ty and (hopefully) growth and profitability, i.e., results. Certainly that is the case in today's environment of increased competition and consolidation, amidst the growing impact of the Internet on the global economy. Thus, it is the C-level leader who must respond resolutely and effectively to unforeseen global and economic exigencies and change. But how exactly are they to accomplish this titanic task? What tools do or should they have at their disposal?
             Whether or not the concepts and specific functions of leadership are well understood, the impact of leadership on the bottom line is clear. A study by Accenture's Institute for High Performance Business determined that the stock price of "companies perceived as being well led grew 900 percent over a 10-year period, compared to just 74 percent growth in companies perceived to lack good leadership". And Fortune Magazine, in its 1998 article on America's most admired companies, identified a single common denominator of those exemplary organizations: "The truth is that no one factor makes a company admirable, but if you were forced to pick the one that makes the most difference, you'd pick leadership. In Warren Buffet's phrase, 'People are voting for the artist and not the painting,'" wrote Thomas Stewart (Stewart, 1998).
             So where does that leave one valiantly searching for clues to the essence of leadership? Perhaps one could start with the U.S. Army's Leadership Manual: "Leadership starts at the top, with the character of the leader, with your character. Army leadership begins with what the leader must BE, the values and attributes that shape a leader's character. Your skills are those things you KNOW how to do, your competence in everything from the technical side of your job to the people skills a leader requires. But character and knowledge -- while absolutely necessary -- are not enough. You cannot be effective, you cannot be a leader, u...