A recent study showed that effective leaders in the private business sector were rated more highly than leaders in healthcare. Leaders in business also outperform leaders in education. Why is this the case?

One possible explanation is economics. Leaders in the private sector tend to be paid more than leaders in education, so the business sector typically gets the "cream of the crop" in attracting leaders. Some healthcare leaders are well-paid, but they too are routinely outperformed by business leaders.

Perhaps a better explanation is that the business world values best practices in leadership, spends considerable resources on leader development, and is motivated to maintain a competitive edge by attracting (and developing) the very best leaders.

One top-level leader, who has spent time both in the business world and academia put it this way: "Most leaders in higher education don't know much about best leadership practices, and even if they know they exist, they don't value them." So, in non-business sectors, ignorance may indeed be bliss when it comes to leadership positions - but this causes inadequate leadership.