Introduction

Meet Doctor Gregory House, the Sherlock Holmes of Medicine. A very controversial figure embodying the antihero character within the American society. I chose this specific topic because of the variety of leadership stereotypes that incite and make this American drama series so interesting and hypnotizing. In this soup of inventive approaches and cunning leadership techniques we can find opposite and over the board psychological landscapes of what one might define as a ruthless guide to leadership understanding. Throughout the paper I will try to examine, from an objective perspective, the effectiveness of such patterns and how they can cope and function together. The most interesting part of this successful organizational web is that it displays a wonderful range of rules and most of all exceptions to these rules that govern the art of leadership and management. Limits are no longer considered as such and the inconceivable takes place when least expected, a world where thinking outside of the box is the only one that can guarantee business prosperity and at the same time risks going too far over the edge, where ethics sometimes have no part in the play and critical thinking becomes a base foundation for success.

What makes a leader? A question many have answered and few can subscribe to it. We know that a leaders personal qualities and ambition is what drives an organization, the engine of such a complex structure. The hierarchical laws of the House structure might at first sight make one say that a group of intelligent, well-intended people do not need a leader to solve a problem, yet it is here

that we can see dr. Houses true charisma that makes him suitable for the role of the leader in such a group. Houses leadership approaches are a combination of very different types of thinking and strategy which in turn suits perfectly his personality.

His loud and firm rationality makes him base his decisions on technological data by using a strategy approach. He considers himself the best suited to take strategic decisions giving also his well known egotism and intoxicating intelligence. This also generates strong tensions between him and his team. House is the type of leader that believes that with the right human resources, the best people on the market he can develop an adequate strategy, which always seems to give him the answer to the most difficult questions. His relationship with his team is of utmost importance. It is a codependent type of relationship that thrives in a climate of continual reinvention. Surprising as it may seem, House succeeds in maximizing everyones performance, although his method does nothing to inspire others to look up to him in a positive way. He is incapable of emotional intelligence, does not have the capacity for recognizing his own feelings or of those around him, nor is he capable of managing his emotions or his relationships. He is an inimitable, irreverent, and narcotic popping misanthrope with a great reputation but who has questionable techniques especially when it comes to diagnosing and treating his patients and persuading others about his intentions, not to mention his awful bedside manners which are second to null.
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A leader is in need for a range of behavior patterns to maintain his role effectively and even though there is no one best way of leading, House manages to create and implement his own technique that never changes even if that arouses conflicts with his direct superiors. He is inflexible and stubborn on his relationship path which influences for better and for worse the development of the department. House represents the type of leader that exerts expert power, the kind of power that is given to one because of his acknowledged expertise. We are aware of the fact that in a meritocratic tradition people do not resent being influenced by those whom they regard as the experts. This is why House is always a brilliant doctor but an ass when it comes to his social human being condition. "Dr. House is a fascinating and daringly cantankerous enigma, the proverbial bitter pill who also happens to be a highly intuitive medical genius. He despises interacting with patients and prefers dealing with diseases -- with medical mysteries that leave other doctors scratching their heads in befuddlement." (T.V critic Tom Shales). Such a controversial figure can also be known by its personal power. Houses personal popularity is being enhanced by his position as chief of the Diagnostics Department and also by his expert status and self-confidence. He also possesses the main traits that most studies find important when defining a leader: intelligence, initiative, self-assurance, he comes from the upper socio-economic levels of society, he is decisive and determined when it comes to a professional and personal decision. Of course possession of all traits represents an ideal leader and what makes House special is his inability to allow feeling such as sociability, integrity, faith, morality, ethical sense stand in the way of what he considers to be perfectionism. His style of leadership is based on the authoritarian, structuring one, which implies no consideration what so ever for his subordinates and even less for his clients. His leadership style, seemingly unpleasant and malevolent is quite efficient in getting the job done and bringing to the table the best outcome and results. House relies on his innocuous slyness to acquire his objectives. He will do anything from manipulating peoples ignorance and fragilities to ignoring basic human rights. His methods while underhanded and harmless usually involve unwitting accomplices.

Despite all of that Houses decision making style combines the consultative kind, in which he brings the problem to his subordinates and collectively obtains their ideas and suggestions, sometimes making his decisions that have nothing to do with their influence, and the group decision making approach, where he collectively obtains their opinions and together generate and evaluate alternatives trying to reach the right solution. At the end of a case tough his directions are the only one standing and usually his genius solves the puzzle. Given the positive result we can say that this represents the results of a best-fit approach which implies that leadership is most effective when all four sets of factors influence the leaders perspective. Here all four factors appear to fit together, the job, the objectives and technology fits the environment (a medical one). There are undoubtedly some diverging opinions between House and his team. The leaders own personality and his style of acting should fit with the subordinates preferred style of leadership in given situations. This indeed happens but only after certain team members oppose to Houses leading way and lack of obedience to rules, regulations of any kind. Due to the fact that House has his own moral compass, much too distinct to that of normal human beings, his subordinates feel that its their duty as doctors to question their leaders rationality. This is to happen only so that in the end the emphasis can drop on the effectiveness of Houses unorthodox methods. Sometimes doing the right thing does not necessarily guarantee a good outcome. He uses mind games to twist and turn an indecisive situation into a definitive one (example: with a plain and logic statement he convinces a patient to agree to his method: no one dies in dignity but one could live with it). He enjoys tearing people apart and making fun of their weaknesses in a very realistic and true to the point manner. Not developing certain relationships with his patients allows him to be detached and find the best objective solutions. Even when everybody stands against him in the end they all admit that there is nobody as good as he is. This curmudgeon leader we can say that is lacking social intelligence: while he is aware, understands and expresses himself fine enough, he is not aware he does not understand or relate in a proper manner with others, he doesnt want to deal with strong emotions, nor is he willing to control his impulses. He lacks empathy and has a hard time handling relationships. Even if he does understand his surroundings and the people around, he is unwilling to adapt or follow a normal path.
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Some leaders drive emotions from a positive frame of mind, they tend to bring out the best in everybody and this is called resonance. Here, House is in a dissonance with the environment, he drives emotions from a negative position and undermines the organizations emotional foundation. Oddly enough at the end he manages to bring out the best in everybody, their professional best. What House lacks in people skills he more than compensates in critical thinking, the ability to think critically and solve problems, which represents a leaders fundamental competence. He gets his information from a variety of sources and evaluating this information to its core is what eventually leads him to a valid diagnostic and decision taking. He connects things and events to draw his conclusions, always skeptic and using inductive arguments to generate new ideas from his team (which says that a conclusion can be false even if all premises are true). One of the most important abilities of any leader is the power to communicate effectively both at personal level and at institutional level using the communication systems of the organization in which s/he works. According to Haperberg and Rieple a successful leader must have interpersonal skills as selection, listening, collecting appropriate information, identifying the concerns of others and managing meetings. House owns most of these communication competences and manages to transform them in his non conventional ways. He listens to what he considers to be important, collects all information available by sending his team searching through the patients houses, thus committing a felony. Others may bring their concerns before him but he never cares about them and of course never takes them into consideration. Also he has his own personal enthusiasm in expressing plans and ideas and it is mostly characterized as ironic, blunt and indifferent. Another competence that this peculiar type of leader has is the ability to negotiate with key players for resources or changes in procedures, or in order to resolve a conflict. He is, in this sense, sly and mostly tries to manipulate in order to get what he wants. It is here that we see a difference in leadership styles. Lisa Cuddy is the Dean of Medicine and Chief Hospital Administrator and Houses direct superior. She is responsible, diplomatic and just and also owns traits specific to superior managers: self-confidence, achievement orientation, initiative and leadership. Her style is an example of a leader who can get what she wants by exploiting the motivations of others.
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Even the notoriously stubborn House never completely gets away without bargaining with her.

Her leadership/management style is exactly the opposite of what is specific to a classy egocentric example as House, she is not overbearing but devilishly cunning. She loves her work, as does House, but unlike him she also has respect for it. She is committed to what she does and believes in it more than anything else. House has more of a personal agenda, he sufferers from the "Rubik's complex", meaning he needs to "solve the puzzle". He accurately deciphers people's motives and histories from aspects of their personality and appearance and that is what makes his day normal, it is his way of loving what he does. Lisa Cuddy puts herself out there every day trying her best and that usually sticks to others around her. She suits very well the role of the manager. Managers run all over the place, dealing with a variety of activities. Cuddy is inclined towards service orientation, self-awareness, conscientiousness, communication, empathy, adaptability, developing others, interpersonal relationships and social responsibility. She is the kind of leader that stimulates thought and present new ideas with aspects of diversity, acceptance and flexibility. Her best quality probably is her way of anticipating and guessing the length of Houses biting wit which she levels through her intuitive and critical thinking. House also brings out the best and the worse in her, as he does with his team and his best friend. Cuddy is a leader that will always stimulate motivation and commitment in others while going for her own agenda, her top management position and take on sets an example for the rest of her subordinates

. Management is simple, but not easy. The simple part is knowing what to do. The part that is not easy is getting others to do it. (Peter Drucker) This definition describes Lisa Cuddy perfectly, she is always trying her best to do things right and making others do the same. In Handys definition we can also see traits that Cuddy displays everyday working with House and the complex institution at the top of which she is. Handy considers that managing encompasses leading, administrating and, what I find most defining about Cuddy, fixing. Managers must be leaders in order for empowerment to pay its toll, to really work. Even if managers organize, plan, command, control and coordinate, they should alsoraise employee morale through equity (Henri Fayol). Cuddy has a perfect combination of kindliness and justice that give her the characteristics of moral leadership that she needs to run the place properly. She has a way of exercising her power by sharing it and inspiring people to make the most of their potential. Passionately cares about people because of a keen sense of duty, innovates through continuous curiosity and encourages creative thinking in others. Shes always taking a long term view, especially when dealing with House, inspires trust and challenges conventional wisdom. She is a perfect fit for John Kotters classification of the management activities: planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, controlling and problem solving, producing a degree of predictability and order. The latter is frequently used because of Houses crazy rules and disobedience. She always does what she thinks is right, even if that means facing the fierce opposition and not surprisingly enough she uses this quality of hers because she believes in House and needs to innovate new ways of keeping a balance between regulations and exceptions to those regulations. Looks beyond the institution she is running and never stops thinking in terms of renewal and striving for excellence. There is a constant contrast between these two types of leaders, while Cuddy is emphasizing on the importance of values, empathy and motivation, Houses keen on doing what he loves the most with no other moral or social implications. And while they both have their own version of creativity and inventivity, only one of them know how to assume responsibility over their own actions. They both inspire people and motivate them to a higher level.

Lisa Cuddy knows how to juggle people into showing them their better side, unlike House that has a more bitter approach. His lines are more convincing because of the cruel reality and facts of life, he tells people what should not be said and what they dont want to hear or think about. The effect in the end is the same, people change feeling different emotions towards that change.

Dr. James Wilson represents the better side of Gregory House.

He is a smart, good looking, kind, compassionate type of leader and also head of the Oncology Department. While House is a leader because of his strong, intoxicating presence, personal power and of course giftedness, Wilson is a type of leader gifted with emotional and social intelligence which sometimes is not enough to fully form a true leader. What House lacks in morality and people skills, Wilson more than covers and makes up for with empathy and manners. Dr. Wilsons attitude about patients welfare is commendable. He thinks that his patients problems are sometimes brought about by his own hands. He sometimes gets attached to his patients predicament he forgets that he is only part of the solution and not the ultimate one. Thus, his leadership skills becomes attenuated and become ineffective at times. He is the all time ethical leader.
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We might say that here there are two types of excesses: House is the type that takes everything to the negative extreme, sometimes unbearable, politically incorrect with no sense and respect for ethics, whereas Wilson represents the all too mannered gentleman, that inspires people through his kindness and attention to their feelings. This extreme is sometimes too much even for him. House describes Wilson as a buddy of mine people say 'Thank you' to, when he tells them they are dying. House also describes Wilson as an emotional vampire. If House is the Sherlock Holmes of medicine, then Wilson is more than qualified to be Doctor Watson. There is no better way to explain their connection, their relationship. They both are at opposite extremes, neither perfect yet functioning as properly as one might say and taking on their own personalized type of leader.

Dr. Foreman is the against-your-opinion person. He likes to prove House wrong by making his own theories, but in the end, he ends up like House in character and spirit. He is quite gifted but his dark past is resurrected by House at times to question his judgment and skills/motivations. Yet his strong qualities reflect on his leadership skills and potential. Using his street smarts probably imbued from his unpleasant past he can do things exclusively reserved to garden variety criminals, but with flair, style, and apparent reason. He is not too keen in bending rules. However, if the situation calls for it, he makes an exception. He eventually takes on the role of Dean of Medicine. He is practical, worldly and factious. In my opinion he is a type of leader that goes by name and enforces his position power within the organization. He was the first to adapt to Houses style and has shown some leadership skills.
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He sometimes tries too hard, but he gets the job done and people respect him because he gives them space. Like House, Foreman has also been shown to be extremely honest even at the cost of hurting other people's feelings. His inner problems are what drives him to imitate House and in a way what makes him good at what he does.

Dr Robert Chase- the pretty boy of Medicine.

The one that has them all: good looks, brains, talent, comes from the upper class society. He is your go-to-guy. When House needs someone to corroborate his theory Dr. Chase is the man for the job. Chases leadership skills stems from favoring his boss and just doing the job that needs to be done. He is unobtrusive yet effective in accomplishing what needs to be done. His butt-kissing personality often reveals his admiration towards his mentor, and more often than not overshadows his accomplishments. What strikes the most in this picture is that at the end, Chase is the one walking in Houses steps. He becomes his own boss and starts his own team of diagnostics. He is emphatic, ethical, bound by rules, even if when needed he can bend them, but isnt that what makes a good leader?

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To know when to act according to regulations and rules and when to set them aside for a grater result. He respects people and their judgments and has his own personal power that helps with his professional relationships. He is intelligent, has initiative and he is self confident. With time and experience he gets to be the new, improved type of House. The last member of the crew is Dr. Allison Cameron

Dr. Cameron is your basic humanistic doctor who revels in helping lost souls and damaged spirits. Behind that sweet smile and comely exterior is a woman torn by sad memories. Her leadership style is the one who helps everyone in need and respecting the individuals as befits them. She also brings balance to the power play within the hospital. Her character resembles that of Dr. Wilson, she is intuitive, bright, sociable and most of the time against Houses course of action. Her main issue with House is caused by her acute sense of moral integrity. She would seem to have no power as a leader, yet in her innermost depths she comes to be a willed, strong woman who wont oscillate, hesitate nor change her convictions overnight. She stands by her decisions and beliefs firmly believing in people and their power to change. She is her own version of a moral, ethical leader.

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Leadership will come in myriad forms and styles, a leader is never perfect nor easy to shape. Possession of all traits that define and configure a leader is an ideal. In the end I think that a leader represents the power to change and improve in an intelligent way. The one that anyone would fallow even if that person stops being a leader in a rule bound society. Here we have a soup of various styles when it comes to leadership, some have more positive qualities, some more negative ones. House may be failing as a human being but he is unparalleled as a leader. Its all goes down to wit, brains and inner spark.

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Bibliography 1. http://reviews.wikinut.com/Dr.-House-s-Leadership-Style-including-hisCohorts/1a7ghu6b/ 2. www.wikipedia.ro 3. Goleman, D., Working with emotional intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, UK, 1999 4. 48 laws of power script from handouts 5. Good leaders script from handouts 6. Learning Courses, Leadership and Organizational Communication, Professor Mariana Nicolae, Ph. D.

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