Domain-by-Domain Analysis
Another way of examining the quality of leadership in the various domains is to contrast those who are willing to give one of the two highest ratings (excellent or very good) with others—in effect, those who see high-quality leadership in a domain with those who see only mid- or low-quality leadership. That is the basis for the following domain-by-domain analysis. We focus on the subsample of businessmen and women, since the subsample of Alma College alumni is too small to permit dividing them into subgroups in order to look for trends.
The domains are examined in order from the highest to the lowest mean leadership quality rating among businessmen and women.
Science and Technology
Overall, 40 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of leadership in the domain of science and technology as high (i.e. very good or excellent). Businessmen and women in the South contrast strongly with those in other sections of the country in their evaluation of leadership in the domain of science and technology. In the South, only 29 percent view leadership in this domain as high in quality, while in the other sections this proportion ranges from 40 percent, in the Northeast and Central U.S., to 44 percent in the Great Lakes, to 50 percent on the Pacific Coast.
There is a somewhat greater tendency for those working in education and government to perceive the leadership in this domain as being of high quality, with 50 percent and 44 percent rating it so respectively, than is the case in other employment sectors. The lowest tendency in this respect is found in the nonprofit sector (35 percent) and among retirees (32 percent). There are no significant differences associated with age, gender or education.
The Military
Overall, 36 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of military leadership as high. Differences in perceptions of the quality of leadership in the military among businessmen and women are more localized geographically than are perceptions of the quality of leadership in the domain of science and technology. The strongest admirers of military leadership are found in the Mountain states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah, and in the East North Central states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. In both of these areas, 44 percent rate the quality of military leadership as high. Not far behind are the West South Central states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, where 43 percent rate military leadership as high in quality. By contrast, only 21 percent of business men and women in the New England states of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont rate military leadership as high quality. The rest of the country comes within a few percentage points of the national average.
Gender plays a modest role in influencing perceptions of the quality of military leadership. Business men are a bit more likely than business women to rate it of high quality, by 42 percent vs. 28 percent, making men about 1.3 times as likely as women to believe military leadership is of high quality.
Volunteerism and Community Service
Overall, 28 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of leadership in the domain of volunteerism and community service as high. We see strong differences in the regional perception of the quality of leadership in this domain, as in the first two. The highest ratings for the quality of leadership in this domain come from business people in the East North Central States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, where 40 percent rate the quality of leadership in this domain as high. Compare this with the New England States of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, where only 10 percent rate the quality of leadership in this domain as high.
Age plays a modest role in influencing perceptions of the quality of leadership in this domain. Older businessmen and women are more likely to view the quality as high than are younger ones; the effect is small but statistically significant.
Higher Education
Overall, 22 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of leadership in higher education as high. In this domain, the factor that has the greatest effect on perceptions of leadership quality is the environment in which one works. Those who work in education are, by a wide margin, much more likely to perceive a high quality of leadership in higher education than any others: 42 percent of those who work in education perceive a high quality of leadership in this domain, which can be compared with 5 percent among those who work in government, and only 4 percent among retirees. Those in the for-profit and non-profit sectors are within a few points of the overall average.
Business and Commerce
Overall, 20 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of business leadership as high. Those in the Pacific states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, and those in the Mountain states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, are most likely to perceive a high quality of leadership in this domain, though it should be noted that, at 27 percent, even in those areas, they are in the minority. At the other end of the scale, we found only 15 percent in New England and 13 percent in the South Atlantic states of Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and The District of Columbia who perceive a high quality of leadership in this domain.
There is a marked difference in perception between men and women as well. Among men, 25 percent perceive a high quality of leadership in this domain, whereas among women, only 12 percent do. Men are about 1.3 times as likely as women to perceive the quality of leadership in business to be high.
Local Communities
Overall, 17 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of local community leadership as high. There are striking regional differences in perceptions of leadership quality in this domain: the regions of the country vary from a high of 31 percent in the Mountain States , to a low of 7 percent in the East South Central states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The rate is also low (10 percent) in New England and the South Atlantic States. No other trends were noted.
Religion and Spirituality
Overall, 12 percent of businessmen and women rate the quality of religious leadership as high. This figure does not vary significantly by region, gender, age, or educational attainment, but it does vary by nature of employment. Among those who work in government or education, 24 percent perceive the quality of religious leadership to be high, whereas in the non-profit sector only 9 percent believe it to be so. Among retirees in the sample, none (0 percent) believe the quality to be high. No other trends were noted.
K-12 Education
Overall, 11 percent of businessmen and women perceive the quality of leadership in K-12 education to be high, but strong regional differences can be seen. Those who are most satisfied with the quality of leadership in this domain can be found in the West North Central states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota, where 23 percent perceive a high quality of leadership. Not far behind are those in the Mountain States, where 17 percent perceive a high quality of leadership. At the other end of the scale are those in the South Atlantic states of Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and The District of Columbia, where only 5 percent perceive the quality of leadership in this domain to be high. The other regions are within a few points of the overall average.
Those who work in government (21 percent) and education (20 percent) are most likely to perceive the quality of leadership in this domain to be high, while those in the non-profit sector (8 percent) and retirees (0 percent) are least likely to perceive it to be high.
Health Care
Overall, 9 percent of businessmen and women perceive a high quality of leadership in the health care domain. Here again we find results varying significantly, and fairly substantially, by region. Those most likely to perceive a high quality of health care leadership can be found in the East North Central states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, where the rate is 15 percent. Just behind, at 14 percent, are those in the Middle Atlantic states of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. At the other end of the scale, we find only 6 percent who perceive a high quality of health care leadership in the East South Central states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee; 5 percent in the West South Central states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas; and, strikingly, 0 (zero) percent in the New England states.
Politics and Public Affairs
Overall, 8 percent of businessmen and women perceive a high quality of leadership in the political domain, but in this domain as in most others, the results vary markedly by region. The greatest likelihood of perceiving a high quality of political leadership can be found in the Mountain states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, where 16 percent say the quality of political leadership is high. Not far behind are those in the West South Central states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, where 12 percent say it’s high. At the other extreme are those in New England, where 0 (zero) percent say it’s high. The other regions of the country fall within a few points of the national average.
 State of Leadership | Commentary  |
