A recent survey by the Pew Research Center indicates that military service continues to be the most desirable trait in a Presidential candidate. Interestingly, atheism was a deal breaker with 53% of the respondents saying they were less likely to vote for an atheist - the highest in the less likely category. Another notable difference from earlier years was that respondents who viewed a candidate's prior experience in Washington DC as a negative, outnumbered those who considered it as desirable. Prior experience continued to be important, but in a gubernatorial capacity.
Although America vehemently holds its state and religion separate, and in general has an anti-war sentiment, why might religion and military service consistently figure at the top of desirable qualities of leaders? Demographic facts aside, it is undoubtedly the moral values that religion represents, and the belief that a religious candidate will adhere to them. Military credentials also represent a candidate's experience in adhering to a strong moral code.
In their best selling leadership book - Leadership Challenge- , authors Kouzes and Posner discuss the results of their survey of over 70,000 people over the globe (latest data in 2007), to identify the most important characteristics of a leader as: honesty, forward looking, inspiring and competent. They point out that credibility is the foundation of good leadership, and the most important behavior of a credible person is that "they do what they say they will do". The Pew survey results suggest that the partisan behavior in Washington at the cost of public interest, has eroded the faith of the public in their elected representatives. The gubernatorial posts are seen as more independent, less likely to be influenced by vested interests of others.
How can a leader ensure that they always do what they say? To paraphrase Kouzes and Posner, this begins with the leader having a clear set of values, and then consistently living these values. This is the- behavioral way- of demonstrating honesty and trustworthiness - the cornerstones of leadership. The Pew center results don't just indicate the importance of values based leadership, they show that the public yearns for credible leaders. Religion and the military are valued - at least by the American public- because they provide the structure and motivation for leading a values based life.
Thankfully, despite the upheavals in Wall Street, 33% of the Pew study respondents favorably view a business executive as a presidential candidate, while 13% view them as negative, and 53% say it didn't matter. Business leaders must take this opportunity to rebuild their credibility by practicing values based leadership.
Although America vehemently holds its state and religion separate, and in general has an anti-war sentiment, why might religion and military service consistently figure at the top of desirable qualities of leaders? Demographic facts aside, it is undoubtedly the moral values that religion represents, and the belief that a religious candidate will adhere to them. Military credentials also represent a candidate's experience in adhering to a strong moral code.
In their best selling leadership book - Leadership Challenge- , authors Kouzes and Posner discuss the results of their survey of over 70,000 people over the globe (latest data in 2007), to identify the most important characteristics of a leader as: honesty, forward looking, inspiring and competent. They point out that credibility is the foundation of good leadership, and the most important behavior of a credible person is that "they do what they say they will do". The Pew survey results suggest that the partisan behavior in Washington at the cost of public interest, has eroded the faith of the public in their elected representatives. The gubernatorial posts are seen as more independent, less likely to be influenced by vested interests of others.
How can a leader ensure that they always do what they say? To paraphrase Kouzes and Posner, this begins with the leader having a clear set of values, and then consistently living these values. This is the- behavioral way- of demonstrating honesty and trustworthiness - the cornerstones of leadership. The Pew center results don't just indicate the importance of values based leadership, they show that the public yearns for credible leaders. Religion and the military are valued - at least by the American public- because they provide the structure and motivation for leading a values based life.
Thankfully, despite the upheavals in Wall Street, 33% of the Pew study respondents favorably view a business executive as a presidential candidate, while 13% view them as negative, and 53% say it didn't matter. Business leaders must take this opportunity to rebuild their credibility by practicing values based leadership.
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