The Australian Leadership Index’s Naughty Or Nice List: Who Met Leadership Expectations In 2022
The ALI research team has released its naughty or nice list, looking back on which institutions met leadership expectations in 2022.
The ALI research team has released its naughty or nice list, looking back on which institutions met leadership expectations in 2022.
New data from the Australian Leadership Index shows that public confidence in the Albanese government has sharply increased.
In these five charts, we map Australia’s social institutions in terms of their perceived intentions and competence. Although public perceptions of government institutions are our focus, the meaning of these perceptions only becomes clear in the context of a full mapping of the institutions measured by the Australian Leadership Index.
As chronicled in countless news stories and reports, trust in social institutions is low. The integrity and transparency of these institutions gets a bad grade from the public, and social institutions are often seen even as acting at odds with the public interest.
Although the term ‘civilisation’ has less currency today than it once did (Armstrong, 2009), most people see themselves as living in a civilisation (Saul, 2009). As observed by the political philosopher John Ralston Saul, this understanding tends to be centred on a sense of shared destiny: on shared interests, collective purpose, and a common future. Seemingly abstract, the idea of shared destiny is actually quite familiar. Colloquially, we know this as the common good or its synonyms: the public or greater good.
The year 2020 will be remembered as one of Australia’s most turbulent. The first months of the year saw many communities devastated by the bushfire crisis. With little respite, Australia soon faced the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a major disruption to the economy and people’s lives. Leadership across all sectors and institutions has been tested as it never has been before.
In contrast to the government’s instrumental view of education, with its focus on producing “job-ready graduates”, the public now takes a wider view of education as a public good. Drawing on nationally representative surveys from Sept 2018 – Sept 2020, we statistically modelled how nine different factors have influenced public perceptions of leadership in education institutions.
There is growing concern about the social value created by organisations, especially in the business sector. The literature on social responsibility, ethical and responsible leadership is another manifestation of this widespread concern for the social value created by organisations and institutions.
Due to unethical conduct, irresponsible leadership and distrust of institutions, there is a pervasive sense that we are not well served by our leaders. Too often, leaders serve a narrow group of interests before the public interest. There is a yearning for a culture of leadership that serves the greater good.
In the space of six weeks, the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden absence of partisanship from the political landscape have ushered in a focus on leadership for the greater good, the likes of which we haven’t seen for years.
Although the term civilisation has less currency today than it once did, most of us see ourselves as living in a civilisation. And, as posited by John Ralston Saul, our understanding of civilisation tends to be centred on a sense of shared destiny; on shared interests, collective purpose and a common future.
The Australian Leadership Index is the largest ever ongoing research study of leadership in Australia, by Swinburne University of Technology.
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