communication, which tends to be one-way, domineering and even arrogant. Instead, we are seeing the birth of a new model of leadership communication based on transparency, collaboration, genuine dialogue, clear values and the alignment of words and deeds, a model being followed far more consistently by female leaders. This research finally puts to rest the flawed assumption that women need to act like old school male leaders to make their mark."

The Global Leadership 'Crisis' Continues

KLCM also indicates that the global leadership "crisis" stubbornly persists, as consumers continue to be disillusioned with their leaders. Looking at leaders in business, government, community service, trade/labor unions and the not-for-profit sector, only 22 percent of those surveyed believe leaders are demonstrating effective leadership – down from 25 percent last year – with just 13 percent scoring leaders strongly on accountability when things go wrong. Additionally, less than a third (30 percent) believe that leadership is based on clear values, and just 17 percent are optimistic about seeing any improvement in leadership over the coming year.

Business leaders are again the most admired type of leader, but with just 29 percent believing they lead well – down from 34 percent in 2012. Only 42 percent of those surveyed believe business leaders meet expectations, 35 percent rate them as effective communicators, and only one-third (33 percent) believe they have clear values. At the other end of the spectrum, political leaders continue to come in last on every measure. A staggering 70 percent believe political leaders have fallen short of expectations and half expect even worse in 2014, with only 23 percent believing politicians have clear values, and just 9 percent believing politicians take appropriate responsibility.

Leadership Communications Influences the Bottom Line

As with the first two years of KLCM, the research finds that open, transparent communication is absolutely critical to effective leadership. It is the top-ranking attribute, with 74 percent viewing it as very important to great leadership. Yet only 29 percent believe leaders communicate effectively, with a 45-point gap between expectation and delivery.

And that gap has enormous commercial implications. Indeed, a clear majority of respondents boycotted or bought less from a company during the past 12 months due to poor leadership. Far fewer started buying or purchased more as a result of positive leadership perceptions.

Cartwright commented, "The sluggish recovery of the global economy together with the rapidly evolving social and digital media landscape of recent years are having a profound impact on the expectations that citizens have of their leaders. Unless leaders examine closely how they act and communicate – and make real changes – the leadership crisis will continue, eroding trust and damaging the bottom line."

The Rise of the Leadership eVangelist

A key element of the leadership crisis revealed by KLCM has been the rise of the "Leadership eVangelist" – a specific and vocal subset of consumers who have a disproportionate impact on commercial outcomes. Powered by the advent of social media, the eVangelists regularly debate leadership with friends, family and others online and emphatically recommend or criticize companies. They make up a mere 8 percent of the global population and yet their influence is much more far-reaching. 

This group is likely to be much more supportive from a purchasing perspective when impressed with leadership and also more aggressively negative when unimpressed.

Cartwright added, "The eVangelists are the vocal minority influencing their friends and families who make up the silent majority. They are the people driving the demand we are seeing for a fundamental shift in leadership. The good news is that this open-minded group tends to respond far more positively to companies and their leaders when they believe they have been genuinely engaged and heard."

The KLCM Global Disillusionment Index and Global Industry Leadership Index

This year marks the launch of two new global indices based on KLCM's findings. These benchmarks examine how "disillusioned" consumers are with their leaders on a country-by-country level, as well as which industries are the most respected.

The KLCM Global Disillusionment Index pooled all of the global data collected across leadership, communication, confidence in leaders, accountability, meeting expectations and values on a country-by-country basis. The Spanish were most disillusioned with their leaders – with European countries taking five of the bottom six slots – while those in China had the most confidence, followed by India and Singapore.

Looking at leadership from an industry perspective and combining data on leadership, communication, accountability and meeting expectations, the KLCM Global Industry Leadership Index shows that the technology industry ranked top on every measure, with banking rounding out the bottom of the list.

Visit http://www.ketchum.com/leadership-communication-monitor-2014 for additional survey information and materials.

About the Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor

Ketchum Global Research & Analytics conducted an online survey of 6,509 respondents in 13 markets from Jan. 10 to 31, 2014. These markets included the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, China, Italy, Singapore, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Brazil. The global margin of error is +/-1.3 percent. The research explored respondents' views of both different categories of leader (business, political, community, non-profit and union/labor organization) and of 19 vertical industries. All data collection was handled by Ipsos Observer.

About Ketchum

Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. The winner of 11 Cannes Lions and an unprecedented four PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards, Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming, game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a part of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc., visit www.ketchum.com.

About Diversified Agency Services

Diversified Agency Services (DAS), a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), manages Omnicom's holdings in a variety of marketing communications disciplines. DAS includes over 200 companies, which operate through a combination of networks and regional organizations, serving international and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world's third largest market research company, with offices in 84 countries. Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research and survey management.

SOURCE Ketchum