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Confidence of business leaders finally rising: survey

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-23 11:12

LOS ANGELES -- The confidence of global business leaders is on the rise despite the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

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"While they remain negative about the economic outlook, senior managers are becoming more positive about the ability of their organizations to cope with a world that has changed," said Theresa Welbourne, a research professor of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC).

"The economic downturn has created a strong sense of urgency among leaders, similar to what one sees in the military when combat units exhibit greater closeness and a stronger focus when facing a formidable enemy. External threats ignite an inner drive to win," said Welbourne, who led the latest Leadership Pulse survey.

The study showed that energy levels among business leaders are climbing as confidence levels increase, Welbourne said in a press release.

She defined energy levels as the internal motivation that helps people keep moving forward.

Leadership Pulse is a quarterly survey of approximately 3,800 US business leaders across a broad range of industry groups conducted in partnership with The Center for Effective Organizations at the USC, the Conference Board and technology partner eePulse. Approximately 660 business leaders responded to the most recent quarterly survey.

The major financial setbacks witnessed over the last year seem to have humbled business leaders, Welbourne said.

"From 2003-2007, our data showed leaders' confidence in their organizations slowly declining," Welbourne said. "When economic times were good, there were pressures to choose among many strategic alternatives, additional work that resulted from these numerous opportunities, and not enough people to get the job done, resulting in an eroding sense of confidence in the leaders' own organizations."

But now the survey witnessed a pattern where leaders in higher- performing firms express greater levels of confidence in their teams than in their own personal management skills, Welbourne said.

Executives who participated in the survey said they are more confident they have the right people and skills in place, can execute on their vision and can make changes as needed to respond to the challenges of a turbulent economy.

They are proving their resilience by making focused choices, banding together more closely with the employees on their teams and starting to find solutions, according to Welbourne.

"Corporate downsizing has pared staffs and caused the workers who remain to break outside of their individual 'silos', working together for greater success. The reliance on each other seems to be leading to greater confidence in teams than in individuals," Welbourne said.

She noted, however, that the measurement of energy in this study remains below the zone where leaders have historically said they are most productive, so there is still room for improvement as organizations continue to wrestle with their current challenges.