31. Leadership Research

Theories and models

• Leadership theories attempt to explain the factors involved in the nature of leadership and its consequences

• Models show the interplay among the variables that are conceived to be involved (they are replicas or reconstructions of realities)

Leadership research objectives

• Develop credible theories

• Select and/or predict effective leaders

• Understand causal relationships in leadership situations

Leadership research methods

• Case studies

• Correlation studies

• Experiments

Ways to gather information

• Study critical incidents

• Interviews

• Observations

• Written questionnaires

• Assessment centers

Measuring leadership results

• Individual performance

  • Satisfaction, motivation, or morale
  • Measurable output (sales, etc.)

• Unit performance

  • Same categories as individual performance
    

Examples of broad (or universal) studies that examine two styles of leader behavior: democratic and autocratic

• Iowa studies (1939), Ohio State studies, and the Michigan studies

Current issues and controversies

• Is leadership important?

• Is leadership merely an attributional phenomenon?

• What methods should be used for studying leadership?

Comment: While there are significant problems in the development of credible universal theories, there is a vast amount of useful research that can be applied selectively.

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