What makes a good leader?

Many examples of "excellent practice" in leadership that were widely used pre-recession are now seen as the source of what caused the problems we face today.

The global economic and business climate has changed so much since the financial crash, and more dramatically than most people ever envisaged, it has shaken up the concept of "what makes a good leader" to its very core.

There has been a fundamental re-evaluation of the notion and practice of leadership in organisations. All the standard role models of leadership are now being questioned.

All of this could be very confusing and troubling for current leaders and aspiring managers of the future. Where do you look for guidance? Whose judgement can you trust? Where do you fit in; what skills, talents and values do you need?

Individuals are taking more responsibility, believing they need to try to find answers to the above questions without necessarily knowing where to look.

It is now OK to ask questions which would have once have been seen as completely ridiculous.

Business schools and consultants are being forced to challenge their assumptions and get back to basics to re-evaluate how to help people in leadership positions be effective, in very challenging circumstances.

Professor Warren Bennis, of the University of Southern California and chairman of the university's leadership institute, said pre-crisis: "I’ve never seen anyone derailed from top leadership because of a lack of business literacy or conceptual skills: it’s always because of lapses of judgement and questions about character. Always." That statement is still true today.

Executive coaching has grown significantly, during a time when more traditional training and development has often been cut back, as budgets get tightened.

Organisations are still investing in creating a coaching culture amongst their managers in order to support their workforces through times of major change.

At Henley Business School, we launched our MSc degree programme in Coaching and Behavioural Change in 2009, and had a very strong uptake.

One of the most interesting features of the first intake was that 38pc of applicants already had MBA degrees, and were working in challenging, senior leadership roles, both in the public and private sectors.

There was a realisation that a sound understanding of management processes and systems was an important part of running an organisation, but many of the toughest challenges come from the task of leadership of people.

This comes to a head during times of massive uncertainty and ambiguity, both for the workforce and for its leaders.

Coaching is helping leaders develop self-awareness, emotional resilience and confidence, according to research being carried out by current third year students on the Henley MSc programme.

These characteristics are essential elements involved in developing the judgement required to be effective as a leader working under the pressures of the current economic environment.

Patricia Bossons is director of the Henley Centre for Coaching and Facilitation