Good Leader / Bad Leader – Martyn Jones

By Jennifer Bartlett, Chelsea, Monday 2^nd March 2026

Leadership

In Good Leader / Bad Leader: The difference and why it matters, Martyn Jones provides a visceral, unfiltered, and deeply philosophical examination of leadership that eschews the sanitised language of modern corporate manuals. Jones, a veteran consultant with four decades of experience advising global giants like Adidas, IBM, and the United Nations, crafts a manifesto that is part ethical treatise and part practical field guide for the “leadership masochist”.

The Moral Core of Management

The book’s central premise is that leadership cannot be decoupled from morality. Jones argues that the terms “good” and “bad” are not merely subjective preferences but are rooted in actions that either promote human dignity or cause harm. He draws on a diverse intellectual tapestry, from Welsh proverbs and Jewish teachings to the “golden rule” of humanitarianism, to establish that a leader’s primary duty is to act as a “bridge” for others.

For the executive reader, Jones’s most provocative assertion is that “an evil person will never make a good leader”. He challenges the common corporate tendency to tolerate toxic “high performers,” labelling bad leaders as “negative equity” and “vampires in your attic” who infect teams with toxicity and destroy long-term value.

Strategic Pragmatism

While the book is high-minded in its ethics, it is ruthlessly practical in its application. Jones outlines several “power tools” for the modern leader:

• The Power of “Why”: Encouraging leaders to utilize straightforward questioning to cut through corporate obfuscation and “bullshit”.
• The Necessity of Checklists: Advocating for standardized processes to ensure consistent, high-quality results and clear accountability.
• Active Listening: Identifying effective listening as a critical skill, comparing its importance in leadership to a professional athlete’s core technique.

Navigating the “Postmodern Jungle”

Jones is particularly sharp when critiquing contemporary management trends. He dismisses “Agile at Scale” as “nonsense by design” and warns against the “lions led by donkeys” phenomenon in IT, where incompetent, egocentric management leads talented technical teams to “certain death”.

Instead, he champions “Authentic Leadership,” which requires a leader to be genuine, transparent, and comfortable with vulnerability. This authenticity is the foundation of trust, which Jones identifies as the indispensable fuel for organisational engagement and risk-taking.

Verdict

Good Leader / Bad Leader is a refreshing departure from the “point-and-click” process-following that often passes for management. Jones demands that leaders “walk the talk,” embrace the “inner game” of self-awareness, and commit to the “graft and effort” of serving those they lead. It is an essential read for any executive looking to move beyond superficial metrics toward a leadership style that is both “truly revolutionary” and profoundly human.s tenderness” and its defense of “honest work” and “friends of Humanity,” it finds a strange, shimmering sort of hope. As Lloyd Jones might say: “Stay if you sparkle”.