A few months ago there was a big flap in the news in the United States, because Jay Leno's show was not doing well in the ratings, and the network wanted to put him back into the slot then occupied by Conan O'Brien.

Negotiations followed, and O'Brien was offered a sum of money to vacate the premises. However, he held out to assure that his staff would be taken care of. As things have turned out, he has paid about fifty stage hands six weeks severance out of his own pocket, because the deal evidently didn't go through as assumed. That is the sign of more than a man of character; it is an indication of powerful leadership. That kind of leadership engenders trust, loyalty, and dedication.

Now imagine a different style of leadership. Call this the 'I'm-at-the-top' style of leadership. Another name for it could be; I've got mine (and you're on your own)'. In this style of leadership the executive has his or her fiefdom. They are lord of the manor. You don't approach this person unless invited, and that invitation never comes. If, during some kind of emergency, you simply must come to them for a decision or some advice, the lord of the manor simply doesn't respond. You are on your own to make the best of it, and what's more the whole office becomes a kind of jungle where some animals eat one another and others scamper up trees or hide behind bushes, just hoping to survive another day so they can go home to their families.

Don't laugh. This actually exists in places.

The concept of leadership has undergone a change. Whereas the strong person, possessor of charisma and ruggedly individualistic, used to be the goal and the conceptual norm, these days people realise that no one, not even one's "fearless leader", exists apart from others. In fact, today effective leaders are those who emerge from the collective action of working groups tasked with projects and purposes. The shared press of the situation is the breeding ground of such emergent leadership.

Consider the situation of the jungle above. In that context the identified leader has actually abdicated and the stress of what people in the office have to deal with forms a "press" that results in the emergence of a de facto leadership. That leadership might be more of the survival of the fittest in which a person with leverage is able to intimidate and threaten others, or it might be one in which a benevolent, relational person gathers people to work toward common goals in a collegial atmosphere.

In a dissertation titled "Power, incompetence, and hubris" Nathanael Fast examined the idea that holding a position of power elevates the need to feel that one is highly competent that is, has the skills, talents and abilities necessary to be effective and successful. The abstract for his dissertation indicated that he built on this notion, testing the hypothesis that power holders who feel incompetent suffer from self-image threats that, in turn, motivate ego-defensive expressions of hubristic pride and aggression. He did six studies, using multiple measures of power, perceived competence, and hubris. Studies one and two showed that people who are placed in high-power roles experience an increased need for competence. In addition, study two showed that power holders who feel incompetent experience greater self-image threats than do non-powerful others who lack perceived competence. Studies three through six demonstrated that these same power holders who lack perceived competence seek to repair their threatened egos via displays of hubristic pride and aggression.

In the situation in which the identified leader has abdicated, those "close to the throne" become holders of positions of power. In such cases, they also must show themselves to be competent, and if lacking confidence, feeling incompetent, or sensing insufficient support is their actual experience, they would resort to the same displays of hubris, aggression, and manipulation that otherwise officially recognised authorities display. That's when the animals that can would begin to eat one another.

In contrast to this picture Matthew Eriksen, in an article titled "Authentic Leadership: Practical Reflexivity, Self-awareness, and Self-authorship" in the Journal of Management Education, provided a picture of effective leadership revolving around the issue of awareness-awareness of oneself in relationship to others. What he calls reflexivity other psychologists call non-independence. Personal leadership principles help guide decision-making and actions, and they provide criteria by which to evaluate leadership effectiveness. This facilitation of the development of personal leadership principles is accomplished by having people first identify and clarify their values and beliefs and to consider the impact of these on their day-to-day organisational lives and leadership. By explicitly defining themselves in the form of their values and beliefs, people have a clear sense of self on which to base their authentic leadership. Thus, to be known for who one actually is can be seen as the very "stuff" from which effective leaderships emerges.

There is no such thing as the independent and aloof manager. It is a myth. Effective leadership depends on building strong relationships, and productivity in working groups depends on emergent leadership as these relationships grease the gears in teams where people must work together.

So, Conan O'Brien exemplifies a kind of leadership that identifies oneself as being part of a team. More than that, actually, his style of leadership takes the position of what might be called "servant leadership", in which the most effective influence with others is generated by serving the needs of others, of the team, and knowing how to meet those needs because of the information that can only be available because of the authentic relationships that exist between and among them. By contrast, the picture of a leader who cloisters him or herself in an office and does not mix with those he or she is supposed to be leading is worse than anachronistic; it's simply not good business.