Leadership

Leadership had been largely forgotten as a topic worthy of serious academic interest, until it was revived by Warren Bennis in the 1980s. In reviving it, Bennis also took the concept in new directions. He believed, in particular, that leadership is not solely the preserve of those at the top of the organisation, but relevant at all levels, and that the correct role of a leader is not to be an all-knowing problem solver, but rather an enabler who stimulates and directs the creativity of a group of other people and devises and maintains an atmosphere in which they can achieve greatness.

His career has involved him in education, writing, consulting, and administration, and he has produced a steady stream of books, including the best-selling "Leaders".

For more information see Warren Bennis.

Swashbuckling Richard Branson has brought a welcome sense of fun and adventure to some traditionally staid business sectors with his many-tentacled Virgin Group. As a boy, he thought he could make a better fist of running his school than the headmaster, ran an abortive budgerigar-breeding business, and published a magazine entitled "Student" . A mail-order record business was followed by record stores, then a record label, and then an airline. It may seem like an improbable sequence, but Branson swiftly realised that a good brand could be stretched, with care, to encompass anything from condoms to clothes, personal finance to trains.

His recent foray into backing a winner in Formula 1 only when it became obvious Braun were going to be on the front rank of the grid in 2009 suggests the swashbuckler hasn’t lost his touch.

For more information see Branson, Richard.

Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine diplomat and author whose work on power and leadership continues to influence management thinking.

Success, according to Machiavelli, is not down to luck or genius, but happy shrewdness.

Those who achieve leadership by good fortune find it easy to rise to the top, but more troublesome to maintain their positions. They have no difficulties on the way up and travel swiftly, but they have many when they reach the summit.

For more information see Niccolò Machiavelli

"For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organisation give me Scott, for a winter journey give me Wilson, for a dash to the Pole and nothing else Amundsen, and if I am in a devil of a hole and want to get out of it safely give me Shackleton every time".

Apsley Cherry-Garrard commenting on Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1915 Antarctic expedition.

For more information see Shackleton's Leadership (1) and Shackleton's Leadership (2).

One of the most renowned corporate leaders of the 20th century, Jack Welch maintained General Electric’s reputation as a world-beater throughout his 20-year reign as CEO. Under Welch the company moved into new business areas and reached new heights.

For more information see Welch, Jack.