I Don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve always been a bit puzzled, nervous even, about the way that “Leadership” approaches are evaluated. I can’t help thinking that somehow we do everything we can to overlook an inescapable fact. And that fact is that perception is reality

These days nobody would dare to pretend that customer satisfaction can be measured accurately or with any degree of credibility without talking directly to customers. The customer may not always be right, but he certainly is king. If he thinks he isn’t satisfied, then he isn’t. Perception is reality. Well, it’s the same with leadership. It’s a bestowed title. The leader is only leader if and when others choose to follow

Think about poor old Menzies Campbell. When he resigned as leader of the Lib Dems the consensus was that his downfall was caused by all this hubub about his age – should it really matter? Well, the question of whether or not it should matter is completely irrelevant. The fact that it clearly DOES matter is the ONLY thing that matters. If the followers don’t follow, then he ain’t leading. We can all feel sorry for him and agree how shallow “people” are for allowing this age thing to dictate their feelings and actions, but true leadership’s a very fragile thing, and we humans are ruthlessly fickle, given the freedom to choose. And then what about Obama? You could argue the reverse is true. Does he have a lot of experience or a long list of notable achievements? Probably not … but for whatever reason, and for the moment at least, people are following, so he’s a leader
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