Luke Sayers was not happy. His fellow partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers were preparing to elect a new leader in 2008, and he’d just been advised to withdraw from the contest. It was a blow to Sayers, who had long aspired to the top position at the Australian branch of the big four auditing and consulting giant.

Sayers was 38 and felt he’d earned the right to put his name forward. He’d made partner at 28, built a successful consulting practice in Washington, run the firm’s big Telstra account, and led the tax division, turning it into one of PwC’s most profitable businesses. But despite his obvious success, there were doubts about his readiness to lead. “To be a leader, the fundamental quality you need is judgment, and Luke didn’t have judgment,” says one former PwC partner.