<italic>The Seven Principles of Public Life, developed by the Nolan Committee, claim to be concerned with the development of an ethical culture, but they have been imposed by central authority. The principles are muddled and unclear, but beyond that they have signally failed to relate to many of the key...</italic>

Purpose – Despite the vast amount of literature covering the concept of leadership, it remains contentious, under‐conceptualised and often uncritical. The purpose of this paper is to question the validity of the concept and dispute its application. Design/methodology/approach – The paper...