Leadership for the Greater Good: A National Conversation about Leadership in Australia.

As chronicled in myriad news stories and countless reports into trust, integrity, accountability, transparency and corruption, Australia’s social institutions are widely seen by the public as more concerned with self and vested interests than the public interest. In response to the question, ‘who speaks for and protects the public interest?’, few of our social institutions appear to be fit for purpose. In this research and insights report, the Australian Leadership Index takes stock of the perceived state of institutional leadership for the greater good in 2021. Moreover, it places these results in the broader context of what the Australian Leadership Index has revealed about leadership for the greater good since the inception of the Index in 2018. It is timely, in this election year, to reflect on the nature and state of our institutions and to have a national conversation about what our institutions could or should look like, if the goal is to foster institutions that promote flourishing and help rather than harm the public interest and greater planetary good. Notably, this report not only reveals community perceptions of what is, in terms of institutional leadership for the greater good, but also what could be, highlighting a tension that we could harness, if we so choose, to foster the regeneration of public trust and restoration of faith in our social institutions.