With society more polarised than ever the need to find common ground is becoming increasingly important, particularly as public trust in our leading institutions continues weaken.
Divisions between those seeking social justice and social order are widening, making it more important than ever to see common ground for the greater good.
Like moral issues that elicit strong arguments for and against, conceptualisations of the common good can vary according to the different needs of individuals and the different values they hold.
Our data shows that leadership perceptions declined in 2023, with scandals involving government and private sector leaders likely to blame.
Our data has shown that public perceptions of government integrity have been low for several years, affecting overall Australian leadership perceptions.
Australians are not satisfied with current private sector leadership standards, particularly as several leading institutions attempt to manage integrity scandals.
While public perceptions of the Albanese Government are an improvement over their predecessor, leadership perceptions have dipped in 2023.
Scholars have sounded the call for sustainability leadership, with cracks appearing in the ecosystem’s ability to sustain our well-being.
Participatory Melbourne is a collaborative project designed to cultivate a place-based movement of leadership for the greater good.
Our report highlights how the public views the leadership of Australian charities and the opportunities for charity sector leaders in 2023.
The ALI research team has released its naughty or nice list, looking back on which institutions met leadership expectations in 2022.
While the Australian retail sector is performing well, the public wants to see them improve on employee welfare and sustainability measures.
Public perceptions of Victorian state government leadership has fluctuated markedly, responding to some extraordinary recent events.
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.
After a reversal of trends in 2020, which saw an improvement in perceptions of leadership, leadership perceptions declined throughout 2021.
The flexibility that remote work affords is invaluable, but the blending sometimes feels like work is constant and omnipresent. Employees are likely to feel more vulnerable in this always-on culture, one of constant change and adaptation.
The issue of public integrity has become increasingly prominent in recent years. In this report, we analyse public perceptions and expectations of federal government integrity from October 2018 to December 2021, focusing on public perceptions of federal government leadership for the public good, ethics and morality, transparency, and accountability.
Despite some of the negative publicity surrounding charities in Australia and overseas, Australians overwhelmingly view charities as leading for the greater good compared to other institutions. But why is this the case? Apart from their premise of helping others, how do charities sustain these perceptions more broadly?
Australia has come under international criticism for the carbon emission reduction targets set out in the Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan, with most saying that the net zero by 2050 target is neither fast nor aggressive enough. In recent months, however, with NewsCorp changing its stance on climate change reporting, and public discourse around climate change accelerating, the private sector faces significant pressures to take climate action.
Despite female medical graduates now consistently exceeding parity, there are persisting inequalities in women’s participation in some medical specialities and in leadership roles overall.
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.
Leadership for the common good requires an individual and collective ability and willingness to overcome our Manichaean tendencies. It calls on us to foster the conditions that make it possible to imagine how apparent contradictions can be reconciled. And it calls on us to cultivate the conditions in which we can develop a sense of shared reality, collective purpose, and shared destiny.
While a brand can align itself with and support social causes, ultimately, its existence relies on generating revenue and profit. As such, positioning a brand as virtuous is a challenging and, at times, paradoxical task for marketing practitioners.
The public expects more ethical and responsible leadership, now more than ever. Scandals such as this capture the public’s attention and erode trust in leaders, as evidenced by global public opinion polls.
Governments wanting to be seen as good leaders must have strong, well-implemented climate and environment policies. And when media coverage and public debate is heavily focused on these issues, governments cannot easily brush them aside.
Is there any evidence to suggest people of different ages have different expectations concerning leadership? We answer this question with data collected from the Australian Leadership Index.
Australian Leadership Index shows women’s perception of federal leaders took a steep dive from the end of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021.
In 2020, COVID-19 created a strong focus on leadership, placing increasing pressure on leaders to make decisions for the public interest, particularly at federal and state government level.
Australians believe small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have the potential to drive our recovery post-COVID-19, but a collective effort from government, business and consumers is needed to help them thrive.
When the dust from the election finally settles, Republicans will be faced with the challenge of finding a replacement leader for Trump and the question of how to position their party more broadly. The temptation will be to find a Trump 2.0, another anti-establishment, populist leader with broad appeal to Trump’s base.
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.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in Australia in March, public perceptions of the federal and state governments were consistently poor. Political leaders were seen to be serving themselves and other vested interests, rather than the public interest. However, since the start of the pandemic and the establishment of the National Cabinet in March, this has begun to change.
In the space of eight short weeks, the threat posed by COVID-19 and the sudden absence of partisanship from the political landscape ushered in a focus on leadership for the greater good, the likes of which we have not seen for years. Australians were surveyed between March 17 and May 6 to measure perceptions of leadership for the greater good during the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis.
Overall, our 2019 annual report findings show a significant gap between public perceptions and expectations across all indicators of leadership for the greater good across government, public, private and not for profit sectors. Australian institutions are not living up to the expectations of the general public.
What role do public perceptions of leaders’ success in balancing stakeholders’ needs and interests play in public perceptions of leadership for the greater good in the government, public, private and not-for-profit sectors?
The growing need to consider specific communities, society-at-large and future generations complicates the work of socially responsible leadership. The more leaders are responsive to society, the more they show leadership.
One of the many factors that makes leadership complicated is identifying the stakeholders whose interests ought to be considered in any given decision or course of action. The need to consider the interests of specific communities, society-at-large and future generations complicates the work of socially responsible leadership.
Against a backdrop of ethical scandals, there is a growing appreciation of the need for ethical leadership. ALI research reveals that ethicality is a strong predictor of leadership in the government, public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Transparency is a buzzword of modern leadership and governance. In the context of public concern about political and business ethics and low trust in government and business, improving transparency is one way in which leaders can restore public trust in their institutions.
Accountability is a buzzword of modern leadership and governance. In the context of public concern about political and business ethics and low trust in government and business, improving accountability is one way in which leaders can restore public trust in their institutions.
Recent years have witnessed growing concern about environmental sustainability. What role does creating environmental value play in public perceptions of leadership for the greater good in the government, public, private and not-for-profit sectors?
There has been a decline in expectations that institutions should focus solely on creating economic value. Evidence of this trend can be found in research into corporate social responsibility and responsible leadership.
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.
Australians love sport. However, it is not just what happens on the court or field that matters. A new survey from Swinburne University has found that Australians think sports organisations do more for the greater good than government, religious organisations, or business.
The Woolworths Group proclaims it celebrates “family-friendly values”. The company announced yesterday it will separate from its liquor and gaming businesses. This should be welcomed as a bold step showing its stated commitments aren’t just PR gimmickry.
Most Australians have had enough of the opportunistic point-scoring that characterises politics today and want leaders who put the public interest first. With the election a month away, many Australians have little faith the winners will be able to provide the type of leadership that can change the country in a meaningful way.
In a survey of 1,000 Australians, 35.4% agreed banking and financial institutions show ‘no leadership for the greater good’. Banks and financial institutions are seen as the most self-serving in the nation, according to a national survey undertaken by researchers at Swinburne University.
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.
Click below to receive monthly leadership insights direct to your inbox, along with access to our member-only reports.