Leadership styles are changing, but the general attributes that great leaders possess remain the same – and they are attributes amply exhibited by the AM/Courland Rising Stars finalists.

Replacing the military influenced command and control management styles, where discipline, dominance and centralised decision making rule, is a more influential, persuasive style of motivating.

Chris Donkin, Courland Auto-motive Practice managing partner – Europe, told the AM/Courland Rising Stars awards: “Twenty years ago if the boss didn’t like the way it was going, he could bang his fist and say ‘Just do it’. Now, he needs to have the ability to influence rather than dominate.”

A ‘high dominance/low influence’ profile is typical of a very direct, autocratic style of leadership, increasingly at odds with the complexities of the industry today.

The overall profile for the 21 finalists (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance) was strikingly similar across each of the six disciplines. It was also similar to the 2006 Rising Stars profile.

Here are the winners:

Human resources
Winner: Nick Lambourne, Honda (UK)

Finalists: Peter Mack, BCA Gary Tomlinson, Kia UK Anita Douglas, Peter Vardy Ltd

Sales
Winner: David McBennett, Peter Vardy

Finalists: Harvey Hughes, Honda (UK)
Tony Murtagh, Lloyds TSB
Michael Doyle, Honda (UK)

Marketing
Winner: Victoria Morris, Nissan Europe

Finalists: Richard Hudson, BMW
Mark Jones, Ford Motor Company
Nick Toone, Arthur D Little

Public relations
Winner: Emma Stanley, Honda (UK)

Finalists: Stuart Brooks, IMI
Jay Ward, PAG/Ford

Finance
Winner: Stuart Rowley, Volvo Cars

Finalists: Paul Hollick, Alphabet
Nick Tomlin, Honda Aylesbury

General management
Winner: Cameron Wade, Peter Vardy

Finalists: Steven Glibbery, Inchcape Honda
Stuart Pearson, BCA
Adam Parrott, Holdcroft Honda