ABSTRACT
Hartley reminds us that sometimes terms may have positive or negative connotations which get in the way of really understanding the practice of leadership. For example, the term ‘politics’ often has a pejorative undertone and leaders who practise politics or who are political may not be effective or good leaders. By looking at politics through the political science literature, Hartley views politics as a way of creating consensus out of diversity of opinion. Leaders who understand and manage political astuteness more effectively focus their organizations on ways to achieve consensual goals of differences. Five dimensions of political skill offer leaders a positive and useful way to improve leadership theory and practice.
