DUBAI, 12th February, 2025 (WAM) -- Gallup, the global management consulting firm, launched its latest study under the title "Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want" at the World Governments Summit 2025 (WGS).

The study affirmed that followers around the world require trust, compassion and stability from their leaders. The quality they seek above all else, however, is hope.

The report's findings were presented during the WGS, held under the theme 'Shaping Future Governments'.

Gallup's study, conducted in partnership with the World Governments Summit, concluded that if leaders were to meet certain needs by harbouring crucial qualities, they have the ability to significantly improve and positively impact the wellbeing of others.

To date, no other research study has examined the needs of followers across such a comprehensively large and global sample of people. Gallup posed two questions to participants across 52 countries, representing 76 percent of the world's adult population and 86 percent of the global gross domestic product.

Participants were asked to mention leaders who have had the most positive influence on their lives and list three qualities that best describe why their chosen leaders positively impact their lives.

The report found that hope was listed as the primary quality found amongst influential leaders worldwide, as it accounted for more than half of all the answers listed by respondents. It ranked significantly higher than trust, which was ranked as the second most important quality.

The study illustrated that family members and managers were the most frequently cited leaders and that the core qualities deemed crucial in leaders across the board were relatively consistent.

The study also portrayed that, although the need for hope is evidently universal, it is especially pronounced among people aged 18 to 29 in the Asia-Pacific region and in relation to organisational leaders.

The study also illustrated that suffering is reduced when leaders portray such qualities. Among the respondents who did not cite hope as an essential quality among leaders, 33 percent are said to be thriving, while 9 percent are considered suffering. On the other hand, the percentage of respondents who affirmed that hope was crucial in leadership and also considered thriving is 38 percent, with those suffering amounting to 6 percent.

Workplace leaders hold tremendous potential to improve lives. The report stated that 34 percent of employed individuals cited someone from their work environment, whether a manager, coworker, or organisational leader, as most influential on their lives, compared to 44 percent who named family members.

Approximately 18 percent of people mention a leader from their work environment, including managers (11 percent), organisational leaders (5 percent), and other colleagues (2 percent).

The study illustrated that employees are more likely to name a work-related leader as influential, compared with just 6 percent of those not working for an employer.