Faith In The Leadership Abilities Of Senior Managers Has Declined, Research Suggests

• 38% of health workers doubt senior management knows where it is going
• A quarter believe the NHS does not put the needs of patients first
• One in five are active critics of the NHS as an employer

Confidence in the leadership abilities of senior managers has declined since the start of 2005, the latest results of The Worker's Index, a bi-annual survey of employees' feelings and attitudes towards work, reveals today.

Jointly sponsored by The Work Foundation, the think tank and consultancy, and Ipsos, the independent research organisation, the third wave of the survey confirms that a quarter of British workers do not believe their senior management has a clear vision of where they are leading the organisation.

The survey, conducted in May 2006, reinforces a trend that was first visible in the October 2005 survey: around a quarter of workers actively doubt senior management's leadership abilities and sense of strategic direction. While 57 per cent overall claimed they agree with the statement 'senior management have a clear vision of where this organisation is going' -- exactly the same as when the survey was last conducted in October 2005 -- 24% disagree. When those who disagree are subtracted from those who agree, the 'net agrees' amount to just +33 (see chart).

Public sector workers have less faith in their leaders than private sector workers. Although this repeats a trend from each wave of the Workers Index, our latest data show that net agreement with the statement -- 'Senior management have a clear vision of where this organisation is going' has decreased significantly among public sector employees. On balance, +40 public sector workers had confidence in their senior management in February 2005 and by May 2006 this had decreased to +17. In the private sector, the balance of opinion has also decreased but at a slower rate from +55 in February 2005 to +44 in May 2006.

Following on from lower levels of confidence in senior management in the public sector, it is consistent that workers in the sector also tend to be more critical of their organisation as an employer. Some 19% of public sector staff are critical of their organisation as an employer, compared with 11% in the private sector.

In the public sector, 63% agree with the statement 'my organisation puts the needs of its customers or service users first.' This compares with 79% in the private sector. Nearly one in five (19%) public sector respondents disagree their organisation puts customers first. This compares with just 6% in the private sector.

In addition to senior management, faith in line management is also mixed. Just over half of all workers (54%) agree that "my line manager inspires me to do a better job".

The Worker's Index finds that overall workers remain committed to their jobs and to their employers. Workers who would naturally advocate their organisation as an employer outnumber those who criticise it -- 60% to 14%. Slightly higher proportions (66%) of workers speak favourably about the services their organisation provides compared to just 10% who criticise.

Michelle Mahdon, researcher with The Work Foundation, and joint author of a new commentary on The Worker's Index, said: "The data points to an ongoing leadership gap at the top of British organisations. Many senior managers appear to be failing to convince the people they lead that they are doing more than being buffeted by events, while being reluctant to take the necessary steps to steer their organisations in a strategic direction."

"In business circles, it is so common to hear talk of the importance of 'vision'. But our survey indicates that these are visions leaders are singularly struggling to articulate. Whatever activities are going on in the heads of senior managers, they are failing to make the jump into real life and affect how people go about their daily work."

Michael Silverman, Associate Director at Ipsos, said: "The gap between public and private sector employees' views of their senior management is substantial and seemingly growing. And with one in five public sector employees disagreeing that their organisation puts the needs of customers or users first, there is much more to do for the government to achieve its vision of ensuring all public services are built around the needs of the consumer".

Technical details

1. The Worker's Index is a bi-annual survey of c1000 workers in the public and private sectors jointly sponsored by Ipsos and The Work Foundation. The third wave of the survey was conducted in May 2006 and the first and second waves were conducted in February 2005 and October 2005, respectively. All those who participated in the survey were interviewed face to face in Britain. Copies of the commentary are available from The Work Foundation