Psychologists Nir Halevy, Yair Berson, and Adam Galinsky set out to find the answer in a series of new studies, pitting one style of leadership against the other to see which style is generally preferred, and why.

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Previous studies had shown natural variation in GHC style - including palm-to-palm, wrist-to-wrist and forearm-to-forearm clasping.

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In contrast, studies of Mr. Gates's leadership style suggest he followed a much more traditional path: He tried to meet the needs of consumers, not create them.

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Studies show returns for 401(k)-style plans lagging 1 percentage point a year behind those of professionally managed traditional pension plans, the GAO said.

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Johansson relies heavily on anecdotes to demonstrate his points, in the style of Malcolm Gladwell, but without the reliance on academic studies.

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From an early age he adopted a foppish, bohemian style, and in due course, having thrown over his studies in engineering and the possibility of a legal career, he became a man of letters.

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Everyone called him Mike until some way into his studies at the LSE when, in a sudden change of style, he swapped his grey suit for sharp beatnik attire and insisted on being called the rather more working class-sounding "Mick".

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He was characterized by a brash style, and chose to file with the Food and Drug Administration for approval of Provenge on studies that had failed their main goal of preventing tumors from growing, but seemed to make patients live longer.

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It said that other studies had found oestrogen to cause thrombosis and strokes, in the same way as older-style contraceptive pills.

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