Once upon a time, books like How to Win Friends and Influence People and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People were supposed to have been the final words on the subtle art of leadership.

But today, in an era of disruption, Zuckerberg-style power plays, and glass-ceiling-smashing, the inadequacy of a one-size fits all approach to leadership has been clearly demonstrated. Highly effective people, it turns out, have all sorts of habits.

Is there still some value in trying to draw out the traits common to good leaders? Some people certainly think so. James R Bailey, a professor at George Washington University’s School of Business, proposed in the Harvard Business Review that one recipe for “vital” leadership consists of providing both direction and force.…