A recent study has found Australians have virtually no concern for strong business leadership, ranking CEOs below politicians and sporting figures.

In a survey of 600 professionals; twelve per cent could not name any business leaders, close to 80 per cent named politicians (not businesspeople), four per cent named sports stars, only two per cent could identify an actual business leader - and they all picked Dick Smith.  

The survey was undertaken by Change 2020, a leadership and business development group, it also found more than a third of respondents stated they did not have faith in their boss as a good leader.

Vicki Daniel, co-director of Change2020, says “Ask any American to name a leader and you will hear them name Gates, Jobs or Giuliani... leadership is not even part of the conversation in Australia and we do not celebrate our strong business leaders.”

According to Daniels, the short time spent in the top role in Australian companies means CEOs often end up only managing small and incremental changes during their quick tenures. She also says the strong Australian economy of the last few years has meant Australian CEOs have not had to test their skills in any drastic or risky moves.