Morale, in the C-Suite: Do you detect any variation?

I know a consultant who measures the energy levels of employees, and claims in a recent report that “Leaders are Unrecognized Victims of the Recession.”

You can download the study for free, but here’s the skinny, from Theresa Welbourne, Ph.D.: A study she conducted in January of this year “shows that leaders are reporting lost productivity and lower than ideal energy levels at work.”

Why? Wellbourne quotes a number of the execs’ comments, but their energy problems range from no-win employee relations efforts to not feeling their ideas are getting executed to plain old boredom.

“As you read the comments and recommendations, you may be thinking that surely something is wrong here,” Wellbourne writes. “These are leaders. Why would leaders be talking about responsibility, direction, and relationship-focused issues dragging them down? The fact is that today, the world is changing so quickly for everyone, including leaders, their energy too is being drained.”

Executive communicators: Do you detect variations in the energy of the leaders you serve? Does Theresa Wellbourne seem as if she’s onto something here—or just on something?

I’m sure she and I, and your colleagues, would benefit from your perspective on this matter. —DM