Rowley Associates

It's that time of year. Leaves are falling. The temperature is dropping and magazines are publishing their annual ‘Best Leaders’ rankings. So far I’ve read the ratings from U.S. News & World Reports, Atlantic Monthly, Inc. and the 800 pound gorilla from Time magazine. As I was reading through these rankings I wondered what point they served. What do people get from these profiles? For sure if I’m put on a top 10 (hey I’ll go for top 500) I’d feel pretty good about it but what about anyone else. So here’s my take on what these rankings provide, and what they don’t.

1.  Consistency

There is very little overlap between the various rankings. To be fair US News has ‘America’s Best Leaders 2009’, Atlantic Monthly has a list of 27 ‘Brave Thinkers’, Inc reports on ‘Great Leaders’ and Time describes the most ‘Influential people’. Slightly different focus but you’d expect some overlap. Interestingly only three leaders make it on more than one list – Steve Jobs is rated as a ‘Brave Thinker’ (Atlantic Monthly) and ‘Great Leader’ (Inc.), Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, is also rated as a ‘Brave Thinker’ (Atlantic Monthly) and is one of America’s Best Leaders (U.S News), and Barack Obama is a ‘Brave Thinker’ and a Time magazine top ‘leader and revolutionary’.   It’s amazing to me that there is so little overlap but merging the results of each publication provides a relatively eclectic mix.

2.  Selection Process

Looking at how these leaders were selected says something about the so-called validity of the rankings. US News probably has the most ‘scientific approach’. They used the School of Government at Harvard University to help select the top leaders. The panel defined leadership as a person who ‘motivates people to work collaboratively to achieve great things’ and the criteria for selection included ratings of ‘sets direction’, ‘achieves results’ and ‘cultivates a culture of growth’. It’s perhaps this approach that makes US News the most eclectic and interesting mix of leaders.

3.  Gender

Not surprising perhaps but men outnumber women approximately 4 to 1. Women do worst on the Atlantic Monthly ‘Bravest Thinkers’ where they take 4 spots or 11% of the rankings, and best on the US News ‘Best Leaders’ where they account for 33%.

4.  Market Sector or Area of Expertise

Taken as a whole the results are interesting as to where leaders are most likely to have the greatest impact. Businessmen are the most likely to be rated as ‘top leaders’ (51% of the total) followed by politicians (21%). Educators and public servants are the next in the pecking order (6% and 5% respectively). Philanthropists, activists and scientists have little impact on these ratings.

So what does it all mean? The emphasis on politicians and businessmen is very surprising but not unexpected. It’s surprising because when you compare the results with a recent survey into leadership by the Center for Public leadership the results unequivocally demonstrated public confidence and trust is low in politicians and business leaders (Wall Street in particular) and highest in the Military, medical and non-profit. It has to be said that the US News survey probably captures this profile the best. It also points out the importance of understanding the process of picking any group. Who is involved and what are the criteria for selection. The lack of women leaders follows the current trend in business – males vastly outnumbering females. It’s even more telling that when women are selected they tend to represent philanthropic or educational sectors.

Rankings are fun and can be informative. I read them as part of my commitment to continuous learning but I never take the ‘science’ at face value. After all the purpose of many of these ‘Best of’ list is to sell magazines. Our mission is different – we want to help you make one of these lists. If you want a deeper analysis of what makes top leaders successful check out our new series of ‘Leaders on The Couch’. Better still why not set up an appointment with us to better understand your leadership potential. Enjoy.