The Six Dimensions of Leadership

Citation

(2000), "The Six Dimensions of Leadership", Work Study, Vol. 49 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2000.07949eae.002

The Six Dimensions of Leadership

Andrew D. Brown Random House£17.99ISBN: 0 7126 8470 0

Keywords Leadership, Management styles

The academic and consultant Andrew Brown has selected six key elements of leadership that, he believes, illuminate the secrets of great leaders. Illustrated with countless examples of leaders from history and today, The Six Dimensions of Leadership, first published in 1999, tackles these six qualities in turn, picturing leaders as: heroes, actors, immortalists, power-brokers, diplomats and willing victims.

With this sixth element, Brown goes against trend in management books to encourage aggressiveness, strong egos and decisiveness. He reckons that being able to see oneself and be seen as a victim can be very important. Brown argues that the greatest leaders - such as Nelson Mandela - are "multi-dimensional", able to switch on any of the six qualities at the right time. Brown contrasts this to Hitler who he suggests was so disorganised and insecure that he surrounded himself with sycophants loyal to him personally. "Such flawed personalities can never be fully multi-dimensional or truly great leaders."

The strength of the book is that it addresses an old subject from a new angle. It is aimed at a general readership and should interest anyone from aspiring adolescents striving to ape their heroes, to senior executives who fancy measuring themselves against famous leaders past and present.

Brown gives insights into management, and is good on the will power and "supreme confidence" of leaders like Bill Gates and Napoleon. But he also sneaks in wry, off-the-cuff comparisons between dissimilar leaders to illustrate the points he is making. For example, he couples Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment in her own home with US president Bill Clinton's Lewinsky-related confessions to illustrate the successful "leader as victim" - the quality of "self-victimisation" when necessary.

By comparing leaders who lived in different eras, Brown gives readers a fascinating overview of several of the most important events and personalities in history.