ABSTRACT
Trait leadership behaviours and models as posited and researched by many social scientists such as Zaccaro (2004), Blake and Mouton (1964) and Hersey and Blanchard (1970) are topics that have long had an intrinsic appeal to me for a myriad of reasons. The main ones being that of a young black gay boy and then man trying to forge his way in a predominantly white culture. And to do so in a way that I could effectively not only push back against the many micro-aggressions (Sue, 2010) that I experienced, but also turn those slights and prejudices into something lasting and positive. I did this at first as a pupil at a predominantly white independent school, vowing to be one of its stars, and then by joining the army as an officer—one of the first commissioned into a whole Army Corps. Finally, by forging ahead in my future careers in both the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) industry and then in the world of LGBT rights and finally in counselling per se. Throughout it all, the twin struggles between my gay and black self were to the fore, at certain times one and then the other in the ascendant, but it is only most recently that I am learning to feel at peace with both. That has allowed me to essay some elements of leadership within my chosen field, counselling psychology, and consider, at the same time, how this intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) really works for me. That is what has motivated me to write this chapter—that taking up the mantle of leadership whilst representing the intersections of diversity can hopefully shine as an example to many others who come after me.
