In organizations of all types and sizes, we have effectively killed and buried creative leadership in the following ways:

• Emphasize managing instead of pioneering. Many U.S. companies are very well managed, but poorly led. Managers may handle routine tasks well, but no one bothers to ask whether "this" should be done at all. Routine work smothers creativity and change, but because routine work is easier to deal with, there's an unconscious conspiracy to immerse ourselves in routine and avoid the tough questions.

• Insist on harmony and pseudo-agreement. The cohesive­ness of most organizations depends on a commonly held set of values. Anyone who does not share the common culture is an outsider, at angle to the conventional (and often misguided) wisdom. But unanimity leads to stagnation. The individual who sees things differently is the company's vital link to change and adaptation. Every leader, like King Lear, needs at least one fool to challenge what is sacred and to herald the advent of cosmic shifts.

• Reward destructive achievers. Our whole attitude toward leaders is tainted by the likes of Gary Hart, Ivan E Boesky, and Oliver North. They have in common two of the three qualities that every leader needs: ambition and expertise. They lack the third: integrity.

  For what research confirms employees would tell bosses - if asked,  send an email to  bs@futurevisions.org  with "MWS research on bosses" in the subject and nothing in the body