Leadership: Perspectives in Theory and Research

Prominent trends in leadership research are reviewed. Theoretical perspectives are organized in a four-fold typology based on the dominating assumptions of the research effort: (1) the focus on a universally appropriate set of leadership traits, (2) the focus on a universally appropriate behavioral style, (3) the focus on situationally contingent leadership traits, and (4) the focus on situationally contingent behavioral styles. Potential organizational prescriptions following from each perspective are identified (e.g., selection, placement, training). It is argued that existing research has mapped only a portion of the domain of leadership phenomena due to a concentration on relatively few leadership constructs and because of the popularity of a limited set of empirical methodologies. Recent developments, promising new directions, and novel methods in leadership research are described.