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How recent was the test that was used if you used a test?
(“Tannenbaum and Schmidt” goes back to the 1950s, Fleischmann
to the 1970s and Hersey and Blanchard to the late 1970s. This is
not to say that these well-established tests no longer have value –
they still can teach us a great deal. It will be interesting, however,
to compare them with a test based on the latest leadership
research. That is part of what this chapter will enable you to do.)

What has happened to the productivity of your team since you took
over?

– Has it increased?

– Decreased?

– Remained static?

How appropriate is your style in today’s business?

Introduction to leadership

Few doubt the importance of leadership. Few question the contribution
that a strong leader makes to the success of any enterprise. So important
is the subject perceived to be that there have been more than 10,000 major
studies of leadership carried out since the end of World War II with innu-
merable minor studies. As I write I am reminded of the story of the student
of divinity who, during an examination was faced with a question demand-
ing that the candidate should list the “minor prophets of Judah”. The stu-
dent wrote on his paper: “who am I to decide who is major and who minor?
Here is a list of kings”. The story is apocryphal no doubt, but it does help
me to make a small point about leadership.

One of the greatest leaders that this country has known insisted that
leadership is what leaders do and what leaders do is to bring success to
their teams whether the “team” is a small work-group or a nation in peril.
Leadership is, and must always be, focused on success. A recent book has
been written to show how quickly leaders can move in the public mind
from heroes to villains. Success is the key and ongoing success is an essen-
tial attribute of leadership. Idiosyncrasy balance ensures that leadership
failures chip away at credibility and power. Readers of my Key Manage-
ment Solutions will be familiar with the concept of idiosyncrasy balance,
the psychological process through which a leader either builds a credibility
balance that enables him or her to survive the occasional failure, or dissi-
pates early goodwill and makes it inevitable that informal leaders will chal-
lenge his or her position with the group.

The leading Harvard psychologist, Howard Gardner, has recently pub-
lished his theory that successful leaders are those who are best able to
develop and promote a personal myth. For example Margaret Thatcher, an
inconsistent, wily and street-wise politician, more adept than most at

82 Key management questions