ABSTRACT
The Chinese book of wisdom Tao Te King (600 BC) contains the following dictum: Most leaders are despised, some leaders are feared, few leaders are praised, and the rare good leader is never noticed. This tells us that even in the very distant past leadership was controversial, but in recent times the position of leaders has become especially complicated. Leadership has come under pressure in politics, in social institutions of all kinds (church, school, family, clubs), and in labour organizations. Matters like authority, responsibility, centralized decision-making power etc., which in the past were never questioned, have now been replaced by new ideas like the primacy of the group, the deposability of the leader, one man one vote, and a dutiful role for the leader. Even where such far-reaching ideas have not been adopted there are, nevertheless, changes. For instance, with respect to the bases of power distinguished by French and Raven (1959), it is clear that in many institutions the rewards and punishments controlled by the leader have, from 1980, been replaced by power based on expertise and at best reference power. Not everyone is finding it easy to adapt to the new expectations— this is especially true of those in business; not infrequently this is a source of serious conflicts.
