“Virtually every leader can take more aggressive steps to grow their companies, innovate, and engage their staffs,” Ms. Courtney says. “Leaders need to be more than inspiring - encouraging reinvention, collaboration, and new ways to engage with their customers.”

Senior leaders can clearly do more. Only 50% of respondents believe their company’s leadership team is launching new strategies for growth or developing innovative ways of doing business. Even fewer - only 45% - believe that their leadership team provides sufficient resources to promote growth and innovation.

Respondents say that their top leaders are doing a good job at keeping their businesses relevant and sought after in the marketplace, but are less focused on building great organizations and leaders: only 41% say that their leadership team creates an inspiring work environment; 42% say top leaders are taking sufficient steps to develop leaders at all levels.

On the bright side, these participants are motivated by the challenges of leading. Over 70% see themselves as leaders or future leaders in their industry. They are highly motivated by autonomy, responsibility, and the opportunity to work on important initiatives for change. Managers want to do the difficult work that makes their businesses successful.

To build thriving companies, leaders need to use talent differently and develop business cultures that promote innovation, accountability and speed. The leaders who were interviewed are keenly aware that top-down decisions can be insensitive to the market and constrain team creativity. Inclusive cultures strengthen accountability and accelerate decisions as more people experience ownership for what is accomplished.

Overall career satisfaction is lower than expected, portending difficulties in retaining top talent once the job market improves. Only 54% are satisfied with their jobs, and only 36% say there will be sufficient opportunities to advance in their current companies. Only 43% believe they are well-paid for their contributions.

Respondents are largely pessimistic about the impact of government intervention on business performance and their careers. The majority also expect their company or industry to undergo radical change in the near-term.

Older generations are very skeptical about the contribution and values of Gen Y, the youngest entrants to the workplace. Only 23% say that Gen Y makes their business better, 17% say Gen Y workers share the values of senior leaders, 54% believe that Gen Y has unrealistic aspirations. Only 20% say that Gen Y puts the organization’s priorities ahead of their own.

Generation Y believes they can do anything they want to. The consummate challenge is getting them to want to. “A Gen Y team worked with me on the study of innovative leaders,” Ms. Courtney explained. “I was shocked to find that their values and aspirations are closely aligned with those of the leaders we interviewed. That speaks well for the future of business and the capabilities of this younger group.”