2. LEADERSHIP SUBSTANCE, STYLE AND SHADOW
Good leaders are ethical, responsible and effective. Ethical be-
cause leadership connects you to others through shared values.
Responsible because leadership means self-development and
not simply giving orders, however charismatically, to get others
to do what you want. Effective because shared values and goals
give the strongest motivation for getting tasks done. There are
no guarantees, but this sort of leadership will bring you closer
to people and give you the greatest chance of success.
Not all leaders are equally ethical, responsible and effec-
tive. There are differences in substance as well as style.
Leadership also has a shadow side, as we shall see.
In the past we have often confused style with substance. A
leader need not be a charismatic guru performing on stage
to fanfares of music, treating their followers as if they were a
game-show host. Such charisma is style, not substance; the
guide at your side can be as influential as the sage on the
stage. Lao Tse, the Chinese philosopher who lived in the
sixth century BC, captured this aspect of a leader’s work very
nicely when he wrote, ‘A leader is best when people barely
know he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim
him, and worse when they despise him. Fail to honour peo-
ple and they will fail to honour you. Of a great leader, when
his work is done, people say, “We did this ourselves.” ’
An effective leader leaves a legacy; they leave their foot-
prints on the road for others to follow. A good leader
develops themselves and they develop others. They bring people
together rather than divide them. I read a striking example
of this in a letter written by the Duke of Wellington to Lord
Bradford at the British War Office in 1820. He says, ‘I shall