WhatDoWeMeanbyLeadershi

p?

I
ntroducti onI ti sol dnewsnowth ati nth el astpresi denti alel ecti onmostofth ecountry
wasdi smayedwi ththecandi datesofth etwomaj orpol iticalparti es. “Can’ twedobetter
thanthi s?”wasaquesti ononth emi ndsofmanymi ll
ionsofA meri cans. Inf act, however, our
coll
ecti vedi smayaboutth equal ityofourl eadersi snotl i
mi tedtoparti cul arpresi denti al
candidates—i ti spervasi ve.A ccordi ngtoapol lbyth eC enterf orP ubl icL eadersh i
pat
HarvardK ennedyS ch ool, 70percentofAmeri cansbel i
eveourcountryi si ndesperateneed
ofbetterl eadersandf acesnati onaldecl ineunl esssomethi ngch anges. 1A nda201 3Harri s
Pollsh owed th at th e percentage of peopl e expressi ng even some conf idence i n
governmental ,corporate, andf inanci all eadershi ph aspl ummetedf romabout90percent
to60percentsi nce1 996. 2Y etweal sosometi messeestori esofextraordi naryl eadersh i
p
byotherwi seordi narypeopl e.I nthespri ngof1 972,anai rpl anef l ew acrosstheA ndes
mountai nscarryi ngi tscrewand40passengers. Mostofth epassengersweremembersof
anamateurU ruguayanrugbyteamenroutetoagamei nC hi le.Th epl aneneverarri ved. It
crashedi nsnow-coveredmountai ns, breaki ngintoseveralpi ecesoni mpact. Themai npart
ofth ef usel agesl idl ikeatoboggandownasteepval ley,comi ngtoresti nwai st-deepsnow.
Althoughanumberofpeopl edi edi mmedi atel yorwi th inadayofth ei mpact, th epi cturef or
the28survi vorswasnotmuchbetter.Th ef uselageof feredl ittl eprotecti onf rom th e
extremecol d,f oodsuppl ieswerescant, andanumberofpassengersh adseri ousi njuri es
from th ecrash .O verth enextf ew days, severalsurvi vingpassengersbecamepsychoti c
andseveraloth ersdi edf romth ei rinj uries. Thepassengerswhowererel ati vel yuni njured
setouttodowh atth eycoul dtoi mproveth eirch ancesofsurvi val .S everalworkedon
“weath erproof ing”th ewreckage; oth ersf oundwaystogetwater; andthosewi thmedi cal
trainingtookcareofth ei njured. Al
thoughsh akenbyth ecrash ,
th esurvi vorsi nitial l
ywere
confidentth eywoul dbef ound. Th esef eel i
ngsgradual lygavewaytodespai rassearchand
rescueteamsf ai ledtof indth ewreckage. Withthepassi ngofseveralweeksandnosi gnof
rescuei nsi ght, theremai ningpassengersdeci dedtomountexpedi ti onstodetermi neth e
bestwaytoescape. Themostph ysical lyf itwerech osentogoontheexpedi ti onsbecause
thethi nmountai nai randth edeepsnowmadethetri psdi f ficult. Th eresul tsofthetri ps
werebothf rustrati nganddemoral izing: Theexpedi tionmembersdetermi nedtheywerei n
themi ddl eoftheAndesmountai ns,andwal kingouttof indhel pwasbel ievedtobe
impossi ble.J ustwh enth esurvi vorsth oughtnothi ngworsecoul dpossi bl yhappen,an
avalancheh itth ewreckageandki l l
edseveralmoreofthem.Th eremai ni ngsurvi vors
concludedth eywoul dnotberescued, andth eironl yhopewasf orsomeonetol eaveth e
wreckageandf indh elp.Th reeofthef ittestpassengerswerech osenf orthef inal
expedi tion,andeveryoneel se’sworkwasdi rectedtowardi mprovi ngth eexpedi tion’s
chancesofsuccess.Th eth reeexpedi ti onmembersweregi venmoref oodandwere
exemptedf romrouti nesurvi valacti viti es; therestspentmostofthei renergi essecuri ng
suppliesf orth etri p.Twomonth saf terth epl anecrash ,theexpedi tionmemberssetouton
theirf inalattempttof indh el p. Afterh ikingf or10daysth roughsomeofth emostrugged
terrai ni nth eworl d,th eexpedi tionstumbl edacrossagroupofC hil eanpeasantstendi ng
cattle.O neofth eexpedi tionmembersstated,“ Icomef rom apl anethatf el li nth e
mountai ns. IamU ruguayan. ..”E ventual ly1 4othersurvi vorswererescued. Whenthef ull
accountofthei rsurvi valbecameknown, itwasnotwi thoutcontroversy. Ithadrequi red
extremeandunsettl ingmeasures: Thesurvi vorsh adl i
vedonl ybyeati ngthef leshofthei r
deceasedcomrades. Noneth eless, thei rstoryi soneofthemostmovi ngsurvi valdramasof
alltime,magni ficentl ytol dbyP i
ersP aulReadi nAlive.3Itisastoryoftragedyandcourage,
andi tisastoryofl eadersh ip. Perh apsastoryofsurvi valinth eAndesissof arremoved
from everydayexperi enceth ati tdoesnotseem toh oldanyrel evantl essonsabout
leadershipf oryoupersonal ly.Butconsi dersomeofth ebasi ci ssuesth eA ndessurvi vors
faced:tensi onbetweeni ndividualandgroupgoal s,dealingwi ththedi fferentneedsand
personal i
tiesofgroupmembers,andkeepi ngh opeal iveinthef aceofadversi ty.Th ese
issuesarenotsodi fferentf romth osef aci ngmanygroupswe’ reapartof .Wecanal solook
atth eA ndesexperi encef orexampl esofth eemergenceofi nformall eadersi ngroups.
Beforeth ef l
ight, ayoungmannamedP arradowasawkwardandshy, a“second-stri nger”
bothath leticallyandsoci ally. Nonethel ess, thi
sunl i
kelyh erobecameth ebestl ovedand
mostrespectedamongth esurvi vorsf orhi scourage, optimi sm,fairness, andemoti onal
support. Persuasi venessi ngroupdeci sionmaki ngal sowasani mportantpartofl eadershi p
amongth eAndessurvi vors.D uringthedi ffi
cult discussi onsprecedi ngtheagoni zing
decisiontosurvi veonth ef l
eshofthei rdeceasedcomrades, oneoftherugbypl ayersmade
hisreasoningcl ear: “
I knowth ati fmydeadbodycoul dhelpyoustayal ive,thenI woul dwant
youtousei t.Inf act, i
fI dodi eandyoudon’ teatme, thenI’l
lcomebackf romwh ereverI am
andgi veyouagoodki cki nth eass.

Wh atI sL eadersh ip?Th eA ndesstoryandth eexperi encesofmanyoth erl eaderswe’ l

l
introducetoyoui naseri esofprof ilesspri nkl edth rough outthech aptersprovi de
numerousexampl esofl eadersh ip. Butj ustwh ati sl eadersh i
p?P eopl ewh odoresearchon
leadershi pdi sagreemoreth anyoumi gh tth inkaboutwh atleadersh ipreal lyis.Mostofth i
s
disagreementstemsf romth efactth atl eadersh ipisacompl exphenomenoni nvol vingth e
leader, th ef ol l owers, andth esituati on. Somel eadersh i
presearchersh avef ocusedonth e
personal ity,ph ysicaltrai ts,or beh avi ors of th el eader;oth ers h ave studi ed th e
relati onsh ipsbetweenl eadersandf ol l
owers; sti llothersh avestudi edh owaspectsofth e
situati onaf f ecth owl eadersact. Someh aveextendedth elattervi ewpoi ntsof arasto
suggestth erei snosuchth ingasl eadersh i
p; theyarguethatorgani zati onalsuccessesand
failuresareof tenf al
selyattri butedtoth el eader, butthesi tuati onmayhaveamuch
greateri mpactonh ow th eorgani zationf uncti onsthandoesanyi ndividual, i
ncludi ngth e
leader. 5P erhapsth ebestwayf oryoutobegi ntounderstandthecompl exiti esof
leadersh ipi stoseesomeofth ewaysl eadersh i
phasbeendef ined.L eadershi presearchers
havedef inedl eadersh i
pinmanydi fferentways: •Th eprocessbywh i
chanagenti nducesa
subordi natetobeh aveinadesi redmanner. 6• Directi ngandcoordi nati ngth eworkofgroup
members. 7•Ani nterpersonalrel ati oni nwhi choth erscompl ybecausetheywantto, not
because th ey h ave to. 8 •Th e process of i nf l
uenci ng an organi zed group toward
accompl i
sh i
ng i ts goal s.9 •A ctions that f ocus resources to create desi rable
opportuni ties. 1 0•C reatingcondi tionsf orateamtobeef f
ecti ve.11•Theabi litytoengage
empl oyees,th eabi li
tytobui ldteams,andtheabi litytoach ieveresul ts;th efirsttwo
representth eh ow andth el atterthewhatofl eadersh i
p.12•Acompl exf orm ofsoci al
probl em sol vingA syoucansee, def initi onsofl eadersh i
pdi fferi nmanyways, andthese
differences h ave resul ted i n vari ous researchers expl oring di sparate aspects of
leadersh ip.F orexampl e,ifweweretoappl yth esedef initionstotheA ndessurvi val
scenari odescri bedearl i
er, someresearcherswoul df ocusonth ebehavi orsP arradousedto
keepupth emoral eofth esurvi vors. Research erswhodef i
nel eadershi pasi nfl uenci ngan
organi zedgrouptowardaccompl ishingi tsgoal swoul dexami neh ow Parradomanagedto
convi nceth egrouptostageandsupportthef inalexpedi ti on. One’ sdef initionofl eadershi p
mi gh tal soi nfluencej ustwh oisconsi deredanappropri atel eaderf orstudy.Thuseach
groupofresearch ersmi gh tf ocusonadi ff erentaspectofl eadersh ip, andeachwoul dtel la
diff erentstoryregardi ngth el eader,th ef ol lowers,andth esi tuati on.Al thoughhavi ng
manyl eadersh ipdef i
nitionsmayseemconf usi ng, iti simportanttounderstandth atth ere
isnosi ngl ecorrectdef i
nition. Th evari ousdef i
ni tionscanhel pusappreci atethemul titude
off actorsthataf fectl eadersh ip,aswel lasdi f ferentperspecti vesf romwhi chtovi ewi t.
Forexampl e,inth ef i
rstdef i
nitionj ustl isted,th ewordsubordi nateseemstoconf i
ne
leadersh iptodownwardi nf luencei nhi erarchi calrel ati onsh i
ps;i tseemstoexcl ude
informall eadersh ip.Th eseconddef initi onemph asizesth edi recti ngandcoordi nati ng
aspectsofl eadershi pandth erebymaydeemph asi zeemoti onalaspectsofl eadersh ip. The
emph asi spl acedi nth ethi rddef initiononsubordi nates’ “
wanti ngto”compl ywi thal eader’ s
wi shesseemstoexcl udeanyki ndofcoerci onasal eadersh iptool .F urther,i tbecomes
probl emati c to i denti fy ways i n whi ch a l eader’ s acti ons are real lyl eadersh ipi f
subordi natesvol untari lycompl ywhenal eaderwi thconsi derabl epotenti alcoerci ve
powermerel yasksoth erstodosometh ingwi thoutexpl icitl yth reateni ngthem. Simi larl y,
akeyreasonbehi ndusi ngth eph rasedesi rabl eopportuni tiesi noneofthedef i
niti onswas
preci sel ytodi sti nguishbetweenl eadershi pandtyranny.A ndpartl ybecausethereare
manydi f f
erentdef i
ni tionsofl eadersh ip,therei sal soawi derangeofi ndi vidual swe
consi derl eaders. Inaddi tiontoth estori esaboutl eadersandl eadershi pth atwespri nkle
th rough outthi sbook,weh igh l
igh tseverali neachch apteri naseri esofP rof ilesi n
Leadersh i
p.Th ef i
rstofth esei sP rof il
esi nL eadersh i
p1.1,wh ichhi ghl i
ghtsSh ei khZayed, the
founderofth eU nitedA rabE mi ratesMi ndf uloftheP rof ilesi nL eadersh ip runni ng
th rough outth ebook, youmi gh twonder( aswedo)aboutj ustwhatki ndofl eadersoughtto
beprof iledi nth esepages. Sh ouldweusei llustrati onsf eaturi ngl eaderswh orosetoth e
topi nth eirrespecti veorgani zati ons?S houl dweusei llustrati onsf eaturi ngl eaderswh o
contri butedsi gnif i
cantl ytoenh ancingtheef fecti venessofth eirorgani zati ons?We
suspectyouansweredyestobothquesti ons. Butth ere’sth erub. Y ousee, leaderswh ori se
tothetopi nthei rorgani zati onsarenotal waysthesameasth osewhoh elpmakethei r
organi zati onsmoreef fecti ve. Asi tturnsout, successf ulmanagers( i.
e., thosepromoted
qui ckl yth roughth eranks)spendrel ati vel ymoreti meth anothersi norgani zati onal
soci alizi ng andpol iticking;andth eyspendrel ati velyl essti me thanth el atteron
tradi ti onalmanagementresponsi bilitiesl ikepl anni nganddeci sionmaki ng. Trul yef f ecti ve
managers, h owever, makerealcontri buti onstothei rorgani zati on’ sperf ormance. 14Th i
s
disti ncti oni sacri ticalone,eveni fqui teth ornytountangl ei nl eadershi presearch.A
recent1 0-yearstudyofwh atseparatedthe“ bestofth ebest”executi vesf rom al lth e
resti nth eirorgani zati onsof ferssomeval uabl ei nsightsevenf orpeopl eatth every
begi nni ngofth eircareers( andth isstudywasstudyi ngrealef f ecti veness,notj ust
success-at-sch moozi ng, asdescri bedi nth eprecedi ngparagraph ) .
Th ese“ bestofthebest”
executi vesdemonstratedexperti seandacrossth eircareersexcel ledacrossal lf acetsof
th eirorgani zation’ sf uncti ons—th eyknew th ewhol ebusi ness, notj ustapi eceofi t.And
th eyal soknew andcaredaboutthepeopl eth eyworkedwi th .Thesetop-perf ormi ng
leadersf ormeddeepandtrusti ngrel ati onshi pswi thoth ers, incl udi ngsuperi ors, peers, and
directreports.Th ey’ reth eki ndofpeopl eoth erswantworki ngf orthem,andth eki nd
oth erswanttoworkf or. B yth eway, rel ationalf ailurewi thcol leaguesprovedtobeth e
quickestroutetof ailureamongth esecond-bestexecuti ves. 1 5Al lconsi dered, wef indthat
def iningl eadersh i
pas“ theprocessofi nf luenci nganorgani zedgrouptowardaccompl ishing
itsgoal s”i sf airlycompreh ensi veandh el pful .Severali mpl icati onsofth isdef i
ni tionare
worthf urth erexami nation. L eadershi pI sBothaS ci enceandanArtS ayi ngl eadersh ipi sboth
asci enceandanartemph asizesth esubj ectofl eadershi pasaf iel dofsch olarl yinqui ry, as
wel lascertai naspectsofth epracti ceofl eadersh ip.Th escopeofth esci enceof
leadershi pi sref lectedi nth enumberofstudi es— approxi matel y8, 000—ci tedi nan
auth oritati veref erencework, B ass&S togdi ll’sH andbookofL eadersh ip: Th eory, R esearch,
andManageri alAppl ications. 16Arevi ewofl eadersh iptheoryandresearchoverthepast25
yearsnotesth eexpandi ngbreadthandcompl exityofschol arl ythough taboutl eadersh ipin
th eprecedi ngquartercentury.F orexampl e,l eadersh ipi nvol vesdozensofdi ff erent
th eoreti caldomai nsandawi devari etyofmethodsf orstudyi ngi t.17H owever,bei ngan
expertonl eadershi presearchi snei th ernecessarynorsuf f icientf orbei ngagoodl eader.
Somemanagersmaybeef fecti vel eaderswi th outeverh avi ngtakenacourseortrai ning
programi nl eadersh ip,andsomesch olarsi nth ef ieldofl eadersh ipmayberel ati vel ypoor
leadersth emsel ves. Wh at’smore, newacademi cmodel sofl eadershi pconsi derthe“ locus”
ofl eadersh i
p( wh erel eadersh ipemanatesf rom)asnotj ustcomi ngf rom ani ndi vi dual
leader( wh eth erh ol dingaf ormalposi ti onornot, aswe’ llexpl orel ateri nthi schapter)but
alsoasemanati ngal ternati vel yf rom groupsorevenf rom anenti reorgani zati on. 1
8
Nonethel ess,knowi ngsometh ingaboutl eadersh ipresearchi srel evanttol eadershi p
eff ecti veness.Sch ol arsh ipmaynotbeaprerequi sitef orl eadershi pef f ecti veness,but
understandi ngsomeofth emaj orresearchf indi ngscanhel pi ndi vidual sbetteranal yze
situati onsusi ngavari etyofperspecti ves. That, i
nturn, cantel ll eadershowtobemore
eff ecti ve.E venso, becauseski llsi nanal yzingandrespondi ngtosi tuati onsvarygreatl y
acrossl eaders, leadershi pwi llal waysremai npartl yanartaswel lasasci ence. Hi
ghl i
gh t1.1
raisesth equesti onofwh eth erl eadershi psh oul dbeconsi deredatruesci enceornot.
Leadersh ipI sB othR ationalandE moti onalLeadersh ipi nvol vesboththerati onaland
emoti onalsi desofh umanexperi ence. Leadershi pi ncl udesacti onsandi nf luencesbasedon
reasonandl ogicaswel lasth osebasedoni nspi rati onandpassi on.Wedonotwantto
cul tivatemerel yi ntel lectual izedl eaderswh orespondwi thonl yl ogi calpredi ctabi lity.
Becausepeopl edi f f eri nth eirth ough tsandf eel ings, hopesanddreams, needsandf ears,
goal sandambi tions, andstrength sandweaknesses, leadershi psi tuati onscanbecompl ex.
Peopl earebothrati onalandemoti onal ,sol eaderscanuserati onaltechni quesand
emoti onalappeal stoi nfluencef ollowers,butth eymustal sowei ghth erati onaland
emoti onalconsequencesofth ei racti onsAf ullappreci ati onofl eadershi pi nvol vesl ooki ng
atbothofth esesi desofh umannature. Goodl eadershi pismorethanj ustcal cul ati onand
planni ng,or f ollowi ng a ch eckl i
st,even th ough rati onalanal ysis can enhance good
leadersh ip.G oodl eadersh ipal soi nvol vestouchi ngoth ers’f eel ings;emoti onspl ayan
importantrol ei nl eadersh ip, too. Justoneexampl eofth isi stheci vilri ghtsmovementof
th e1 960s, wh ichwasbasedonemoti onsaswel lasonpri nci pl es. Dr. Marti nL utherKi ngJ r.
inspi redmanypeopl etoacti on; h etouchedpeopl e’sh eartsaswel lasth eirmi nds. Aroused
feel ings,h owever,can be used ei ther posi tivel y or negati vel y,constructi vel y or
destructi vel y.Somel eadersh avebeenabl etoi nspi reotherstodeedsofgreatpurposeand
courage. Bycontrast, asi magesofA dol fH itl
er’smassral liesorpresent-dayangrymobs
attest,group f renzy can readi l
y become group mi ndl essness.As another exampl e,
emoti onalappeal sbyth eR everendJ imJ onesresul tedi napproxi matel y800ofhi s
fol lowersvol iti
onall ycommi ttingsui cide.Themerepresenceofagroup( evenwi th out
heigh tenedemoti onall evel s)canal socausepeopl etoactdi fferentl yth anwh entheyare
alone.F orexampl e,i
nai rlinecockpi tcrews, therearecl earl inesofauthori tyf rom th e
captai ndowntoth ef irstof ficer( secondi ncommand)andsoon. Sostrongareth enorms
surroundi ngth eauth ori tyofth ecaptai nthatsomef i
rstof ficerswi llnottakecontrolof
th eai rplanef romthecaptai neveni ntheeventofi mpendi ngdi saster. Foush eereporteda
studywh erei nairlinecaptai nsi nsimul atortrai ningi ntenti onal lyf eignedi ncapaci tati onso
th attheresponseoftherestofth ecrewcoul dbeobserved. 19Thef eignedi ncapaci tati ons
occurredatapredetermi nedpoi ntduri ngth epl ane’sf inalapproachi nl anding,andth e
simul ationi nvol vedcondi tionsofpoorweath erandvi sibili
ty. Approxi matel y25percentof
th ef irstof f i
cersi nth esesi mul atedf lightsal lowedth epl anetocrash .Forsomereason,
th ef irstof ficersdi dnottakecontrolevenwheni twascl earth ecaptai nwasal lowi ngth e
aircraf ttodevi atef romth eparametersofasaf eapproach .Thi sexampl edemonstrates
how groupdynami cscani nfluenceth ebehavi orofgroupmembersevenwh enemoti onal
level sarenoth i
gh .(
B elievei tornot, ai rlinecrewsaresowel ltrai nedth atthi si snotan
emoti onalsi tuati on.)I nsum,i tsh ouldbeapparentth atl eadershi pinvol vesf ol lowers’
feel ingsandnonrati onalbeh avioraswel lasrati onalbehavi or.L eadersneedtoconsi der
bothth erati onalandth eemoti onalconsequencesofth eiracti ons. Inf act, somesch ol ars
havesuggestedth atth everyi deaofl eadersh ipmayberootedi nouremoti onalneeds.
Bel i
efi nth epotencyofl eadersh i
p,however—wh ath asbeencal ledth eromanceof
leadershi p—maybeacul turalmythth athasuti litypri mari lyi nsof arasi taf fectshow
peopl ecreatemeani ngaboutcausaleventsi ncompl exsoci alsystems.Suchamyth, for
exampl e,maybeoperati ngi nth etendencyofmanypeopl ei nth ebusi nessworl dto
automati cal lyattri buteacompany’ ssuccessorf ail
uretoi tsl eadersh i
p.R atherthan
beingacasualf actori nacompany’ ssuccess, however, itmi gh tbeth ecaseth at“leadershi p”
ismerel yaromanti cizednoti on—anobsessi onpeopl ewanttoandneedtobel ievei n.20
Rel atedtoth ismaybeatendencytoattri buteal eader' ssuccesspri mari lyi fnotenti rel y
toth atperson' suni quei ndividualqual ities.Thati deai sf urtherexpl oredi nP rof ilesi n
Leadersh ip1.2.

Leadersh i
pandManagementI ntryi ngtoanswerthequesti on“Wh atisl eadership?”itis
naturaltol ookattherel ationsh ipbetweenl eadersh i
pandmanagement. Tomanypeopl e,
th ewordmanagementsuggestswordsl ikeef fi
ciency,planning,paperwork,procedures,
regul ations,control
,andconsi stency. Leadershi
pisof tenmoreassoci atedwi thwordsl i
ke
risk taki ng,dynami c,creati vi
ty,change,and vi si
on.Some peopl e say l eadershi
pi s
fundamental lyavalue-choosi ng,andthusaval ue-laden,activity,whereasmanagementi s
not.L eadersareth ough ttodoth eri ghtth i
ngs,whereasmanagersareth oughttodoth i
ngs
right.21,
22H erearesomeoth erdi stincti
onsbetweenmanagersandl eaders:23•Managers
admi nister;leadersi nnovate.•Managersmai ntain;leadersdevel op.•Managerscontrol ;
leadersi nspire.•Managersh aveashort-termvi ew; leaders,along-termvi ew. •Managers
askh ow andwh en;leadersaskwh atandwh y.•Managersi mitate;l eadersori gi
nate.•
Managersacceptth estatusquo;l eadersch allengei t.Whi leacknowl edgi ngthi sgeneral
distinctionbetweenl eadersh ipandmanagementi sessenti al lyaccurateandevenusef ul,
however, ithash aduni ntendednegati veef fects: “Somel eadersnowseeth eirjobasj ust
comi ngupwi thbigandvaguei deas, andtheytreati mpl ementi ngth em, orevenengagi ngin
conversati onandpl anningaboutth edetai lsofthem, asmere‘ management’ workthati s
beneathth eirstati onandstature. ”
24Z aleznikgoessof arastosaythesedi fferences
ref l
ectf undamental l
ydi f f
erentpersonal i
tytypes: Leadersandmanagersarebasi cally
differentki ndsofpeopl e.25H esayssomepeopl earemanagersbynature; oth erpeopl eare
leadersbynature.O nei snotbetterthantheoth er;th eyarej ustdi fferent.Thei r
differences,i nfact,canbeusef ulbecauseorgani zati onstypi call
yneedbothf uncti ons
perf ormedwel l.
F orexampl e,consi deragai ntheU .
S. civilrightsmovementi nthe1 960s. Dr.
Marti nL uth erK i
ngJ r.gavel ifeanddi rectiontotheci vilrigh tsmovementi nAmeri ca. He
gavedi gni tyandh opeoff reerparti cipationinnati onall ifetopeopl ewh obef oreh adlittle
reasontoexpecti t.H einspiredth eworl dwi thh isvi sionandel oquence, andh echangedth e
waywel i
vetogeth er. A meri caisadi fferentnati ontodaybecauseofhi m. WasDr. Marti n
Luth erK ingJ r.aleader?O fcourse. Washeamanager?S omeh owth atdoesnotseemtof it,
andtheci vilrigh tsmovementmi ghthavef ailedi fi thadnotbeenf orthemanageri al
talentsofh issupporti ngstaf f.L eadershi pandmanagementcompl ementeachother, and
botharevi taltoorgani zati onalsuccess.Wi thregardtoth ei ssueofl eadershi pversus
management, theauth orsofth isbooktakeami ddl e-of -th e-roadposi ti on.Weth inkof
leadersh ipandmanagementascl osel yrel atedbutdi stingui sh ablefuncti ons. Ourviewof
th erel ationsh i
pi sdepi ctedi nFigure1 .
1,whichsh owsl eadershi pandmanagementastwo
overl apping

functi ons.A lthoughsomef uncti onsperf ormedbyl eadersandmanagersmaybeuni que,

th erei salsoanareaofoverl ap.Inreadi ngHi ghlight1 .
2,doyouseemoregoodmanagementi n
th eresponsetoth e1 906S anF ranci scoearth quake, moregoodl eadersh i
p, orboth?A ndi n
Prof ilesinL eadersh ip1.3youcanreadaboutl eadersf romtwodi fferenterasi nAmeri can
history. Leadersh i
pMyth sFewth ingsposeagreaterobstacl etol eadershi pdevel opment
th ancertai nunsubstanti atedandsel f-limiting bel iefsabout l eadersh i
p.Th eref ore,
bef orewebegi nexami ningl eadershi pandl eadershi pdevel opmenti nmoredetai l,we
consi derwh atth eyarenot. Hereweexami neseveralbel iefs(wecal lth emmyths)that
standi nthewayoff ullyunderstandi nganddevel opingl eadersh i
p. Myth: GoodL eadershi pIs
AllCommonS enseA tf aceval ue, th i
smythsaysoneneedsonl ycommonsensetobeagood
leader. Italsoi mpl i
es, however, th atmosti fnotal lofth estudi esofl eadershi preported
insch olarlyj ournal sandbooksonl yconf irm whatanyonewi thcommonsenseal ready
knows.Th eprobl em,ofcourse,i swi ththeambi guousterm commonsense.I timpl iesa
commonbodyofpracti calknowl edgeaboutl i
f eth atvi rtual l
yanyreasonabl epersonwi th
moderateexperi enceh asacqui red.Asi mpl eexperi ment, however, mayconvi nceyouthat
commonsensemaybel esscommonth anyouthi nk.Askaf ew f riendsoracquai ntances
wh eth erth eol df olkwi sdom“ Absencemakesth eheartgrowf onder”i strueorf alse. Most
wi llsayi tistrue. Afterth at,askadi ff erentgroupwh eth erth eol df olkwi sdom“ Outof
sight,outofmi nd”i strueorf al se.Mostofth atgroupwi llanswertrueaswel l,even
th oughth etwoproverbsarecontradi ctory.Asi mi larth ingsometi mesh appenswhen
peopl eh earaboutth eresultsofstudi esconcerni nghumanbeh avior. Onhearingth eresul ts,
peopl emaysay, “Wh oneededastudytol earnth at?I knewi tal lth eti me.”H owever, several
experi mentssh owedthateventsweremuchmoresurpri singwhensubj ectshadtoguess
th eoutcomeofanexperi mentth anwh ensubj ectsweretol dtheoutcome. 26, 27What
seemsobvi ousaf teryouknow th eresul tsandwh atyou( oranyoneel se)woul dhave
predi ctedbef oreh andarenotth esameth i
ng.Hi ndsi gh ti sal ways20/ 20.Th epoi ntmi ght
becomecl earerwi thaspeci ficexampl e. Readth ef oll owi ngparagraph: Af terWorl dWarI I
,
th eU .
S.A rmyspentenormoussumsofmoneyonstudi esonl ytoreachconcl usi onsth at,
manybel ieved,sh oul dhavebeenapparentatth eoutset.O ne,f orexampl e,wasthat
south ernsol di erswerebetterabl etostandth ecl imatei ntheh otS outhS eai slandsthan
north ernsol dierswere.Th i
ssoundsreasonabl e,butth erei saprobl em:Thestatement
herei sexactl ycontrarytoth eactualf indi ngs.Southernerswerenobetterthan
north ernersi nadapti ngtotropi calcl imates. 28C ommonsensecanof tenpl aytri cksonus.
Putal ittl edi f ferentl y, onech al lengeofunderstandi ngl eadersh ipmaybetoknow when
commonsenseappl iesandwh eni tdoesnot. Dol eadersneedtoactconf i
dentl y?Ofcourse.
Butth eyal soneedtobeh umbl eenoughtorecogni zeth atothers’ viewsareusef ul ,too. Do
leadersneedtoperseverewh enti mesgettough ?Y es.Butth eyal soneedtorecogni ze
wh enti mesch angeandanewdi recti oni scal ledf or. Ifl eadersh ipwerenothi ngmorethan
commonsense, th eresh oul dbef ew, i
fany, probl emsi ntheworkpl ace. However, weventure
toguessyouh avenoti cedmoreth anaf ew probl emsbetweenl eadersandf ol lowers.
Eff ecti vel eadersh ipmustbesometh ingmoreth anj ustcommonsense. Myth :L eadersAre
Born, NotMadeS omepeopl ebel ieveth atbei ngal eaderi sei th eri none’ sgenesornot; oth ers
bel ieveth atl ifeexperi encesmol dthei ndi vidualandth atnoonei sbornal eader. Wh i
chvi ew
isri ght?I nasense, bothandnei th er. B othvi ewsareri ghti nthati nnatef actorsaswel las
formati veexperi encesi nfluencemanysortsofbeh avi or,i ncl udi ngl eadersh ip.Yetboth
viewsarewrongtoth eextentth eyi mpl yleadersh ipi sei theri nnateoracqui red;what
mattersmorei showth esef actorsi nteract. Itdoesnotseemusef ul ,
webel i
eve, tothi nk
ofth eworl dascompri singtwomutual lyexcl usi vetypesofpeopl e,leadersandnonl eaders.
I
ti s more usef ulto address h ow each person can make th e most of l eadershi p
opportuni tiesh eorshef aces. Itmaybeeasi ertoseeth epoi ntl essnessofaski ngwhether
leadersarebornormadebyl ooki ngatanal ternati vequesti onoff arl esspopul ari nterest:
Arecol l
egeprof essorsbornormade?Conceptual lyth ei ssuesareth esame, andh eretoo
th eansweri sthateverycol legeprof essori sbothbornandmade. I
tseemscl earenough
th atcol l
egeprof essorsarepartl y“ born”because( amongotherf actors)th erei sa
geneti ccomponenttoi ntel ligence, andi ntel ligencesurel ypl ayssomeparti nbecomi nga
col legeprof essor( wel l
, atleastami norpart! ). Buteverycol legeprof essori sal sopartl y
“made. ”O neobvi ouswayi sth atcol legeprof essorsmusth aveadvancededucati oni n
speci al i
zedf i
el ds;evenwi thth eri ghtgenesonecoul dnotbecomeacol legeprof essor
wi th outcertai nrequi siteexperi ences.B ecomi ngacol l egeprof essordependspartl yon
wh atonei sbornwi thandpartl yonh owth ati nheri tancei ssh apedth roughexperi ence. The
samei strueofl eadersh i
p.Morespeci f ically,researchi ndi catesthatmanycogni tive
abil i
tiesandpersonal i
tytrai tsareatl eastpartl yi nnate. 29Thusnaturaltal entsor
characteri sti csmayof f ercertai nadvantagesordi sadvantagestoal eader.Consi der
physi calch aracteri stics: Aman’ sabove-averageh ei gh tmayi ncreaseoth ers’ tendencyto
th inkofh imasal eader; itmayal soboosthi sownsel f -conf idence. Buti tdoesn’ tmakehi ma
leader.Th esameh oldstruef orpsych ologicalcharacteri sti csth atseem rel atedto
leadersh ip.Th estabi li
tyofcertai nch aracteri sti csoverl ongperi ods( forexampl e,at
schoolreuni onspeopl eseemtoh avekeptthesamepersonal iti eswerememberthemas
havingyearsearl ier)mayrei nf orceth ei mpressi onth atourbasi cnaturesaref ixed, but
different envi ronments noneth eless may nurture or suppress di fferent l eadershi p
qual i
ties. Myth :Th eOnlySch oolY ouL earnLeadersh ipf romI sth eS choolofHardK nocksS ome
peopl e skepti cal ly questi on wh ether l eadersh ip can devel op th rough f ormalstudy,
believingi nsteadi tcanbeacqui redonl ythroughactualexperi ence. Itisami stake, however,
to th i
nk of f ormalstudy and l earni ng f rom experi ence as mutual ly excl usi ve or
antagoni stic.I nf act,th eycompl ementeachother.R ath erth anaskwheth erl eadershi p
devel opsf romf ormalstudyorf romreal -lifeexperi ence, i
ti sbettertoaskwh atki ndof
studywi l lhelpstudentsl earntodi scerncri ticall essonsaboutl eadersh ipf romthei rown
experi ence. A pproach i
ngth ei ssuei nsuchawayrecogni zesthevi talrol eofexperi encei n
leadersh ipdevel opment, buti tal soadmi tsthatcertai nkindsofstudyandtrai ningcan
improveaperson’ sabi l
itytodi scerni mportantl essonsaboutl eadersh i
pf romexperi ence.
I
tcan, inoth erwords, accel erateth eprocessofl earni ngf romexperi ence. Wearguethat
oneadvantageoff ormal lystudyi ngl eadershi pisth atf ormalstudyprovi desstudents
withavari etyofwaysofexami ningaparti cul arl eadersh ipsi tuation.B ystudyi ngth e
differentwaysresearch ersh avedef i
nedandexami nedl eadersh ip,studentscanusethese
definitionsandth eoriestobetterunderstandwhati sgoi ngoni nanyl eadershi psi tuati on.
Forexampl e,earl i
eri nth i
sch apterwe used di f
f erent l eadersh ip def initions asa
frameworkf ordescri bingoranal yzi ngthesi tuati onf acingP arradoandth esurvi vorsof
thepl anecrash ,andeachdef initionf ocusedonadi ff erentaspectofl eadersh ip.These
frameworkscansi milarl ybeappl iedtobetterunderstandtheexperi encesonehasasboth
aleaderandaf ol lower. Weth i
nki ti sdi f ficultf orl eaders, parti cularlynovi cel eaders, to
exami nel eadershi psi tuati onsf rommul tipleperspecti ves; butweal sobel ievedevel opi ng
thisski llcanhel pyoubecomeabetterl eader. Bei ngabl etoanal yzeyourexperi encesf rom
mul tipleperspecti vesmaybeth egreatest si nglecontri buti onaf ormalcoursei n
leadersh ipcangi veyou. Maybeyoucanref lectonyourownl eadersh ipoveracupofcof fee
inStarbucksasyoureadaboutth eori ginsofthatcompanyi nProf i
lesinLeadersh ip1 .
4. Th e
I
nteracti onalF rameworkf orA nal yzi ng Leadersh ip Perh apsth ef irst researcherto
formal lyrecogni zeth eimportanceofth el eader, f ollower, andsi tuationi nth el eadershi p
process was F red F iedl er. 30 F iedl er used these th ree components to devel op hi s
contingencymodelofl eadersh ip,ath eoryofl eadershi pdi scussedi nmoredetai li nCh apter
14.Alth oughwerecogni zeF iedler’scontri buti ons, weoweperh apsevenmoretoHol lander’ s
transacti onalapproachtol eadersh ip.31Wecal lourapproachthei nteracti onalf ramework.
Severalaspectsofth i
sderi vati veofH ollander’ sapproachareworth yofaddi tional
comment. Fi
rst, assh owni nF i
gure1 .2,thef rameworkdepi ctsl eadershi pasaf uncti onof
three el ements—th el eader,th ef ol lowers,and the si tuati on.S econd,a parti cul ar
leadersh ipscenari ocanbeexami nedusi ngeachl evelofanal ysi sseparatel y.A l
thoughthi s
isausef ulwaytounderstandth el eadersh i
pprocess, wecanunderstandth eprocesseven
betteri fwe al so exami ne th ei nteracti onsamong th e th ree el ements,orl enses,
representedbytheoverl appi ngareasi nthef igure. Forexampl e, wecanbetterunderstand
thel eadershi pprocessi fwenotonl yl ookatth el eadersandth ef ollowersbutal so
exami neh owl eadersandf ol lowersaf f ecteachotheri nthel eadersh ipprocess. Si mi larl y,
wecanexami neth el eaderandthesi tuati onseparatel y,butwecangai nabetter
understandi ngofth el eadersh i
pprocessbyl ooki ngathowthesi tuati oncanconstrai nor
faci litateal eader’ sacti onsandh ow th el eadercanch angedi fferentaspectsofth e
situati ontobemoreef f ecti ve. Th usaf i
nali mportantaspectofth ef rameworki sthat
leadersh ipi sth eresul tofacompl exsetofi nteracti onsamongth el eader, th ef ollowers,
andth esi tuati on.Th esecompl exi nteracti onsmaybewhybroadgeneral izati onsabout
leadershi pareprobl emati c: Manyf actorsi nf luenceth el eadersh ipprocess( seeHi gh light
1.3). Anexampl eofonesuchcompl exi nteracti onbetweenl eadersandf ol l
owersi sevi dent
inwh ath avebeencal l
edi n-groupsandout-groups.S ometi mestherei sah ighdegreeof
mutuali nf luenceandattracti onbetweenthel eaderandaf ew subordi nates.Th ese
subordi natesbel ongtoth ei n-groupandcanbedi sti ngui shedbythei rhighdegreeofl oyal ty,
commi tment, andtrustf elttowardth el eader.O th ersubordi natesbel ongtoth eout-
group. Leadershaveconsi derabl ymorei nf luencewi thi n-groupf ol lowersthanwi thout-
groupf oll owers.H owever,th isgreaterdegreeofi nf luenceh asapri ce.I fl eadersrel y
pri mari lyonth eirf ormalauth ori tytoi nf luenceth eirf ol lowers( especi allyi ftheypuni sh
th em) , th enl eadersri skl osingth eh ighl evel sofl oyal tyandcommi tmentf ollowersf eel
towardth em. 32Th eLeaderTh i
sel ementexami nespri mari l
ywhatthel eaderbri ngsasan
indivi dualtothel eadersh ipequati on.Th i
scani ncl udeuni quepersonalh istory, i
nterests,
ch aractertrai ts, andmoti vati on. Leadersarenotal lal ike,butth eytendtosh aremany
ch aracteri sti cs.R esearchh assh ownthat l eadersdi fferf rom th ei rf ol lowers,and
ef fecti vel eadersdi f ferf romi nef f ecti vel eaders, onvari ouspersonal itytrai ts, cogni tive
abi lities, ski lls,andval ues. 33–38A noth erwaypersonal itycanaf fectl eadersh ipisthrough
temperament, bywh ichwemeanwh eth eral eaderi sgeneral lycal mori si nsteadproneto
emoti onaloutbursts.L eaderswh oh avecal m di sposi tionsanddonotattackorbel i
ttl e
oth ersf orbri ngi ngbadnewsaremorel ikelytogetcompl eteandti mel yi nformati onf rom
subordi natesth anarebosseswh oh aveexpl osi vetempersandareputati onf orki llingth e
messenger.A noth eri mportantaspectofth el eaderi sh ow heorsheach ievedl eader
status.L eaders wh o are appoi nted by superi ors may h ave l ess credi bility wi th
subordi natesandgetl essl oyal tyf romth emthanl eaderswh oareel ectedoremergeby
consensusf romth eranksoff oll owers.Of tenemergentorel ectedof f i
cial sarebetter
abl etoi nf l uenceagrouptowardgoalachi evementbecauseofth epowerconf erredon
th embyth ei rf ol lowers. H owever, bothel ectedandemergentl eadersneedtobesensi tive
tothei rconsti tuenci esi fth eywi shtoremai ni npower.Moregeneral ly,al eader’ s
experi enceorh istoryi naparti cul arorgani zati oni susual lyi mportanttoherorh i
s
ef fecti veness.F orexampl e,leaderspromotedf rom wi thi nanorgani zati on, byvi rtueof
bei ngf ami liarwi thi tscul tureandpol icies, maybereadyto“ h i
tthegroundrunni ng.”In
addi ti on,l eaderssel ectedf rom wi thi nanorgani zati onaretypi cal lybetterknownby
oth ersi nth eorgani zati onth anarel eaderssel ectedf rom th eoutsi de.Th ati sl i
kel yto
af fect, f orbetterorworse, th el ati tudeothersi nth eorgani zati onarewi l
lingtogi veth e
leader; ifth el eaderi swi del yrespectedf orah istoryofaccompl i
shment, shemaybegi ven
morel ati tudeth ananewcomerwh osetrackrecordi sl esswel lknown. Ontheoth erh and,
manypeopl etendtogi venew l eadersaf airch ancetosucceed,andnewcomerstoan
organi zati onof tentaketi metol earnth eorgani zati on’ sinf ormalrul es,norms, and“ ropes”
bef oreth eymakeanyradi calorpotenti allycontroversi aldeci sions. Al eader’ sl egi ti macy
al somaybeaf f ectedbyth eextenttowh ichf ol lowersparti cipatedi nthel eader’ s
sel ecti on. Wh enf ollowersh aveh adasayi nth esel ecti onorel ecti onofal eader, th eytend
toh aveah ei gh tenedsenseofpsych ol ogicali denti ficati onwi thher, butth eyal somayh ave
high erexpectati onsandmakemoredemandsonher. 39Weal somi ghtwonderwhatki ndof
supportal eaderh asf romh i
sownboss. Iff ol lowerssenseth eirbossh asal otofi nf luence
wi thth ehi gh er-ups, subordi natesmayberel uctanttotaketh ei rcompl ai ntstoh igher
level s.Onth eotherh and, i
fth ebosshasl i
ttl ei nf luencewi thhi gher-ups, subordi natesmay
bemorel ikel ytomakecompl aintsatth esel evel s. Thef oregoi ngexampl eshi ghl igh tth e
sortsofi nsi ghtswecangai naboutl eadershi pbyf ocusi ngonth ei ndi vi duall eaderasal evel
ofanal ysi s.E veni fweweretoexami nethei ndi viduall eadercompl etel y,h owever,our
understandi ngofth el eadersh ipprocesswoul dbei ncompl ete. Th eF ol lowersF ollowersare
acri ticalpartofth el eadersh i
pequati on, butth eirrol eh asnotal waysbeenappreci ated,
atl easti nempi ricalresearch( butreadH igh li
ght1 .
3toseehowth erol eoff ollowershas
beenrecogni zedi nl i
terature) .F oral ongti me, inf act, “th ecommonvi ewofl eadershi pwas
th at l eaders acti vel yl ed and subordi nates,l ater cal led f ol lowers,passi vel y and
obedi entl yf ol lowed. ” 40O verti me,especi al lyi nth el astcentury,soci alchangesh aped
peopl e’svi ewsoff ol lowers, andl eadershi ptheori esgradual lyrecogni zedth eacti veand
importantrol ethatf ollowerspl ayi nthel eadershi pprocess. 41Todayi tseemsnaturalto
acceptth ei mportantrol ef ol lowerspl ay. O neaspectofourtext’ sdef initionofl eadershi p
isparti cul arl yworthnoti ngi nth isregard: Leadershi pi sasoci ali nf l uenceprocesssh ared
amongal lmembersofagroup.L eadershi pi snotrestri ctedtoth ei nf luenceexertedby
someonei naparti cul arposi tionorrol e;f oll owersarepartofth el eadershi pprocess, too.
I
nrecentyearsbothpracti tionersandsch ol arsh aveemph asi zedtherel atednessof
leadersh ipandf ol lowersh ip.A sB urnsobserved,th ei deaof“ one-manl eadersh ip”i sa
contradi cti oni nterms. 42O bvi ousasth ispoi ntmayseem,i ti sal socl earth atearl y
leadershi presearcherspai drel ativel yl ittl eattenti ontotherol esf ol l
owerspl ayi nth e
leadershi pprocess. 43,44H owever, weknowth atth ef oll owers’ expectati ons, personal ity
trai ts,maturi tyl evel s,l evel sofcompetence,andmoti vati onaf fectth el eadershi p
process, too. H i
gh light1 .4descri besasystemati capproachtocl assi f yingdi f ferentki ndsof
fol l
owersth ath ash adamaj ori mpactonresearch .Th enatureoff ol lowers’ moti vati onto
doth eirworki sal soi mportant.Workerswhoshareal eader’ sgoal sandval ues, andwh o
feeli ntri nsi cal lyrewardedf orperf ormi ngaj obwel l ,
mi ghtbemorel ikelytoworkextra
hoursonati me-cri ti calproj ectth anthosewh osemoti vati oni ssol el ymonetary. Eventh e
numberoff ol lowersreporti ngtoal eadercanhavesi gni ficanti mpl icati ons. F orexampl e,a
storemanagerwi thth reecl erksworki ngf orhi mcanspendmoreti mewi theachofthem
(oronoth erth i
ngs)th ancanamanagerresponsi blef orei ghtcl erksandaseparate
del i
veryservi ce; ch airingataskf orcewi th5membersi sadi fferentl eadersh ipacti vi ty
th anch airingataskf orcewi th1 8members.Sti lloth errel evantvari abl esi ncl ude
fol l
owers’ trusti nth el eaderandthei rdegreeofconf i
dencethatheorshei si nterestedi n
th eirwel l-bei ng. Anoth eraspectoff ol l
owers’ rel ati onstoal eaderi sdescri bedi nProf iles
inLeadershi pI nth econtextofthei nteracti onalf ramework,thequesti on“ Wh ati s
leadersh ip?”cannotbeseparatedf rom th equesti on“ Wh ati sf ol lowersh ip?”Th erei sno
simpl el ine di vidi ng th em;th ey merge.Th e rel ati onsh ip between l eadersh i
p and
fol l
owersh ipcanberepresentedbyborrowi ngaconceptf romtopographi calmathemati cs:
th eMöbi usstri p.Youareprobabl yf ami liarwi ththecuri ousproperti esoftheMöbi usstri p:
Wh enastri pofpaperi stwi stedandconnectedi nthemannerdepi ctedi nF igure1 .3,ithas
onl yonesi de. Youcanproveth istoyoursel fbyputti ngapenci ltoanypoi ntonthestri pand
traci ngconti nuousl y.Y ourpenci lwi llcovertheenti restri p( th ati s,both“ si des”),
eventual l yreturni ngtoth epoi ntatwh ichyoustarted. Todemonstrateth erel evanceof
th iscuri osi tytol eadersh i
p, cutastri pofpaper. Ononesi dewri tel eadershi p, andonth e
oth ersi dewri tef ol l
owersh i
p.Th entwi stthestri pandconnectth etwoendsi nth e
mannerofthef i
gure.Y ouwi llh avecreatedal eadersh ip/f ollowershi pMöbi usstri p
wh erei nth e two conceptsmerge,j ust asl eadersh ip andf ollowershi p can become
indisti ngui sh abl ei norgani zati ons.49Th isdoesnotmeanl eadershi pandf oll owershi pare
th esameth i
ng. Wh entopl evelexecuti veswereaskedtol i
stqual i
ti estheymostl ookf or
andadmi rei nl eadersandf ollowers,th el istsweresi mi larbutnoti denti cal .
50I deal
leaderswerech aracteri zedash onest,competent,f orward-l ooking,andi nspi ring;i deal
fol lowers were descri bed as h onest,competent,i ndependent,and cooperati ve.Th e
dif ferencescoul dbecomecri ticali ncertai nsi tuations,aswhenaf orward-l ooki ngand
inspi ringsubordi natepercei vesasi gni ficantconf lictbetweenhi sowngoal sorethi csand
th oseofh i
ssuperi ors.S uchasi tuati oncoul dbecomeacri sisf orthei ndi vi dualandth e
organi zati on, demandi ngach oicebetweenl eadi ngandf ol lowi ng.Asth ecompl exi tyofth e
leadersh ip process h as become better understood,th ei mportance pl aced on th e
leader–f ol lowerrel ati onsh ipi tsel fhasundergonedynami cch ange. 51,
52O nereasonf or
th isi sani ncreasi ngpressureonal lki ndsoforgani zati onstof uncti onwi threduced
resources.Reducedresourcesandcompanydownsi zingh avereducedth enumberof
managersandi ncreasedth eirspanofcontrol , whichi nturnl eavesf ollowerstopi ckup
manyofth ef uncti onstradi tional l
yperf ormedbyl eaders.A noth erreasoni satrend
towardgreaterpowersh aringanddecentral izedauthori tyi norgani zati ons, wh ichcreate
greater i nterdependence among organi zati onalsubuni ts and i ncrease th e need f or
col laborati on among th em.F urthermore,the nature of probl ems f aced by many
organi zati onsi sbecomi ngsocompl exandthechangesarebecomi ngsorapi dth atmoreand
morepeopl earerequi redtosol vethem. Thesetrendssuggestseveraldi ff erentwaysi n
wh i
chf ol lowerscantakeonnewl eadersh iprol esandresponsi bil
itiesi nth ef uture. F orone
th ing, fol lowerscanbecomemuchmoreproacti vei nth ei rstancetowardorgani zati onal
probl ems. Wh enf aci ngth edi screpancybetweenthewayth ingsarei nanorgani zati onand
th ewayth eycoul dorsh ouldbe,f ol lowerscanpl ayanacti veandconstructi verol e
col laborati ngwi thl eadersi nsol vingprobl ems. I
ngeneral ,maki ngorgani zati onsbetteri sa
taskth atneedstobe“ owned” byf ol l
owersaswel lasbyl eaders. Withth esech angi ngrol es
forf ollowers, itshoul dnotbesurpri si ngtof indth atqual i
ti esofgoodf ol lowersh ipare
stati stical lycorrel atedwi thqual itiestypi cal l
yassoci atedwi thgoodl eadershi p.One
recentstudyf oundposi tivecorrel ati onsbetweenthef oll owershi pqual iti esofacti ve
engagementandi ndependentth i
nki ngandthel eadershi pqual i
ti esofdomi nance, soci abili
ty,
ach ievementori entati on,andsteadi ness. 53I naddi tiontohel pingsol veorgani zati onal
probl ems,f ol lowerscancontri butetothel eadersh i
pprocessbybecomi ngski ll edat
“inf luenci ngupward. ”Becausef ollowersareof tenatth el evel swh eremanyorgani zati onal
probl emsoccur,th eycangi vel eadersrel evanti nformati onsoth atgoodsol uti onsare
impl emented. Al thoughi ti strueth atsomel eadersneedtobecomebetterl isteners, itis
al sotruethatmanyf oll owersneedtrai ningi nexpressi ngi deastosuperi orscl earl yand
posi ti vely.S tillanoth erwayf ol lowerscanassumeagreatershareofth el eadersh i
p
chal lengei nth ef uturei sbystayi ngf lexibl eandopentoopportuni ti es.Th ef uture
portendsmorech ange, notl ess, andf oll owerswhof acech angewi thposi ti veanti cipati on
andanopennesstosel f-devel opmentwi llbeparti cul arl yval uedandrewarded. 54A mong
oth erth ings, thisopennesstoch angeandsel f-devel opmentl ikel ywi llincludeopennessto
reconsi deri ng h ow we use th e words l eader and f oll owers.E ven wh en f ollowers’
importancei nthel eadersh ipprocesswasf inallyrecei vingtheattenti onitdeserved, early
attenti ontendedtof ocusonf ol l owersh ipasarol e( thati s, apartth ati spl ayed) ,ofteni f
notal waysdesi gnatedbyaterm l ikesubordi nate.I ncontrast—tocarryth etheatri cal
anal ogyabi tf urther—th erol eofl eadervi rtual lyal waysremai nedth e“ lead”rol e.
Recentl y,h owever,anal ternati veapproachtounderstandi ngf ollowersh iphasbeen
advanced. Incontrasttoth eaf orementi onedrol eapproachtounderstandi ngf ollowershi p,
th econstructi oni stapproachvi ewsl eadersh ipascombi nedactsofl eadingandf ollowi ng
bydi ff erenti ndividual s, wh ateverthei rf ormalti tl esorposi ti onsinanorgani zati onmay
be.55I noth erwords,l eadersh ipemergesf rom thei ntertwi nedactsofi ndi vi
dual sin
compl exsoci alinteracti onsth atmayi ncl udeti meswh en“ f ol lowersmaybel eadi ng”and
“leadersmaybef ollowi ng.”F rom theperspecti veofth econstructi oni st approach,
leadersh i
pi s co-created th rough acts of l eadi ng and f ol lowing,wh oever may be
perf ormi ngth oseacts. Thus, toanever-i ncreasi ngdegree, leadersh ipmustbeunderstood
intermsofbothl eadervari ablesandf ollowervari abl es,aswel lasth ei nteracti onsamong
th em. B uteventh ati snotenough —wemustal sounderstandth eparti cularsi tuati onsi n
wh ichl eadersandf ollowersf indth emsel ves.TheSi tuati onTh esi tuati oni sth ethi rd
criticalpartofth el eadersh ipequati on. Eveni fweknewal lwecoul dknowaboutagi ven
leaderandagi vensetoff ollowers, l
eadersh ipof tenmakessenseonl yinth econtextof
howth el eaderandf ol lowersi nteracti naparti cul arsi tuati on. Th i
svi ewofl eadersh ipasa
compl exi nteracti onamongl eader,f ol lower,andsi tuati onalvari abl eswasnotal ways
takenf orgranted. Tothecontrary, mostearl yresearchonl eadersh ipwasbasedonth e
assumpti onth atl eadersh ipisageneralpersonaltrai texpressedi ndependentl yofth e
situati oni nwhi chth el eadersh ipi smani f ested. Thisvi ew, commonl yknownastheheroi c
th eory, h asbeenl argel ydi scredi tedbutf oral ongti merepresentedth edomi nantwayof
conceptual izing l eadersh ip.
56 I n th e 1 950s and 1 960s a di fferent approach to
conceptual izingl eadersh ipdomi natedresearchandschol arshi p. I
tinvol vedth esearchf or
ef fecti vel eaderbeh avi orsrath erthanthesearchf oruni versaltrai tsofl eadersh ip. That
approachprovedtoonarrow becausei tnegl ectedi mportantcontextual , orsi tuati onal,
factorsi nwh i
chpresumabl yef fectiveori nef fecti vebehavi orsoccur.Overti me,th e
compl exi ties of i nteracti ons among l eader,f ollower,and si tuational vari ables
increasi nglyhavebeenth ef ocusofl eadershi presearch .57( SeeCh apters6, 7,and1 3f or
moredetai leddi scussi onsofl eaderattri butes, leaderbeh avi ors, andf ormalth eori esof
leadersh i
p that exami ne compl ex i nterdependenci es between l eader,f ollower,and
situati onalvari abl es.)A ddingth esi tuati ontothemi xofvari abl esthatmakeupl eadershi p
iscompl i
cated.Th esi tuati onmaybeth emostambi guousaspectofth el eadersh i
p
framework; itcanref ertoanyth ingf romth especi f ictaskagroupi sengagedi ntobroad
situati onalcontextssuchasth eremotepredi camentofth eA ndessurvi vors. Onef acetof
th ecompl exityofth esi tuation’ srol einl eadershi pi sexami nedi nH i
gh li
gh t1.5.

I
ll
ustratingtheInteractionalF
ramework: WomeninLeadershi
pRolesN
otl
ongago,i
fpeopl
e
wereaskedtonameal eadertheyadmi red,
mostofthenamesontheresul
tingl
istcoul
dbe
characteri
zedas“oldwh i
teguys.”Todaythenamesonth atsameli
stwoul
dbeconsi
derabl
y
moreh eterogeneous.Th atch ange—wh i
chwecertai nlyconsi derprogress—representsa
usefuli llustrati onofthepowerofusi ngthei nteracti onalf rameworktounderstandth e
compl exi tiesofth el eadersh ipprocess. Aspeci ficexampl ei swomeni nleadershi prol es,and
inthissecti onweexami neth eextenttowhi chwomenh avebeentaki ngonnewl eadership
roles,wh eth erth erearedi fferencesi nth eef f ecti venessofmenandwomeni nl eadership
roles,andwh atexpl anati onsh avebeenof feredf ordi fferencesbetweenmenandwomeni n
beingsel ectedf orandsucceedi ngi nposi tionsofl eadershi p. Thi sisanareaofconsi derable
academi cresearchandpopul arpol emi cs,asevi denti nmanyarti clesi nth epopul arpress
thatcl aimadi sti nctadvantagef orwomeni nl eadersh i
prol es. 58I ti sclearth atwomenare
takingonl eadersh iprol esi ngreaternumbersth aneverbef ore.Y etth epercentageof
womeni nl eadersh ipposi tionsh asstayedrel ati vel ystabl e. Forexampl e,areportrel eased
in2010byth eU .S.GovernmentA ccountabi lityOf ficei ndicatedth atwomenrepresentan
estimated40percentofmanagersi nth eU .S. workf orcei n2007comparedwi th39percent
in2000. 59Th epercentageofwomeni ntopexecuti veposi tionsi sconsi derabl yl ess
encouragi ng.Ina201 4studybyth enonprof itorgani zationC atal yst, onl y5.2percentofCEOs
intheU nitedS tateswerewomen. 60P robl emscl earlysti llexi stth atconstrai nth e
opportuni tyf orcapabl ewomentori setothehi ghestl eadersh iprol esi norgani zations.
Manystudi esh aveconsi deredth i
sprobl em,af ew ofwh ichweexami nehere.Onestudy
reported th at a h igh er percentage of women executi ves now recei ve on-the-j ob
mentori ngth anmen.Th esamestudy, however, foundthatth ementorsofthosewomen
executi vesh adl essorgani zati onali nfluenceandcl outth andi dth ementorsofth eirmal e
counterparts. Wh ilesuchmentori ngcansti llprovi deinval uabl epsychosoci alsupportf or
personalandprof essionaldevel opment, itdoesnotseemsuf ficienttoensurepromoti on
toh i
gherl evelj obs( weexpl orementori ngi ngreaterdetai li nCh apter2) .
61Anoth erstudy
examineddi fferencesi nth enetworki ngpatternsofmenandwomen.C omparedtomen,
women’ strusti neachoth ertendstodecreasewh enworksi tuati onsbecomemore
professi onal lyri sky. Suchapatternofbehavi orcoul dpotenti all ybecomeaki ndofsel f-
imposedpromoti ondi sadvantagebywomenonthemsel ves.62I nacl assicstudyofsexrol es,
Scheindemonstratedh ow bi asi nsexrol estereotypescreatedprobl emsf orwomen
movingupth roughmanageri alrol es.63,64Schei naskedmal eandf emal emi ddl emanagersto
compl eteasurveyi nwhi chth eyratedvari ousi temsonaf i
ve-poi ntscal eintermsofhow
characteri sticth eywereofmeni ngeneral ,womeni ngeneral ,orsuccessf ulmanagers.
Scheinf oundah ighcorrel ati onbetweenthewaysbothmal eandf emal erespondents
perceived“ mal es”and“ managers, ”butnocorrel ati onbetweenthewaysth erespondents
perceived“ f
emal es”and“ managers. ”Itwasasth oughbei ngamanagerwasdef i
nedby
attributesth ough tofasmascul i
ne.F urth ermore, i
tdoesnotappearth atth esi tuation
hasch angedmuchoverth epasttwodecades. In1990, managementstudentsi ntheU nited
States,G ermany,and G reat B ritain,f or exampl e,sti llpercei ved successf ulmi ddle
managersi ntermsofch aracteri sticsmorecommonl yascri bedtomenth antowomen. 65A
2011metaanal ysi sofstudi esofgenderstereotypi ngconti nuedtof indstrongevi denceofa
tendencyf orl eadersh iptobevi ewedascul tural lymascul ine.I ti nvol vedsophi sticated
statisti calanal ysesofth eresul tsof40separatestudi essi mi lartoSchei n’sparadi gmof
thinkmanager–th inkmal e;of22otherstudi esth atl ookedatgenderstereotypi ngi nan
agency–communi onparadi gm; andofath i
rdgroupof7studi esthatl ookedatstereotypi ng
throughth el ensofoccupati onalstereotypi ng.Th estudyconcl udedth at astrong
mascul i
nestereotypeofl eadersh i
pconti nuestoexi sti ntheworkpl aceandthati twi ll
conti nuetoch allengewomenf orsometi metocome. 66E venmorerecentl y,a201 6review
ofresearchnotedth epersi stenttendencyofgenderstereotypesth atwomenareseenas
morecommunal( kindandnurturi ng)butl essagenti c( ambiti
ousanddomi nant)thanmen.
Sincel eadershipisbel ievedtorequi reagency, womenareseenasl esswel lsuitedtoth e
requirementsofl eadersh i
pth anmen. Furth ermore,becausewomenmayoutwardl ydisplay
th ei
remoti onsmoreth anmen,peopl ei nf erthatwomenaremoreapttoal low their
decisionsandacti onstobe“ controlled”bythei remoti ons;thati s,theyareseenasl ess
rationalandobj ectiveth anmen. 67Oneareawh erevi ewsdoseem tohavech angedover
timei nvolveswomen’ spercepti onsofth eirownrol es. Incontrasttotheearl ierstudi es,
womentodayseeasmuchsi milari
tybetween“ female”and“ manager” asbetween“ male”and
“manager. ”
68Towomen, atl east,bei
ngawomanandbei ngamanagerarenotcontradi ctory.
Bel i
evi ngth atonecanbebothawomanandamanagerorl eaderdoesnot,however,
necessari l
yi nsulateawomanf rom feel ingunf ai
rlyscruti nizedandj udgedbyoth ers.
Throughth ei mpactofstereotypethreat,th eperson’ sawarenessofbei ngj udgedby
stereotypescannoneth elessh aveadel eteri ousimpactonperf ormance( seeH ighlight1.
6).

I
nanoth erstudyofth erol eofwomeni nmanagement,B reakingtheG lassC eil
ing,69
research ersdocumentedth el ivesandcareersof78ofth ehi gh est-l evelwomeni n
corporateA meri ca. Af ewyearsl atertheresearch ersf ollowedupwi thasmal lsampl eof
thosewomentodi scussanych angesth ath adtakenpl acei nth eirl eadershi ppath s.Th e
research erswerestruckbyth ef actthatthewomenweremuchl i
keth eseni ormenthey
hadworkedwi thi notherstudi es. Qual itati vely,theyh adth esamef ears: Theywantedth e
bestf orth emsel vesandf orth eirf ami lies. Theywantedth eircompani estosucceed. And
notsurpri si ngly, th eysti l
lh adadri vetosucceed. Insomecases( al sotruef orth emen) ,
theywerebegi nni ngtoaskquesti onsaboutl i
febal ance—wasal lth esacri ficeandhard
workworthi t?Were60-h ourworkweeksworthth ecosttof ami l
yandsel f?More
quantitativel y,h owever,th e research ers expected to f i
nd si gni fi
cant di fferences
betweenth ewomenwhoh adbrokenth egl asscei l
ingandthemenwh owereal readyi n
leadershipposi tions. A fterall,th epopul arl iteratureandsomesoci alsci entif i
cl iterature
hadcondi tionedth em toexpectthattherei saf emi nineversusamascul inestyl eof
leadership,th ef emi nine styl e bei ng an outgrowth of a consensus/ team-ori ented
leadershipapproach .
Women, i
nth isvi ew, aredepi ctedasl eaderswho, whencomparedto
men, arebetterl isteners, moreempath i
c, lessanal ytical ,
morepeopl eoriented, andl ess
aggressivei npursui tofgoal s.Inexami ningwomeni nleadershi pposi tions, theresearchers
collectedbeh avi oraldata, i
ncl udingrati ngsbybothsel fandothers, assessmentcenter
data,and th eir scores on th eC aliforni aP sychologicalI nventory.Contrary to th e
stereotypes and popul ar vi ews,however,th ere were no stati stically si gnifi
cant
differencesbetweenmen’ sandwomen’ sl eadersh ipstyl es.Womenandmenwereequal ly
analytical,peopl eori ented, forcef ul,goalori ented, empath i
c,andski lledatl isteni ng.Th ere
wereoth erdi ff erencesbetweenthemenandwomen,h owever,beyondth equesti onof
leadershipstyl es.Th eresearch ersdi df i
nd( andtheseresul tsmustbei nterpreted
cautiouslybecauseofth erelati vel ysmal lnumbersi nvolved)th atwomenhadsi gnifi
cantl y
lowerwel l-bei ngscores,th eircommi tmenttoth eorgani zationsth eyworkedf orwas
moreguardedth anth atofth eirmal ecounterparts, andth ewomenweremuchmorel ikely
tobewi lli
ngtotakecareerri sksassoci atedwi thgoi ngtoneworunf ami liarareasofth e
companywh erewomenh adnotbeenbef ore.C onti nuedworkwi thwomeni ncorporate
leadersh i
pposi tionshasbothrei nf orcedandcl ari fi
edth esef indi ngs.F orexampl e,th e
lowerscoresf orwomeni ngeneralwel l-bei ngmayref lectth einadequacyofth eirsupport
systemf ordeal ingwi thday-to-dayi ssuesofl iving. Thisi stiedtothereal ityf ormany
womenthat, inaddi tiontoh avi ngrol esi nthei rcompani es, th eyremai nchi efcaregi versf or
th eirf ami lies.F urth er,th eremaybeaddi ti onalpressuresofbei ngvi si bl yi denti fiedas
proof th at the organi zati on h as women at th e top. O th er types of
diff erences—parti cularl yth osearound“ peopl ei ssues” —aresti llnotevi dent. Inf act, the
hypothesi si sth atsuchsupposeddi fferencesmayh inderth eopportuni tiesf orl eadershi p
devel opmentofwomeni nth ef uture.F orexampl e,turni ngaroundabusi nessthati sin
troubl eorstarti nganew busi nessaretwoofth emost exci ti ngopportuni tiesa
devel opi ngl eaderh astotesth erl eadersh ipabi lities. I
fweappl yth e“ womenaredi f ferent”
hypothesi s,th etypeofl eadersh ipski llsneededf orsuccessf ulcompl eti onofei therof
th eseassi gnmentsmayl eavewomenof fthel i
stofcandi dates. H owever, ifweacceptth e
hypothesi sthatwomenandmenaremoreal ikeasl eadersthanth eyaredi f ferent, women
wi llbef oundi nequalnumbersonth ecandi datel ist.Researchonwomenl eadersf rom
medi um-si zed, nontradi tionalorgani zati onshasshownth atsuccessf ull eadersdon’ tal l
comef romth esamemol d. Suchwomentendedtobesuccessf ulbydrawi ngonth eirsh ared
experi enceaswomen, rath erth anbyadh eri ngtothe“ rul esofconduct”bywh ichmeni n
largerandmoretradi ti onalorgani zati onsh avebeensuccessf ul.SurveyresearchbyJ udith
Roseneri denti fiedseveraldi f ferencesi nh owmenandwomendescri bedthei rl eadershi p
experi ences. 70Mentendedtodescri beth emsel vesi nsomewhattransacti onalterms,
viewi ng l eadershi p as an exch ange wi th subordi nates f or servi ces rendered.They
influencedoth erspri mari l yth roughth ei rorgani zati onalposi ti onandauthori ty.Th e
women,bycontrast,tendedtodescri beth emsel vesi ntransf ormati onalterms.They
hel pedsubordi natesdevel opcommi tmenttobroadergoal sthanth eirownsel f-i nterest,
andth eydescri bedth ei ri nf luencemorei ntermsofpersonalch aracteri sti csl ikech ari sma
andi nterpersonalski llth anmereorgani zati onalposi tion.A ccordi ngtoRosener,such
womenl eadersencouragedparti ci pationandsharedpowerandi nf ormati on, butwentf ar
beyond wh at i s commonl y th ought of as parti cipati ve management.Sh e cal led i t
interacti vel eadersh ip. Th eirl eadershi psel f -descri pti onsref l
ectedanapproachbasedon
enhanci ngoth ers’sel f-worthandbel ievi ngthatthebestperf ormanceresul tswhen
peopl eareexci tedaboutth eirworkandf eelgoodaboutth emsel ves.H ow di dth i
s
interacti vel eadersh ipstyl edevel op?Rosenerconcl udedi twasduetothesewomen’ s
soci al izati onexperi encesandcareerpaths. Asweh avei ndi cated, th esoci alrol eexpected
ofwomenh asemph asi zedth atth eybecooperati ve, supporti ve,understandi ng, gentl e, and
servi ceori ented. Asth eyenteredth ebusi nessworl d, theysti llf oundthemsel vesi nrol es
emph asi zingth esesamebeh avi ors.Theyf oundthemsel vesi nstaf f ,ratherth anl ine,
posi ti ons, andi nrol esl acki ngf ormalauthori tyoveroth erssoth atth eyh adtoaccompl i
sh
th eirworkwi thoutrel ianceonf ormalpower.Whatth eyh adtodo, inotherwords, was
empl oyth ei rsoci al l
yacceptabl ebeh avioralrepertoi retosurvi veorgani zati onal l y. What
cameeasi lytowomenturnedouttobeasurvi valtacti c.A lthoughl eadersof tenbegi nthei r
careersdoi ngwh atcomesnatural lyandwhatf itswi th inth econstrai ntsofthej ob, they
alsodevel opthei rski ll sandstyl esoverti me. Th ewomen’ suseofi nteracti vel eadershi p
hasi tsrootsi nsoci al ization, andthewomeni ntervi eweesbel ieveth ati tbenef itsthei r
organi zati ons. Th roughth ecourseofth eircareers, th eyh avegai nedconvi ctionth atthei r
styl ei sef f ecti ve.I nf act,f orsomei twasthei rownsuccessthatcausedth em to
formul ateth eirph ilosoph iesaboutwh atmoti vatespeopl e, how tomakegooddeci si
ons,
andwh ati ttakestomaxi mi zebusi nessperf ormance. Somecl aimth erei sevena“ femal e
advantage”i nl eadersh ipstemmi ngf rom th ei rmorecol laborati vestyl e.N earlyahal f-
century of research on th e subj ect,however,does not support such a broad
general i
zati on.71 ,72Manyf actorsi nteractwi thgenderi naf fecti ngrati ngsofl eadershi p
eff ecti veness,i ncl udi ngcontext( f orexampl e,wheth eri ti sabusi nessoreducati onal
situati on)andraters( wh eth eral eaderi srati nghersel forhi msel f ,
oroth ersarerati ng
th el eader) . Rosenerh ascal ledf ororgani zati onstoexpandthei rdef initi onsofef fective
leadersh ip—tocreateawi derbandofacceptabl ebeh avi orsothatbothmenandwomenwi l
l
bef reertol eadi nwaysth attakeadvantageofth eirtruetal ents. Wedi scussstereotype
-based“ bandsofacceptabl ebeh avi or”f urtheri nH igh li
gh t1 .7.A si def rom questi onsof
possi bl egenderdi fferencesi nl eadershi pstyl eorl eadersh ipef f ecti veness,th eredoes
seemtobeari sei nth enumberofwomeni nl eadersh i
pposi tions. Thi ssh i
f ti sduetoseveral
factors. 73Th ef irstofth esei sth atwomenth emsel vesh avechanged. Th at’sevi denti nth e
wayswomen’ saspi rati onsandatti tudeshavebecomemoresi mi lartoth oseofmenover
time.Th i
si si llustratedi nf indingsaboutth ecareeraspi rati onsoff emal euni versity
students; 74i nwomen’ ssel f -reportsoftrai tssuchasasserti veness,domi nance,and
mascul inity; 75,76andi nth eval uethatwomenpl aceonch aracteri sti csofworksuchas
freedom, ch allenge, l
eadersh ip, presti ge, andpower. 77Th esecondf actori sthatl eadershi p
rol esh avech anged,parti cul arl ywi thregardtoatrendtowardl essstereotypi cally
mascul inech aracteri zationsofl eadershi p. Thi rd,organi zati onalpracti cesh avech anged. A
largepartofth iscanbeattri butedtol egi slati onproh ibitinggender-baseddi scrimi nation
atwork, aswel lasch angesi norgani zati onalnormsthatputahi gherpri orityonresul ts
th anonan“ ol dboy” network. Final ly, thecul turehaschanged. Th isisevi dent, forexampl e,i
n
th esymbol icmessageof teni ntendedbyappoi ntmentofwomentoi mportantl eadershi p
posi tions, onerepresenti ngadeparturef rompastpracti cesandsi gnal ingcommi tmentto
progressi vechange.E venwi thth esef actorscontri buti ngtoth eri seofwomeni n
leadersh ipposi ti ons, h owever, thoseatthetopsti llrepresentaf ormi dabl ech allenge, as
evi denti nH ighl igh t1.8. Final ly, i
naddi tiontoth eglasscei li
ng, anoth errecentl yidenti f i
ed
chal lengef orwomeni scal l
edth egl asscl i
f f.Th egl asscl iffref erstothei ntriguingf i
nding
th atf emal ecandi datesf oranexecuti veposi ti onaremorel ikel ytobeh iredth anequal ly
qual ifiedmal ecandi dateswh enanorgani zati on’sperf ormancei sdecl ining.Atf irstthat
mayseem l ikegoodnewsf orwomen,butth epi cturei snotqui tesoposi tive.Wh enan
organi zati on’ sperf ormancei sdecl ini ng,th erei sinh erentl yani ncreasedri skoff ailure. The
increasedl ikel ihoodofwomenbei ngsel ectedi nthosesi tuati onsmayactual l
yref lecta
greaterwi l li
ngnesstoputwomeni nprecari ousposi tions. 78I tcoul dal so,ofcourse,
representani ncreasedwi llingnesstotakesomech anceswhennothi ngel seseemstobe
worki ng.I nanycase,arecentrevi ew ofthepastdecade’ sstudyofth egl asscl i
ff
conf i
rmedth ati ti sa“ robustandpervasi vephenomenonandasi gni ficantf eatureofth e
organi zati onall andscapef orwomenwh oachi evehi ghof fice. ”79Th ereI sNoSi mpl eR ecipe
forEf f ecti veL eadershi pTof illth egapsbetweenl eadersh ipresearchandpracti ce,th i
s
bookcri ti cal lyrevi ewsmaj orf i
ndi ngsaboutth enatureofl eadershi pandprovi des
practicaladvi cef ori mprovi ngl eadershi p.Asourf irststepi nthatj ourney,C hapter2
describesh owl eadersh ipdevel opsthroughexperi ence. Th eremai nderofthebookusesth e
leader–f oll ower–si tuati on i nteracti on modelas a f ramework f or organi zing and
discussingvari ousth eori esandresearchf indi ngsrel atedtol eadershi p.Inthi sstudy, i
t
wi l
lbecomecl earth atal th oughth erei snosi mpl ereci pef oref f ecti vel eadersh i
p, th ere
aremanydi f f erentpath stoef fecti veleadershi p. Asnotedprevi ousl y, itisi mportantto
understandh owth eth reedomai nsofl eadershi pi nteract—howth el eader, th efol lowers,
andth esi tuati onareal lpartofth el eadersh ipprocess. U nderstandi ngth eirinteracti onis
necessarybef oreyoucandrawval i
dconcl usi onsf romthel eadersh ipyouobservearound
you.Wh enyouseeal eader’ sbeh avior( evenwheni tmayappearobvi ousl yef fecti veor
ineffectivetoyou) , yoush oul dnotautomati cal lyconcl udesomethi nggoodorbadabout
th eleader, orwh ati sth eri gh twayorwrongwayf orl eaderstoact.Y ouneedtothi nk
aboutth eef f ectivenessofth atbeh aviori nth atcontextwi thth osef ol lowers. Asobvi ous
asth i
sadvi cesounds,weof teni gnorei t.Toof requentl ywel ookatj ustth el eader’ s
behaviorandconcl udeth ath eorsh eisagoodl eaderorabadl eaderapartf romth econtext.
Forexampl e,supposeyouobserveal eadersol ici tingadvi cef romsubordi nates. Obviousl yit
seemsunreasonabl etoconcl udeth atgoodl eadersal waysaskf oradvi ceorth atl eaders
wh odonotf requentl yaskf oradvi cearenotgoodl eaders. Theappropri atenessofseeki ng
inputf romsubordi natesdependsonmanyf actors, suchasth enatureoftheprobl emor
th esubordi nates’ f ami l
iari tywi ththeprobl em. Perh apsthesubordi natesh aveal otmore
experiencewi ththi sparti cul arprobl em, andsol ici tingth eiri nputi sth ecorrectacti onto
takei nth i
ssi tuati on.C onsi deranotherexampl e.S upposeyouh earthatal eaderdi dnot
approveasubordi nate’ srequesttotaketi meof ftoattendtof ami lymatters. Wasthi s
badl eadersh ipbecauseth el eaderdi dnotappeartobetaki ngcareofherpeopl e?Wasi t
goodl eadersh i
pbecausesh edi dnotl etpersonalmattersi nterf erewi thth emi ssi on?
Again,youcannotmakeani ntel li
gentdeci sionaboutth el eader’ sacti onsbyl ookingatth e
behaviori tsel f.Y oumustal waysassessl eadersh ipi nth econtextofthel eader,th e
followers, andth esi tuati on. Th ef ollowi ngstatementsaboutl eaders, f ollowers, andth e
situationmaketh esepoi ntsabi tmoresystemati cal ly: •Al eadermayneedtorespondto
variousf ol lowersdi f ferentl yi nth esamesi tuati on. •Al eadermayneedtorespondtoth e
samef ollowerdi f f erentl yi ndi f f
erentsi tuati ons.•F ol lowersmayrespondtovari ous
leadersqui tedi ff erentl y.•F ol lowersmayrespondtoeachoth erdi fferentl ywi th
differentl eaders. • Twol eadersmayhavedi fferentpercepti onsofthesamef ollowersor
situations. A llofth esepoi ntsl eadtooneconcl usi on: Theri ghtbeh avi ori nonesi tuati onis
notnecessari lytheri ghtbeh avi orinanoth ersi tuati on. Itdoesnotf ol low, however, that
anybeh avi ori sappropri atei nanysi tuati on. A lthoughwemaynotbeabl etoagreeonth e
onebestbeh avi ori nagi vensi tuati on, weof tencanagreeonsomecl earl yinappropri ate
behaviors. S ayi ngth atth eri gh tbeh aviorf oral eaderdependsonthesi tuati onisnotth e
sameth ingassayi ngi tdoesnotmatterwh atthel eaderdoes. Itmerel yrecogni zesth e
compl exityamongl eaders,f ol lowers,andsi tuati ons.Thi srecogni tioni sah el
pf ulf irst
stepi ndrawi ngmeani ngf ull essonsaboutl eadershi pf romexperi ence.

Summary

Thi
schapterdefi
nedleadershipastheprocessofi
nfluenci
nganorgani
zedgrouptoward
achi
evi
ngitsgoal
s.I
tal solookedattheideathatl
eadershi
pisbothascienceandanart.
Becausel eadershi pi sani mmaturesci ence, research ersaresti llstruggl i
ngtoi denti f yth e
importantquesti onsi nl eadersh i
p,andwearef arf rom f indingconcl usi veanswersto
th esequesti ons. E veni ndi vidualswi thextensi veknowl edgeofl eadersh ipresearchmaybe
poorl eaders. K nowi ngwh attodoi snotthesameasknowi ngwh en, wh ere, andhowtodoi t.
Th eartofl eadersh i
pconcernsth eski llofunderstandi ngl eadersh ipsi tuati onsand
influenci ngoth erstoaccompl ishgroupgoal s.F ormall eadershi peducati onmaygi ve
individual sth eski l l
sneededtobetterunderstandl eadershi psi tuati ons, andmentorshi ps
andexperi encemaygi vei ndi vidual stheski llsneededtobetteri nfluenceothers. Leaders
mustal sowei ghbothrati onalandemoti onalconsi derati onswhenattempti ngtoi nf luence
oth ers.L eadersh ipsometi mescanbeaccompl i
sh edthroughrel ati velyrati onal,expl icit,
rul e-basedmeth odsofassessi ngsi tuati onsanddetermi ni
ngacti ons.N everth el ess,th e
emoti onalsi deofh umannaturemustal sobeacknowl edged.L eadersareof tenmost
eff ecti vewh entheyaf f ectpeopl eatbothth eemoti onall evelandtherati onall evel . The
ideaofl eadershi pasawh ole-personprocesscanal sobeappl iedtoth edi sti nctionof ten
made between l eaders and managers.A lthough l eadersh ip and management can be
disti ngui sh edasseparatef uncti ons,th erei sconsi derabl eoverl apbetweenth em i n
practi ce. Leadersh i
pi saprocessi nwh ichl eadersandf ollowersi nteractdynami call yi na
parti cul arsi tuati onorenvi ronment. Leadershi pisabroaderconceptthanth atofl eaders,
andthestudyofl eadersh ipmusti nvolvemoreth anj ustthestudyofl eadersasi ndivi dual s.
Thestudyofl eadersh i
pmustal soi ncludetwooth erareas: thef ollowersandthesi tuati on.
I
naddi tion,thei nteracti venatureofthesethreedomai nsh asbecomei ncreasi ngly
importanti nrecentyearsandcanhel pustobetterunderstandth ech angi ngnatureof
leader–f ollowerrel ationsh ipsandthei ncreasingcompl exityofsi tuati onsl eadersand
fol lowersf ace.B ecauseofth i
scompl exity,now,moreth aneverbef ore,ef f ecti ve
leadershi pcannotbeboi l eddowntoasi mpl ereci pe.I ti ssti lltrue, however, thatgood
leadershi pmakesadi fference, andi tcanbeenhancedth roughgreaterawarenessofth e
importantf actorsi nfluenci ngth el eadersh i
pprocess.