NEW HEALTHY COMPANIES/HARRIS POLL: EMPLOYEES WANT MORE ‘CONSCIOUS’ LEADERS
Leaders Need Greater Awareness to Navigate a Rapidly Changing World,
But Many Don’t Know What They Are Lacking
ARLINGTON, VA (July 18, 2018) – A strong majority of Americans believe consciousleaders –those aware of themselves, others, and their surroundings– can vastly improve their organizations, yet under half (48%) of Americans think leaders in our society are conscious, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll among over 2,000 U.S. adults.
The new poll was commissioned by Healthy Companies International to better understand how Americans view leaders and their ability to navigate in a rapidly changing world. The research suggests many employees feel the world is changing faster than their organizations can adapt, and that more conscious leaders are needed to help guide teams through this acceleration.
A vast majority of Americans believe conscious leaders in an organization drive significant improvements in their employees’ performance (89%) and in their organization’s financial performance (87%). But there is a major perception gap: 94% of C-level executives surveyed believe they are very or somewhat conscious, while only 60% of employed Americans believe the same of C-level executives at their organization. The problem: nearly everyone thinks they are conscious, but the people around them don’t agree. Additional findings:
- 52% of Americans believe the world is changing faster than their ability to adapt
- 54% of Americans believe leaders are doing a poor to fair job adapting to change
- 52% of Americans view society’s leaders, in general, as not conscious enough of themselves or their surroundings
- 86% of Americans feel there would be less turmoil in the world if leaders were more conscious
“We live in a world of accelerating change, and people are looking for leaders who can adapt, and drive that change,” said Bob Rosen, PhD organizational psychologist, founder and CEO of Healthy Companies. “Today’s leaders need to be fully conscious – introspective, curious, intentional, and honest – to earn the confidence of their employees while shaping business performance. Without these conscious leaders, organizations run the risk of underperforming and are vulnerable to competition,” Rosen added. In his new book, CONSCIOUS: The Power of Awareness in Business and Life(Wiley, July 18), Rosen and co-author Emma-Kate Swann reveal practical advice to help leaders become more conscious.
The poll also debuted a new Conscious Index designed to measure how working adults perceive executives in their organizations. Working adults gave their leaders an average score of 57 out of 100 on the index, which measures consciousness based on self-awareness, open-mindedness, being proactive, and risk taking.
The poll was conducted online by the Harris Poll on behalf of Healthy Companies International from May 22-24, 2018 among 2,021 U.S. adults ages 18+. For complete survey methodologies, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact David Knauss at 703-351-9901.
Background:
Healthy Companies International is a leadership advisory firm that helps CEOs and executive teams build sustainable, high-performance companies with grounded and conscious leaders at every level. Through personalized consulting services, executive coaching and learning solutions, the firm helps unlock organizations’ full potential to create sustainable value, accelerate transformation, foster growth and innovation, and align the human side of business.
About The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S., tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963. The Harris Poll is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. Their mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible.
