The four-step approach: something to ponder over, perhaps?

According to Professor Veronica Hope-Hailey, Dean of Bath University’s School of Management, leaders need to demonstrate four key characteristics to really establish and maintain trust.

• Ability - demonstrable competence at doing your job.
• Benevolence - a concern for others beyond your own needs or motives.
• Integrity - adherence to a set of principles, such as fairness and honesty, that are acceptable to others.
• Predictability - a consistency of behaviour over time.

And, thinking about it, that seems like a pretty fair set of criteria for would-be political activists.

There is, however, a catch, in that they need to be accepted, and understood, by journalists and voters. After all, if you assume the basest of motives in all politicians, you're rather encouraging them not to adhere to them.

I can see that we're going to have a problem with this in some quarters...