Because “he” is a trainer and advocate of leadership, “he” makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the realities of leadership, although “his” conclusions are sometimes skewed when “he” tries to understand leadership at a level other than CEO. Smith suggests that we may need to know, or at least recognize, the risk-benefit ratio of leadership a little better before we judge our leaders or decide to become one ourselves. This point cannot be overemphasized. TONY SMITH believes that much of the current literature on leadership focuses on what leadership really needs, as some areas are politically incorrect or simply too complex to address. We cannot look at all leadership theories and say: do this, this, and this, and you will become or create a good leader. In “his” new book, The Taboo of Leadership, “he” argues that successful leaders never fit into the theories we apply to them and always turn out to be more confusing and complex than we expect. As a result, we have created a sanitized, glorified or glorified image of leadership that masks or obscures reality, and we never really get to the heart of what leaders do and why they do it. Perhaps this explains why international leadership expert Manfred Kets de Vries wants to put the leader in the dock. If we look beneath the surface, at the blood, guts, and beating arteries of leadership, we will understand leadership as a much more effective process. We cannot teach leadership, not in the sense that we have tried so far. This is something that is either missing from much of the leadership literature or too understated. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more ideas about leadership and personal development. But we can understand leadership much better than we do now. There is nothing neat or tidy about leadership. Derivative works and other copy or unauthorized use of photos, videos, text or graphics is strictly prohibited. What makes an effective leader is a contradictory collage of motives and impulses, rewards and costs.