Leadership studies
Encyclopedia
Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

 in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences (e.g., sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

), in humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

 (e.g., history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

), as well as in professional and applied fields of study (e.g., management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

). The field of leadership studies is closely linked to the field of organizational studies
Organizational studies
Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...

.

As an academic area of inquiry, the study of leadership has been of interest to scholars from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds. Today, there are numerous academic programs (spanning several academic colleges and departments) related to the study of leadership. Leadership degree programs generally relate to: aspects of Leadership, Leadership Studies, and Organizational Leadership (although there are a number of leadership-oriented concentrations in other academic areas).

Leadership in Higher Education

Leadership has become one of the fastest growing academic fields in higher education At all levels, undergraduate through doctoral, an increasing number of colleges and universities have begun developing not only individual courses, but entire degree programs specifically devoted to the study of leadership.

Even among some of the more established and traditional academic disciplines such as engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, specialization and concentration areas have been developed around the study of leadership. Most of these academic programs have been designed to be multidisciplinary in nature—drawing upon theories and applications from related fields such as sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, and management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

. Such an approach, Rost (1991) has argued “allows scholars and practitioners to think radically new thoughts about leadership that are not possible from a unidisciplinary approach” (p. 2).

History of Leadership as a Field of Study

The study of leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

 can be dated back to Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

, Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu
Sun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...

 and Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...

; however, leadership has only become the focus of contemporary academic studies in the last 60 years, and particularly more so in the last two decades. Contemporary leadership scholars and researchers have often been questioned about the nature of their work, and its place within the academy, but much of the confusion surrounding leadership as a field of study may be attributed to a lack of understanding regarding transdisciplinary
Transdisciplinary studies
Transdisciplinary Studies are an area of research and education that addresses contemporary issues that cannot be solved by one or even a few points-of-view...

, inter-, and multi- disciplinary academic fields of study in general.

The discipline (which encompasses a host of sub-fields) is filled with definitions, theories, styles, functions, competencies, and historical examples of successful and diverse leaders. Collectively, the research findings on leadership provide a far more sophisticated and complex view of the phenomenon than most of the simplistic views presented in the popular press.

Some of the earliest studies on leadership include:
  • The Ohio State Leadership Studies which began in the 1940s and focused on how leaders could satisfy common group needs. The findings indicated that the two most important dimensions in leadership included: "initiating structure," and "consideration." These characteristics could be either high or low and were independent of one another. The research was based on questionnaires to leaders and subordinates. These questionnaires are known as the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) and the Supervisor Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ). By 1962, the LBDQ was on version XII.

  • The Michigan Leadership Studies which began in the 1950s and indicated that leaders could be classified as either "employee centered," or "job centered." These studies identified three critical characteristics of effective leaders: task oriented behavior, relationship-oriented behavior, and participative leadership.

  • McGregors Theory X & Theory Y
    Theory X and theory Y
    Theory X and Theory Y are theories of human motivation created and developed by Douglas McGregor at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the 1960s that have been used in human resource management, organizational behavior, organizational communication and organizational development...

     developed by Douglas McGregor
    Douglas McGregor
    Douglas Murray McGregor was a Management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and president of Antioch College from 1948 to 1954. He also taught at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. His 1960 book The Human Side of Enterprise had a profound influence on education practices...

     in the 1960s at MIT Sloan School of Management
    MIT Sloan School of Management
    The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....

    . These theories described employee motivation in the workforce. Both theories begin with the premise that the role of management is to assemble the factors of production, including people, for the economic benefit of the firm. Beyond this point, the two theories of management diverge.

  • Blake & McCanse Leadership Grid developed the orientation of "task orientation" and "people orientation" in leader behavior. They developed the leadership grid which focused on concern for results (on the one axis) and concern for people (on the other axis).


In addition to these studies, leadership has been examined from an academic perspective through several theoretical lenses
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

:
  • Trait & Behavioral theories of Leadership: Attempt to describe the types of behavior and personality tendencies associated with effective leadership.

  • Situational & Contingency theories of Leadership: Incorporate environmental and situational considerations into leader behavior.

  • Functional Leadership theory: Suggests that a leader’s primary responsibility is to see that whatever is necessary in relation to group needs is taken care of.

  • Information-Processing
    Information processing
    Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens in the universe, from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system...

     Leadership theory: Focuses on the role of social perception in identifying leadership abilities.

  • Self Leadership theory: Although behaviorally oriented, the essence of self leadership theory is that behaviors are directed toward the attainment of super-ordinate goals.

  • Transactional & Transformational theories of Leadership: The transactional leader focuses on managerial reward and contingent valuation. The transformational leader focuses on motivation and goal attainment.


The first doctoral program in Leadership Studies was established at the University of San Diego
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...

 in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences in 1979. The first undergraduate school of Leadership Studies was established at the University of Richmond
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...

 (The Jepson School) in 1992. The Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond studies leadership as a process that can be taught.
The growth of transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience....

 means that this field has relevance to Transpersonal business studies
Transpersonal business studies
Since the foundation of transpersonal psychology by Abraham Maslow in the late 1960s, other transpersonal disciplines, considered by Boucouvalas , have been considered...

.

Notable Leadership Scholars

  • Bruce Avolio: Was Clifton Chair in Leadership at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Director of the Gallup Leadership Institute, and a Senior Research Scientist at the Gallup Organization. Currently the Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking at the University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business, Marion B. Ingersoll Professor, and Professor of Management at the University of Washington.
  • Bernard Bass: Was a distinguished professor emeritus in the School of Management at Binghamton University (State University of New York) and a member of the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College
    Eckerd College
    Eckerd College is a private 4-year coeducational liberal arts college at the southernmost tip of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.- Campus :...

     in Florida. He was also the founding director of the Center for Leadership Studies at Binghamton and founding editor of The Leadership Quarterly journal.
  • Warren Bennis
    Warren Bennis
    Warren Gamaliel Bennis is an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies....

    :
    American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership Studies. Bennis is University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California
    University of Southern California
    The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

    .
  • Jean Lipman-Blumen: Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management Claremont Graduate University
    Claremont Graduate University
    Claremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...

    . In addition to her professorial roles at Claremont Graduate University, Professor Lipman-Blumen is co-founding director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Leadership at the Drucker Ito Graduate School of Management. She also is Director of the Achieving Styles Institute, a Pasadena-based leadership and management consulting group.
  • Stephen R. Covey
    Stephen Covey
    Stephen Richards Covey is the author of the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Other books he has written include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. In 2004, Covey released The 8th Habit...

    :
    An international respected leadership authority, author of Principle Centered Leadership, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and The 8th Habit. Founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey Company.
  • James McGregor Burns
    James MacGregor Burns
    James MacGregor Burns is an historian and political scientist, presidential biographer, and authority on leadership studies. He is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the of the School of Public Policy at the University...

    :
    Presidential biographer, authority on leadership studies, Woodrow Wilson Professor (emeritus) of Political Science at Williams College
    Williams College
    Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

    , and scholar at the James McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park
    University of Maryland
    When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...

    . He received a Pulitzer Prize
    Pulitzer Prize
    The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

     and National Book Award
    National Book Award
    The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...

     in 1971 for his Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945.
  • Peter Drucker
    Peter Drucker
    Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an influential writer, management consultant, and self-described “social ecologist.”-Introduction:...

    :
    Writer, management consultant, and self-described “social ecologist.” Widely considered to be the father of “modern management,” his 39 books and countless scholarly and popular articles explored how humans are organized across all sectors of society—in business, government and the nonprofit world.
  • Alice Eagly: Social psychologist
    Social psychology
    Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...

     who has published widely on the psychology of attitudes, especially attitude change and attitude structure. She is equally devoted to the study of gender
    Gender
    Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

     and social behavior
    Social behavior
    In physics, physiology and sociology, social behavior is behavior directed towards society, or taking place between, members of the same species. Behavior such as predation which involves members of different species is not social...

    .
  • Ronald Heifitz: Co-founder of the Center for Public Leadership
    Center for Public Leadership
    The Center for Public Leadership is an American learning institution that provides teaching, research and training in the practical skills of leadership for people in government, nonprofits, and business. It was established in 2000, through a gift from the Wexner Foundation, at Harvard Kennedy...

     and King Hussein bin Talal Lecturer in Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government
    Kennedy School
    The Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...

    .
  • Paul Hersey
    Paul Hersey
    Paul Hersey is a behavioral scientist and entrepreneur. He is best known for conceiving Situational Leadership. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard published Management of Organization Behavior- now in its ninth edition....

    :
    Behavioral scientist and entrepreneur. He is best known for developing Situational Leadership
    Situational leadership theory
    The Hersey–Blanchard situational leadership theory, is a leadership theory conceived by Paul Hersey, a professor who wrote a well known book Situational Leader and Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager, while working on the first edition of Management of Organizational Behavior...

     with Ken Blanchard
    Ken Blanchard
    Kenneth Hartley Blanchard is an American author and management expert. His book The One Minute Manager has sold over 13 million copies and has been translated into 37 languages...

    , which is enunciated in their work Management of Organization Behavior, now in its ninth edition.
  • Robert J. House: Principal Investigator of the Global Leadership And Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program (GLOBE) from 1993 through 2003. He was appointed the Joseph Frank Bernstein Professor Endowed Chair of Organization Studies at the Wharton School
    Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
    The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...

     of the University of Pennsylvania
    University of Pennsylvania
    The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

     in 1988. He has published 130 journal articles. In total, his articles have been reprinted in approximately 50 anthologies of readings in Management
    Management
    Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

     and Organizational Behavior
    Organizational studies
    Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...

  • John P. Kotter
    John Kotter
    John Paul Kotter is a professor at the Harvard Business School and author, who is regarded as an authority on leadership and change. He outlines eight steps that organizations need to implement to successfully change:1...

    :
    the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. His focus is on leadership as it applies to organizational change
  • Jim Kouzes: Co-author with Barry Posner of the award-winning and best selling book, The Leadership Challenge, with over one million copies sold.
  • Craig L. Pearce: University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Formerly Professor of Management at the Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University. He is currently the holder of the Clifton Chair in Leadership at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Director of the Institute for Innovative Leadership and the author of Shared Leadership: Reframing the Hows and Whys of Leadership (2003) with Jay A. Conger. His empirical work in the area of Shared Leadership has become the foundation to a new meta theory about how sharing leadership can affect organizational and team outcomes and performance.
  • Glenn D. Paige
    Glenn D. Paige
    Glenn Durland Paige is an American political scientist. He is a Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Hawai‘i and Chair of the Governing Council of the Center for Global Nonkilling...

    :
    Professor Emeritus
    Emeritus
    Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

     of political science
    Political science
    Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

     at the University of Hawai‘i and Chair of the Governing Council of the Center for Global Nonkilling
    Center for Global Nonkilling
    The Center for Global Nonkilling, originally known as the Center for Global Nonviolence, is an international non-profit organization focused on the promotion of change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world. The Center for Global Nonkilling is a member of the World Health...

    . Author of The Scientific Study of Political Leadership (New York: The Free Press, 1977).http://books.google.com/books?id=3iDvAAAAIAAJ&hl=en-EN&pgis=1.
  • Barry Posner: Dean of the Leavey School of Business
    Leavey School of Business
    The SCU Leavey School of Business is a private academic institution at Santa Clara University. It is one of the professional schools of Santa Clara University. The School of Business was founded in 1923 and accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business thirty years later...

     as well as a Professor of Leadership at Santa Clara University
    Santa Clara University
    Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

    .
  • George Reed: Faculty member in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego
    University of San Diego
    The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...

    . Before joining the faculty in 2007 he served for 27 years as a military police officer
    Military police
    Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...

     including six as the Director of Command and Leadership Studies at the U.S. Army War College. Recipient of the American Society for Public Administration Marshall Dimock Award for the best lead article in Public Administration Review, 2007.
  • Ronald Riggio: The Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology
    Industrial and organizational psychology
    Industrial and organizational psychology is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. Industrial and organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance and well-being of its people...

     and Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College
    Claremont McKenna College
    Claremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...

    .
  • Joseph Rost: Was professor emeritus of leadership studies in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego
    University of San Diego
    The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...

    . Author of Leadership for the 21st Century.
  • Georgia Sorenson: Georgia Sorenson, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of leadership studies, founded the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland
    University of Maryland
    When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...

     in 1980. It was the first academic institution to focus on leadership scholarship and education for emergent leaders, women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups.
  • Ralph Stogdill: With the publication of his first article on leadership, "Personal Factors Associated with Leadership: A Survey of the Literature," Ralph Stogdill became a leader in leadership research. This influential and much reprinted 1948 paper marked a turning point in Ralph's career, but more importantly it marked a turning point in the study of leadership.
  • Victor Vroom
    Victor Vroom
    Victor H. Vroom is a business school professor at the Yale School of Management, who was born on 9 August 1932 in Montreal, Canada. He holds a PhD from University of Michigan....

    :
    Business school professor at the Yale School of Management
    Yale School of Management
    The Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University and is located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The School offers Master of Business Administration and Ph.D. degree programs. As of January 2011, 454 students were enrolled in its MBA...

    . Vroom's primary research was on the expectancy theory of motivation
    Expectancy theory
    Expectancy Theory proposes that a person will decide to behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be. In essence, the motivation of the behavior selection is...

    , which attempts to explain why individuals choose to follow certain courses of action in organizations, particularly in decision-making and leadership. His most well-known books are Work and Motivation, Leadership and Decision Making, and The New Leadership. Vroom has also been a consultant to a number of corporations such as GE
    General Electric
    General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

     and American Express
    American Express
    American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...

    .
  • Margaret Wheatley: Writer and management consultant who studies organizational behavior
    Organizational studies
    Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...

    . Her approach includes systems thinking
    Systems thinking
    Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...

    , theories of change, chaos theory
    Chaos theory
    Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...

    , leadership
    Leadership
    Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

     and the learning organization
    Learning organization
    A learning organization is the term given to a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. Learning organizations develop as a result of the pressures facing modern organizations and enables them to remain competitive in the business environment...

    : particularly its capacity to self-organize.
  • Gary Yukl: Professor of the University of Albany, is leading writer on organizational leadership.

Academic Journals

  • The International Journal of Leadership Studies: Representing the multidisciplinary field of leadership, the IJLS publishes theoretically grounded research that enhances knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon of leadership at all levels within a variety of industries and organizations and seeks contributions that present leadership from different perspectives unique to different cultures, settings, and religions around the world.
  • The International Journal of Servant Leadership: The International Journal of Servant-Leadership is published by Gonzaga University in collaboration with the Larry Spears Center for Servant-leadership.
  • The Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies: The Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies is the Official Journal of the Midwest Academy of Management. The Journal publishes articles to advance the theory, research and practice of all aspects of leadership and organizations. Research results are preferred, but theoretical contributions and new applications are also appropriate. Although leadership topics are emphasized, any area of interest in organizational behavior, human resource management, strategy, international management, or entrepreneurship is also encouraged.
  • Journal of Leadership Studies: The mission of the Journal of Leadership Studies is to publish leadership research and theoretical contributions that bridge the gap between scholarship and practice and that exemplify critical inquiry into contemporary organizational issues and paradigms. The journal promotes interdisciplinary and interorganizational theory, fostering dialogue that transcends industry specific contexts and that explores leadership's role in improving organizational practices and human life. Published material in the journal will include research-based and theoretical papers that explicitly address leadership on various social, cultural, and organizational contexts.
  • Leadership: Leadership is an international, peer-reviewed journal designed to provide an ongoing forum for academic researchers to exchange information, insights and knowledge based on both theoretical development and empirical research on leadership. It will publish original, high quality articles that contribute to the advancement of the study of leadership. The journal will be global in orientation and focus.
  • The Leadership Quarterly: Is an international journal of political, social and behavioral science published in affiliation with the International Leadership Association (ILA).
  • Leadership and Organization Development Journal: The Leadership & Organization Development Journal explores behavioral and managerial issues relating to all aspects of leadership, and of individual and organization development, from a global perspective.
  • Journal of Leadership Education: An international, refereed journal that serves scholars and professional practitioners engaged in leadership education.

Associations and Organizations


Research Centers


Educational Materials


Research Methods in the Study of Leadership

Leadership has been studied using quantitative, qualitative
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such...

, and mixed methods (a combination of quantitative and qualitative) research methodologies. From a quantitative psychology
Quantitative psychology
Research in quantitative psychology develops psychological theory in relation to mathematics and statistics. Psychological research requires the elaboration of existing methods and the development of new concepts, so that quantitative psychology requires more than "applications" of statistics and...

 orientation, statistical and mathematical modeling has been used in the development of leadership scales and in testing established leader evaluation tools. Survey methodology
Survey research
Survey research a research method involving the use of questionnaires and/or statistical surveys to gather data about people and their thoughts and behaviours. This method was pioneered in the 1930s and 1940s by sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld. The initial use of the method was to examine the effects...

 has also been widely used in leadership research. As such, traditional methods of analysis in survey research have also extended to the analysis of survey research within the study of leadership (e.g., cross-tabulations
Cross tabulation
Cross tabulation is the process of creating a contingency table from the multivariate frequency distribution of statistical variables. Heavily used in survey research, cross tabulations can be produced by a range of statistical packages, including some that are specialised for the task. Survey...

, ANOVAs
Analysis of variance
In statistics, analysis of variance is a collection of statistical models, and their associated procedures, in which the observed variance in a particular variable is partitioned into components attributable to different sources of variation...

, regression analysis
Regression analysis
In statistics, regression analysis includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables...

, log-linear analysis, factor analysis
Factor analysis
Factor analysis is a statistical method used to describe variability among observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved, uncorrelated variables called factors. In other words, it is possible, for example, that variations in three or four observed variables...

, etc.). From a qualitative orientation, leadership research has included a host of research techniques: phenomenology
Phenomenology (science)
The term phenomenology in science is used to describe a body of knowledge that relates empirical observations of phenomena to each other, in a way that is consistent with fundamental theory, but is not directly derived from theory. For example, we find the following definition in the Concise...

, ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...

, grounded theory
Grounded theory
Grounded theory is a systematic methodology in the social sciences involving the generation of theory from data. It is mainly used in qualitative research, but is also applicable to quantitative data....

, interviews
Interviews
Interviews is:# the plural form of "interview"# a compilation album by Bob Marley & the Wailers, see Interviews # a C++ toolkit for the X Window System, see InterViews...

, case studies, historiography, etc.

Online Searchable Directory of Leadership Education Programs

The International Leadership Association received a grant from the C. Charles Jackson Foundation to create an online searchable directory of leadership education programs. This resource launched in beta version in June 2010.

Academic programs

The following is a list of doctoral, masters, and undergraduate degree programs related to the study of leadership. With some notable exceptions (particularly in regard to the list of doctoral programs), this list does not include programs related to specific sub-areas of leadership (e.g., educational leadership, health care leadership, environmental leadership). The programs listed primarily focus on leadership, leadership studies, and organizational leadership.

Given that the study of leadership is interdisciplinary, leadership-related degree programs are often situated within various colleges, schools, and departments across different university campuses (e.g., Schools of Education at some universities, Business Schools at other universities, and Graduate and Professional Schools at still other universities). As such, at the doctoral level leadership related degree programs primarily include: Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

, Ed.D.
Doctor of Education
The Doctor of Education or Doctor in Education degree , in Latin, Doctor Educationis, is a research-oriented professional doctorate that prepares the student for academic, administrative, clinical, or research positions in educational, civil, and private organizations.-Differences between an Ed.D...

, and executive doctoral degrees (depending on the situation of the program within the university). At the masters level leadership related degree programs primarily include: Master of Science, Master of Arts, and executive Masters degrees. At the undergraduate level leadership related degree programs primarily include: Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees as well as leadership certificate and minor programs.

Doctoral Programs Related to the Study of Leadership




Masters Programs Related to the Study of Leadership




Undergraduate Programs Related to the Study of Leadership




Further reading

  • Scharmer, C. O. (2009). Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges. Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • Young, M. (2009). 3 Handbook of Research on Leadership Education. Routledge
  • Bennis, W. (2009). On Becoming a Leader. Basic Books
  • Bass, B, & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications. Free Press
  • Northouse, P. (2006). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications
  • Parks, S. D. (2005). Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World. Harvard Business School
  • Cooperrider, D., & Whitney, D. (2005). Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change. Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • Lindebaum D, Cartwright S (2010) A critical examination of the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership.Journal of Management Studies vol 47 issue 7 pp 1317–1342
  • Lindebaum D, Fielden S (2011) “It’s good to be angry”: Enacting anger in construction project management to achieve perceived leader effectiveness. Human Relations vol 64 issue 3 pp 437–458
  • Burns, J. M. (2004). Transforming Leadership. Grove Press
  • Goethals, G. R., Sorenson, G., & Burns, J. M. (2004). Encyclopedia of Leadership (4 vol. set). Sage Publications
  • Schein, E. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey Bass
  • Hiebert, M., & Klatt, B. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Leadership: A Practical Guide to Popular Leadership Theories and Techniques. McGraw Hill
  • Center for Creative Leadership (1998). The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development. Jossey Bass
  • Heifitz, R. (1998). Leadership Without Easy Answers. Harvard University Press
  • Rost, J. (1993). Leadership for the Twenty-First Century. Praeger
  • Bass, B. (1990). Bass & Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership. Free Press
  • Burns, J. M. (1982). Leadership. Harper Perennial Modern Classics
  • Greenleaf, R. (1977). Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature Of Legitimate Power and Greatness. Paulist Press
  • Paige, G. D. (1977). The Scientific Study of Political Leadership. The Free Press
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