Understanding Leadership Perspectives: Theoretical and Practical Approaches

There is no dearth of popular books on leadership, often extolling the virtues of charismatic, celebrity leaders or offering simplistic formulas for “inspiring the troops” to achieve “extraordinary results”. However, empirical research and exploration of leadership and its many elements is in much less supply. Confronted by failures of leadership in all of our major institutions—business, government, educational, cultural, medical, and spiritual—researchers, concerned citizens, and would-be leaders alike are interested in the prospects for achieving effective leadership. This book fills a gap in the literature of Leadership Studies by presenting the Leadership Perspectives Model (LPM), which observes and analyzes leadership through five distinct orientations: scientific management, excellence management, values leadership, trust cultural leadership, and spiritual leadership. Operating from the premise that “leadership” and “management” require fundamentally different sets of tools, behaviors, and approaches, the authors unpack the distinctions and provide empirical, theoretical, and practical insights to improve our understanding of leadership dynamics in a world increasingly defined by complexity, diversity, technology-based communication, and interconnectivity. Presenting a comprehensive review of the field, including a history of the most influential schools of thought, and empirical studies of leadership in the public and private sectors, the authors dispel common myths and misconceptions about leadership and provide greater clarity to its art and science.