'Why should anyone be led by you?' was the title of the day-long course put on by Aberdeen-based Benchmark for Business, and featured two contrasting but equally superb speakers in Dave Ulrich and Professor Gareth Jones. The overarching theme of the day appeared to be one of authenticity, given that the public's faith in corporations and organisations that were previously bastions of trust and faith has eroded somewhat.

Dave Ulrich, author of fifteen books on HR and leadership, focused on leadership as a brand and how to best embody this in future. He outlined 'the DNA of effective leadership': be a strategist, talent manager, executor and human capital developer - all of which balance your long-term strategic, short-term operational, individual and organisational skills. The analysis was exhaustive, relevant and accessible and proved a tough act for Gareth Jones to follow, something which he admitted as much at the start of his talk. One of his opening gambits was designed to ruffle feathers, or at the very least to challenge the status quo: 'Leadership is a profoundly non-hierarchical concept'. But it was just this approach that kept the audience on their toes and hanging on his every word til the very end. We found him afterwards and asked a few questions on 21st century leadership and beyond.