Might There Be a Connection?

I talked briefly about TV preacher Pat Robertson yesterday. I also recently saw a report that religious leaders are no longer among the most trusted in leadership positions. LiveScience posted an article from the international PR firm, Ketcham. In their "Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor," they found that business executives lead the pack when it comes to lead and communicate well. Clergy were not as well respected and, in the posting got included with politicians, non-profits and celebrities.

According to the report, LiveScience says:

people think business leaders do the best job of providing leadership, with 36 percent of respondents saying business leaders are doing an "excellent" job of leading. They are also most confident in business leaders.

At the bottom of the leadership list were celebrities. Only 19 percent of those surveyed felt celebrities were good leaders and 22 percent said they were poor leaders.

Leadership skills among various groups ranked as follows:
·         Business
·         Nonprofit organizations
·         Politicians
·         Religious leaders
·         Sports figures
·         Local community members
·         Celebrities
--Link

It would appear that the main reason for this is "poor communication skills."

Somehow I have a hunch that there is something about this has been the result of TV preachers, the problems of abuse in the church, and generally the decline of religion in many people's eyes as an "honest" profession. To be in the same league as "politicians" is pretty humbling.

Which may be what many of us need.

This is obviously not a well-thought out idea for me, but it is a start that has made me think- or in reality the "survey" may reflect other biases that are unclear in the report.

In any case, it raises the issue. What does each of us fit in this?

Let me think about it awhile.