Five models and nine attributes of modern leadership, according to Pat Utomi

Pat Okedinachi Utomi (2025; first published 2015), The Art of Leading: Open Secrets of Leadership Effectiveness. Second Edition. Lagos: Makeway/Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL). ISBN 978-1-907925-84-9. 190 pages.

Renowned Nigerian scholar and political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, turns seventy this week. To mark the milestone, colleagues and associates are organising a five-city celebration centred on intellectual engagement, civic discourse, and ideas that have shaped public life in Nigeria and beyond.

A significant element of the celebration is a renewed spotlight on Utomi’s published works.

A lifelong bibliophile and accomplished scholar of ideas, he has revisited several of his major texts, producing revised and improved editions.

Among these is the second edition of The Art of Leading: Open Secrets of Leadership Effectiveness, a book that distils one of his enduring scholarly preoccupations—leadership grounded in values, ethics, and purpose.

is Professor of Political Economy and Management, founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), and a widely published authority on leadership, governance, and public policy. The Art of Leading reflects this rich intellectual pedigree. Its thematic focus is the how and why of effective leadership, offering modern perspectives that bridge theory, practice, and moral responsibility.

At its core, the book links leadership theory to real-world challenges. It advances a values-based conception of leadership, insisting that ethical grounding and social purpose are not optional add-ons but essential components of effectiveness. Utomi argues that while leadership remains indispensable in a complex modern world, it is neither mystical nor reserved for a select few: leadership capacity can be developed.

He frames this inquiry with a provocative question: “What happened to leadership in the twentieth century?” For Utomi, leadership is not mere authority or charisma. Rather, it is: “The exercise of goal-directed influence in as cost-effective a manner as possible through the deployment of assets of confidence in the one who leads, such that the cooperation which results in attaining that which we thought impossible crystallises.”

Drawing on decades of scholarship, public engagement, and lived experience, Utomi enriches the book with anecdotes, reflections, and insights that go beyond formal case studies.

The result is a generous intellectual bouquet—thoughtful, accessible, and grounded. Section Two, which examines Models and Styles of Leadership, is particularly illuminating.

Utomi identifies five leadership models, including the Servant Leader, Shepherd Leader, Steward Leader, and Solicitor Leader. Rather than presenting a mechanical typology, he animates each model with historical references, organisational experience, and moral reasoning, making the discussion both analytical and practical.

Overall, the book is organised into nine substantive sections:

The Leadership Challenge; Models and Styles of Leadership; Leading with Purpose; Attributes of Leadership; Champions of Strategy; Leadership and Nation Building; Leadership Role Models; Social Intelligence and Leadership; and Finding the Grit for Knotty Challenges.

Nation-building—a recurring concern in Utomi’s intellectual work—receives sustained attention in Section Six, Leadership and Nation Building.

This is followed by Leadership Role Models, where he examines figures such as Dr Christopher Kolade (business leadership), Reverend Sam Adeyemi (faith leadership), Aung San Suu Kyi (political leadership), and Nelson Mandela (political leadership). The selection underscores his belief that leadership excellence cuts across sectors while remaining anchored in character.

The section on Social Intelligence and Leadership is especially instructive. Subsections address themes such as Character Matters, Emotional Intelligence, Building Social Intelligence Muscles, Groupthink, and The Toxicity of Insult. These discussions are timely in an age of polarisation, shallow discourse, and performative leadership.

One of the most compelling additions to the second edition is the final chapter, Finding the Grit for Knotty Challenges. It is a thoughtful and motivating meditation on resilience, courage, and perseverance—qualities indispensable to leadership in difficult contexts. This section alone justifies revisiting the book.

An intriguing moment in the book is Utomi’s reflection on how his sustained interest in values and character was shaped by personal experience. He recounts encountering a former schoolmate after delivering a lecture as a governor’s guest in a South-West state.

Recognising him by his school nickname Iwe—the Yoruba word for book, a nod to his exceptional intelligence—Utomi was struck by the contrast between intellectual brilliance and limited social advancement. The man, despite his gifts, remained a director in the civil service, standing meekly behind a security cordon.

“The moment was not lost on me,” Utomi reflects. “He should be entitled to more social prestige for how smart he was and how hard he worked… Watching my classmate pull back so meekly lest he be seen to break protocol challenged me to subject the experience to further analysis.”

This anecdote crystallises one of the book’s deeper concerns: how societies reward—or fail to reward—character, competence, and quiet excellence.

The Art of Leading combines foundational theory, practical frameworks, and timeless insights. It stands comfortably alongside classic leadership texts such as Good to Great by Jim Collins, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell, The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, and True North by Bill George and Peter Sims.

Also worth mentioning are enduring works such as Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last, and Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Utomi references several of these texts, situating his work within a respected global leadership canon.

Deceptively slim yet intellectually weighty, The Art of Leading packs a powerful punch. It is a thoughtful, morally grounded, and practically useful contribution to leadership literature—particularly relevant for societies grappling with deficits of trust, purpose, and ethical direction.

Socio-Political

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