Penny Tamkin, Gemma Pearson, Wendy Hirsh and Susie Constable January 2010 Exceeding Expectation: the principles of outstanding leadership 2 Exceeding Expectation: the principles of outstanding leadership Contents 1. Overview 3 2. Leadership for our times 7 3. Object and methodology 8 What we did 9 4. Analysis of leadership capabilities 12 Vision 12 Creating an environment 14 Forming relationships 17 The use of Power 21 Leading performance 23 Understanding self 30 Communication 32 Contextual factors 39 Summary 44 5. What sets outstanding leaders apart 51 Think systemically and act long term 51 Bring meaning to life 55 Apply the spirit not the letter of the law 61 Grow people through performance 65 Self-aware and authentic to leadership first, their own needs second 68 Understand that talk is work 74 Give time and space to others 78 Put ‘we’ before ‘me’ 82 Take deeper breaths and hold them longer 85 Summary of the nine themes 89 6. The wall of nuance 92 7. Contacts 96 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: The focus of leadership theory over time 8 Figure 2: A representation of the coding frame broken into key categories 10 Figure 3: Summary differences between good and outstanding leaders 50 Figure 4: the three organising principles of outstanding leadership 95 Table 1: A breakdown of the interviews conducted with leaders, direct reports and line managers 10 Table 2: Key differences between outstanding and good leaders 45 10 Exceeding Expectation: the principles of outstanding leadership 3 Leadership models tend to be conceptually derived and there are very few theories of leadership that emerge from empirical research. The Work Foundation sought to resolve this omission through a major qualitative study centred on what leaders themselves believe leadership to be and how they practice it, and which included the perspective of direct reports and very senior leaders in