Next National CEO Survey Finds Stark Differences in Leadership Competencies of Presidential Candidates

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent survey by global leadership solutions firm PDI Ninth House shows that respondents see dramatic differences in the leadership competencies of U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

In the survey, PDI Ninth House examined the competencies it finds most important in business CEOs and asked respondents to rank in order those they felt were most relevant for the next U.S. president, or "Next National CEO." The survey then asked respondents to rank the two presidential candidates on each of the competencies.

The survey found that while President Obama has a slight (1 percent) lead in overall competencies, he has a 9 percent lead with women, and Governor Romney has an 8 percent lead with men.

"When choosing a candidate for any critical job, it is important to start with an understanding of what is most important for success in the position," said PDI Ninth House Executive Vice President of C-Suite Solutions Dave Heine. "For example, the fact that women place more importance on people-related competencies makes it understandable as to why President Obama ranks higher with women. Conversely, men prioritize getting results, and this has given Romney an advantage."

While President Obama scored higher on average on the overall competencies, Governor Romney scored higher than the president on those competencies deemed most important by the survey respondents.

Specific findings:

• The survey ranked "Earn Trust" the most important competency, yet neither candidate scored well. Out of the 17 competencies, respondents ranked this competency 13^th for President Obama, and for Romney ranked this 16^th.
• President Obama's highest-rated competency was "Communicate with Impact," while "Exercise Financial Discipline" was his lowest-rated.
• In stark contrast, Romney's highest-rated competency was "Exercise Financial Discipline," and his lowest-rated was "Value and Use Diverse Input."
• Obama scored higher in the broad categories of "Thought," "People," and "Self Leadership," and Romney scored higher in "Results Leadership."

"Examining competencies allows us to better understand not just what a leader can or will accomplish, but how they would approach challenges to get the job done," said Paul Storfer, director, Talent Frameworks. "When looking at presidential candidates, this information can give us greater insight into how the next four years could play out, depending on which candidate wins."

In the following table, you will find:

• The competencies as ranked by respondents
• How each candidate scored on each competency

The ideal profile match is where a person's strengths match what is deemed most important, and their weaknesses are in areas that are not important. By this measure, Romney's skills are a better match with what respondents indicated what is important, as two of his top strengths, "Exercise Financial Discipline" and "Lead Boldly," are among the five most important skills. Conversely, three of Obama's top skills are among the least important, and none of his strongest skills are among the five most important.

The survey also examined how each candidate scored on each competency. Romney ranked higher on five of the competencies, including those that are results-focused (financial discipline, restructuring the government, execution), as well as building a team, and influencing and negotiating. Obama ranked higher on the rest of the competencies.

About the Study

PDI Ninth House distributed online surveys from March 2012 through late October 2012. In total, more than 750 people responded. In the first survey, respondents were asked to rank competencies in order of importance. In the second survey, respondents were asked to rank the presidential candidates against each competency. For the first survey, 443 people responded, and 269 people took the second survey, rating the candidates. Of the respondents, 57 percent were women and 43 percent were men. In terms of party affiliation, 31 percent described themselves as Democrats, 17 percent described themselves as Republicans, 36 percent indicated they identify as Independent, and 16 chose "Other" or did not indicate a party affiliation.

About PDI Ninth House:

PDI Ninth House is the world's premier global leadership solutions company. For more than four decades, we have provided integrated assessment, development and coaching solutions around critical leadership and business challenges that most directly impact each leader's success and the success of their organization. For more information, contact PDI Ninth House at 1.612.339.0927 (in the U.S. 1.800.633.4410) or visit its website at www.pdinh.com.

SOURCE PDI Ninth House