Leadership

Rob Goffee is professor of organisational behaviour at LBS and has had extensive consulting and management development experience with a number of major international companies. His (much-lauded) latest book ‘Why Should Anyone be Led by You? What it takes to be an authentic leader’ was co-written by Professor Gareth Jones and published by Harvard Business School Press in 2006.

In his exclusive interview with MT, Goffee talks to us about whether leaders are born or made, what makes a good leader, the differences between managing and leading, and how to lead Generation Y. He also explains what is expected from business leaders during a downturn.

‘Leadership,’ says Goffee, ‘is the ability to excite people to higher levels of performance’. It is based on three main assumptions: that leadership is contextual (the company, industry and country in which you operate); relational (you can’t be a leader on your own); and non-hierarchical (you can’t order people, you must motivate them).

Listen to our podcast above (or download HERE) and find out:

• How managers and leaders differ
• Why being a good leader is about knowing and using your differences
• Why there’s a time and a place for revealing your weaknesses
• What leaders can learn from policemen in pubs, Helen Mirren in The Queen, and Tony Blair

Goffee also talks about his future research in the field of leadership theory, which is focused on how to lead creative people...

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