Definitions and Conceptions of Leadership

Leadership is a universal phenomenon that has preoccupied scholars, politicians and others for centuries. Zagoršek observed: “. . . the simultaneous appearance of social institutions such as government, organized religion, and a significant role for individual leaders argues that there may well be something about people in complex organizations that provides a social value in having ‘leaders’—they arise to fulfill a basic social function.” In the management context leadership has been consistently identified as playing a critical role in the success or failure of organizations and some surveys have pegged up to 45% of an organization’s performance on the quality and effectiveness of its leadership team. Apart from organizational performance, researchers have consistently found a strong correlation between leadership styles and behaviors and the job satisfaction and performance of subordinates. In this chapter we explore the wide range of definitions and concepts of leadership that have been proposed by researchers as they study this key element of organizational success