Importance of Leadership and Studies on Leadership

Described as a “complex social process, rooted in the values, skills, knowledge, and ways of thinking of both leaders and followers” (Gallos, 2008, p.1), leadership, and studies on leadership represent important points in both theoretical and practical levels.

At the same time, it is important to stress that “studies of leadership differ, often greatly, in their assessment of the leader’s impact on firm performance” (Wasserman et al., 2010, p.28). Nevertheless, “leadership in management involves concern both for task performance and for people’s needs, aspirations and expectations” (Sadler, 2003, p.82)

The increasing level of importance of leadership in modern organisations can be explained by referring to highly dynamic nature of the marketplace, increasing importance of employee motivation in terms of achieving organisational objectives, and constant search for additional sources of competitive advantage (Grout and Fisher, 2011)

Furthermore, a direct link between the quality of organisational leadership and the level of employee motivation has established by Kellerman (2010). In a management project involving several organisations and using observation primary data collection method Kellerman (2010) has found positive correlation between the level of effectiveness of leadership practices within organisations and the level of employee motivation.

According to Lepard and Foster (2003), amid the increasing importance of effective leadership within organisations the task of measuring the level of efficiency of leadership practices still remains to be complex and ambiguous. Authors further claim that  “the exercise of leadership is sometimes viewed as an art that resists measurement” (Lepard and Foster, 2003, p.5).

References

Gallos, J.V. (2008) “Business Leadership: A Jossey-Bass Reader” 2^nd edition, John Wiley & Sons

Grout, J. & Fisher, L. (2011) “What You Need to Know about Leadership” John Wiley & Sons

Kellerman, B. (2010) “Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence” McGraw-Hill Professional

Lepard, D.H. & Foster, A.G. (2003) “Powerful Leadership Development: Bridging Theory and Practice Using Peers and Technology” Corwin

Sadler, P. (2003) “Leadership” Kogan Page

Wasserman, N., Anand, B. & Nohria, N. (2010) “When Does Leadership Matter? A Contingent Opportunities View of CEO Leadership” in Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: A Harvard Business School Centennial Colloquium, editors Nohria, N. & Khurana, R.