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What is

Leadership?

Leadership South West


Research Report 1

Richard Bolden
July 2004
Contents Leadership South West
3 Based at the University of Exeters
Introduction
Centre for Leadership Studies and
Defining Leadership 4 supported by the South West Regional
Development Agency, Leadership South
Leadership and Management 6
West is a major regional initiative to
Theories of Leadership 9 improve the uptake and provision of
leadership development in the Southwest
Leadership Competencies 15
of England.
Leadership and Performance 19
By working with key partners, agencies
The Shadow Side of Leadership 25 and businesses in the Region we aim to
enhance awareness of the value of
The Future of Leadership 28
leadership development and to improve
Further Reading and Resources 31 the availability, relevance and
effectiveness of all forms of support,
References 32
education and policy.
Appendix 1: Portfolio of Activities 36
A summary of our main activities is
given in Appendix 1. For further
information please visit our website.
Acknowledgements
The current report was written by Leadership South West
Richard Bolden on behalf of Leadership XFI Building
South West. I would like to thank my University of Exeter
colleagues Jackie Bagnall, Peter Case, Rennes Drive
Elaine Dunn, Jonathan Gosling and Exeter EX4 4ST
Martin Wood for their valuable input and United Kingdom
comments. I would also like to thank Tel: 01392 262578
the South West Regional Development Fax: 01392 262559
Agency for their support of this project. Email: lsw@exeter.ac.uk
www.leadershipsouthwest.com

Copyright 2004
Leadership South West This report is available electronically on
All rights reserved. our website.

2 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
Introduction
Welcome to the first in a series of seems, is increasingly becoming the
research reports from Leadership South panacea of the 21st Century.
West, which gives an introduction to
Amidst this flurry of activity, however, a
some of the key issues in the field of
number of concerns arise. There is no
leadership, including what is it, how can
widely accepted definition of leadership,
it be measured and what impact does it
no common consensus on how best to
have upon performance? This report
develop leadership and leaders, and
does not claim to be the definitive guide
remarkably little evidence of the impact
to all things leadership, but rather to
of leadership or leadership development
present some of the most significant
on performance and productivity.
concepts and debates to have emerged
Indeed, most initiatives appear to
in recent years.
actively avoid addressing these issues
Leadership is currently one of the most and simply opt for the feel good factor of
talked about issues in business and doing something about it whatever it
organisation. It is hard to turn on the may be!
television, open a newspaper or attend a
Whilst action is frequently preferable to
conference without coming across
inaction, without at least some
numerous references to leaders,
understanding of the underlying
leadership and leading. A search of the
principles and assumptions about
Amazon.com website in Spring 2003
leadership and leadership development,
revealed 11,686 results for the word
it is likely that action may be misguided
leadership alone and similar searches of
at least reducing its possible
the Ebsco business and management
effectiveness and at worst damaging
publications database reveal an
what was there in the first place. The
exponential increase in the number of
intention of this report, therefore, is to
published articles on leadership, from
challenge some of the more popularist
136 in 1970-71, to 258 in 1980-81,
and stereotypical notions of leadership
1,105 in 1990-91, and a staggering
and to offer some insights into
10,062 in 2001-02 (an average of 419
alternative ways of conceiving and
articles per month) (Storey, 2004).
addressing the issue.
The recent focus on leadership is an
Leadership South West will continue to
international phenomenon, as is
produce these research reports on a
increased investment in leadership and
regular basis, with each addressing a
management development. In the US,
different theme of regional, national and
for example, Fulmer (1997) estimated an
international importance. The second
annual corporate expenditure of $45
report, due in early 2005, will explore
billion in 1997 (up from $10 billion one
the issue of leadership development,
decade before) and Sorenson (2002)
comparing and contrasting a wide range
identified 900 college or university
of different approaches and offering
leadership programmes (double that of
guidance as how best to structure and
four years earlier), over 100 specialist
deliver leadership development within a
degrees and a wide range of related
given context.
activities.
In addition to this, we will also be
Similar trends are occurring in the UK
conducting our own research and
and Europe. Leadership is regarded as
supporting regional organisations with
the key enabler in the European
their research to encourage a more
Foundation for Quality Management
focussed and critical perspective within
(EFQM) Business Excellence Model
the South West. Should you be
(EFQM, 2000) and has become a central
interested in exploring opportunities for
focus for numerous other public, private
collaboration, sharing research findings
and voluntary sector development
and/or networking with other leadership
initiatives. Recent years have seen
researchers in the Region please do not
centres of excellence in leadership
hesitate to contact us.
established for nearly all parts of the
public sector, including health, defence, We hope you find this report interesting,
education and police. Leadership, it useful and inspiring!

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 3
Defining Leadership
The topic of leadership has been of Leadership appears to be, like power,
interest for many hundreds of years, an essentially contested concept
from the early Greek philosophers such (Gallie, 1955 cited in Grint, 2004, p1)
as Plato and Socrates to the plethora of
Grint (2004) identifies four problems
management and leadership gurus,
that make consensus on a common
whose books fill airport bookshops.
definition of leadership highly unlikely.
Seldom, however, has the need for
Firstly, there is the process problem a
effective leadership been voiced more
lack of agreement on whether leadership
strongly than now. It is argued that in
is derived from the personal qualities
this changing, global environment,
(i.e. traits) of the leader, or whether a
leadership holds the answer not only to
leader induces followership through what
the success of individuals and
s/he does (i.e. a social process).
organisations, but also to sectors,
Secondly, there is the position problem
regions and nations.
is the leader in charge (i.e. with
"Our productivity as a nation is formally allocated authority) or in front
already lagging behind our (i.e. with informal influence)? A third
competitors in North America and problem is one of philosophy does the
Europe. By tackling our management leader exert an intentional, causal
and leadership deficit with real vigour, influence on the behaviour of followers
we will unlock the doors to increased or are their apparent actions determined
productivity, maximise the benefits of by context and situation or even
innovation, gain advantage from attributed retrospectively? A fourth
technological change and create the difficulty is one of purity is leadership
conditions for a radical transformation embodied in individuals or groups and is
of public services. (DfES, 2002) it a purely human phenomenon?
Despite recognition of the importance of In addition to these relatively theoretical
leadership, however, there remains a contentions Grint also distinguishes
certain mystery as to what leadership between attitudes towards coercion.
actually is or how to define it. In a Some definitions of leadership restrict it
review of leadership research, Stogdill to purely non-coercive influence towards
(1974, p.259) concluded that there are shared (and socially acceptable)
almost as many definitions of leadership objectives. Within such frameworks the
as there are persons who have likes of Hitler, Stalin and Saddam
attempted to define the concept - and Hussein would not be seen as leaders,
that was 30 years ago! but rather as tyrants working solely for
their own benefit and depending on
At the heart of the problem of defining
threat, violence and intimidation rather
leadership lie two fundamental
than the more subtle processes of
difficulties. Firstly, like notions such as
interpersonal influence more frequently
love, freedom and happiness,
associated with true leadership. Such
leadership is a complex construct open
distinctions, however, are always
to subjective interpretation. Everyone
problematic as the actions of nearly all
has their own intuitive understanding of
leaders could be perceived more or less
what leadership is, based on a mixture of
beneficially by certain individuals and
experience and learning, which is difficult
groups.
to capture in a succinct definition.
Secondly, the way in which leadership is Scholars should remind us that
defined and understood is strongly leadership is not a moral concept.
influenced by ones theoretical stance. Leaders are like the rest of us:
There are those who view leadership as trustworthy and deceitful, cowardly
the consequence of a set of traits or and brave, greedy and generous. To
characteristics possessed by leaders, assume that all leaders are good
whilst others view leadership as a social people is to be wilfully blind to the
process that emerges from group reality of the human condition, and it
relationships. Such divergent views will severely limits our scope for becoming
always result in a difference of opinion more effective at leadership.
about the nature of leadership. (Kellerman, 2004, p45)

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 4
The psychodynamic approach, made not through coercion, but through
famous by researchers at the Tavistock personal motivation. Which definition
Institute, adds further areas for you accept should be a matter of choice,
consideration: what are the informed by your own predispositions,
psychological factors that encourage organisational situation and beliefs, but
people to become leaders or followers, with an awareness of the underlying
and what is it about groups, assumptions and implications of your
organisations and societies that gives particular approach.
rise the perception of leadership? This
...leadership is like the Abominable
approach emphasises the importance of
Snowman, whose footprints are
understanding self and others and,
everywhere but who is nowhere to be
through this, understanding the
seen. (Bennis and Nanus, 1985)
transactional nature of the relationship
between leader and followers (Stech,
2004). Thus, for example, it could be
concluded that the leader fulfils a role of
sense making, offering security and
purpose to his/her followers and it is for
this reason that they choose to remain
followers.
In a recent review of leadership theory,
Northouse (2004) identified four
common themes in the way leadership
now tends to be conceived: (1)
leadership is a process; (2) leadership
involves influence; (3) leadership occurs
in a group context; and (4) leadership
involves goal attainment. He thus
defines leadership as a process whereby
an individual influences a group of
individuals to achieve a common goal
(ibid, p 3).
This is a good definition, but it still
locates the individual as the source of
leadership. A more collective concept of
leadership arises out of a review by Yukl:
Most definitions of leadership reflect the
assumption that it involves a social
influence process whereby intentional
influence is exerted by one person [or
group] over other people [or groups] to
structure the activities and relationships
in a group or organisation (Yukl, 2002,
p3). Even this definition, however,
obscures as much as it reveals. Just
what exactly is the nature of this social
influence; how can it structure
activities and relationships; and when
applied in a group setting who is the
leader?
In short, leadership is a complex
phenomenon that touches on many
other important organisational, social
and personal processes. It depends on a
process of influence, whereby people are
inspired to work towards group goals,

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Leadership and Management
It has become fashionable over recent leadership necessarily better than
years to distinguish leadership from management or a replacement for it:
management however increasing rather, leadership and management
evidence indicates that this distinction are two distinctive and
may be misleading. complementary activities. Both are
necessary for success in an
Zalenznik (1977) began the trend of
increasingly complex and volatile
contrasting leadership and management
business environment. (Kotter, 1990,
by presenting an image of the leader as
p103)
an artist, who uses creativity and
intuition to navigate his/her way through Figure 1: Leadership and Management
chaos, whilst the manager is seen as a (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004, p 718 -
problem solver dependent on rationality based on Kotter, 1990)
and control. Since then the leadership
literature has been littered with bold Leadership Management
statements contrasting the two. Bennis functions functions
and Nanus (1985, p21), for example,
Creating Establishing Plans and
suggest that managers do things right an agenda direction: budgets:
whilst leaders do the right thing and Vision of the Decide action
Bryman (1986, p6) argues that the future, develop plans and
leader is the catalyst focussed on strategies for timetables,
strategy whilst the manager is the change to allocate
operator/technician concerned with the achieve goals resources
here-and-now of operational goal
Developing Aligning Organizing
attainment.
people people: and staffing:
Central to most of these distinctions is Communicate Decide
an orientation towards change. This vision and structure and
concept is well represented in the work strategy, allocate staff,
of John Kotter (1990) who concluded influence develop
that management is about coping with creation of policies,
complexity whilst leadership, by teams which procedures
contrast, is about coping with change accept validity and monitoring
(ibid, p104). He proposed that good of goals
management brings about a degree of Execution Motivating and Controlling,
order and consistency to organisational inspiring: problem
processes and goals, whilst leadership is Energize solving:
required for dynamic change (see Figure people to Monitor results
1 for a summary of his ideas). overcome against plan
obstacles, and take
The distinction of leadership from satisfy human corrective
management as represented by Kotter needs action
and his contemporaries clearly
encourages a shift in emphasis from the Outcomes Produces Produces
positive and order,
relatively inflexible, bureaucratic
sometimes consistency
processes typified as management to
dramatic and
the more dynamic and strategic change predictability
processes classed as leadership, yet
even he concludes that both are equally Despite the popular appeal of a
necessary for the effective running of an distinction between leadership and
organisation: management, however, there is some
doubt as to whether they are really quite
Leadership is different from
as separate as this in practice. Firstly
management, but not for the reason
there is increasing resistance to the way
most people think. Leadership isn't
in which such analyses tend to denigrate
mystical and mysterious. It has
management as something rather boring
nothing to do with having charisma or
and uninspiring. Joseph Rost (1991), for
other exotic personality traits. It's not
example, highlights the need for
the province of a chosen few. Nor is
consistency and predictability in many

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 6
aspects of management and leadership ability to inspire others, whilst managers
behaviour and concludes that down with are seen as bureaucrats who just focus
management and up with leadership is a on the task in hand. Such a view,
bad idea. Gosling and Murphy (2004) however, does not coincide well with the
similarly propose that maintaining a lived experience of being a manager.
sense of continuity during times of People are generally recruited into
change is key to successful leadership. management, rather than leadership,
Thus the leader must ensure that positions and are expected to complete a
systems and structures remain in place multitude of tasks ranging from day-to-
that offer workers a sense of security day planning and implementation, to
and balance, without which it would be longer-term strategic thinking. None of
hard to maintain levels of motivation, these are done in isolation, and
commitment, trust and psychological throughout, it is essential to work
wellbeing. alongside other people to motivate and
inspire them, but also to know when to
Secondly, much research evidence
relinquish the lead and take a back seat.
implies that, far from being separate, the
practices described as management and Most of us have become so
leadership are an integral part of the enamoured of leadership that
same job. From detailed observations of management has been pushed into
what managers do, Mintzberg (1973, the background. Nobody aspires to
1975) identified 10 key roles, of which being a good manager anymore;
one was leadership (see Figure 2). He everybody wants to be a great leader.
concluded that far from being separate But the separation of management
and distinct from management, from leadership is dangerous. Just as
leadership is just one dimension of a management without leadership
multifaceted management role. encourages an uninspired style, which
deadens activities, leadership without
Figure 2: The Managers Roles management encourages a
(Mintzberg, 1975) disconnected style, which promotes
hubris. And we all know the
destructive power of hubris in
organisations. (Gosling and
Mintzberg, 2003).
In conclusion, whilst the distinction
between management and leadership
may have been useful in drawing
attention to the strategic and
motivational qualities required during
periods of change, the bipolar
representation of managers and leaders
as completely different people can be
misleading and potentially harmful in
practice. Indeed, if it is believed that
leaders and managers are different
people, one might well conclude that (a)
it is necessary to change the
management team regularly as
Much of the difficulty and confusion that circumstances change, and (b) it is not
arises from contrasting leadership and possible for managers to become leaders
management is the manner in which (and vice versa). Such a view is
they are often mapped to different severely limiting and greatly
individuals. Thus, we talk of managers underestimates the abilities of people in
and leaders as if they were different management and leadership roles. This
(and to a large extent incompatible) is not to say, however, that all people
people we consider leaders as will be equally adept at all aspects of
dynamic, charismatic individuals with the leadership and management, nor that

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there is one profile that is appropriate in
all situations (these are issues that will
be discussed in the next section on
Theories of Leadership) but that to
achieve maximum effect we should seek
to recruit and develop leader-managers
capable of adopting the role in its most
holistic form. It is for this reason that,
like Mintzberg (2004), we will use the
words management and leadership
and manager and leader largely
interchangeably throughout the rest of
this report.

8 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
Theories of Leadership
Whilst practitioners often see theory as Shaw (1976) and Fraser (1978), for
separate from practice, within an applied example found that leaders tend to score
field such as leadership the two are higher than average on scores of ability
inextricably related. Traditional and (intelligence, relevant knowledge, verbal
contemporary theories of leadership facility), sociability (participation,
strongly influence current practice, cooperativeness, popularity), and
education and policy and offer a useful motivation (initiative and persistence).
framework for the selection and It is clear, though, that none of these are
development of leaders - in other words: sufficient in themselves to serve as the
basis for the identification or
There is nothing as practical as a
development of superior leaders.
good theory (Lewin, 1935).
Figure 3: Leadership Traits
Theories help shape the way we conceive
(Stogdill, 1974, p81)
the world by simplifying and
summarising large quantities of data but Strong drive for responsibility,
as a result, they can also give rise to Focus on completing the task,
assumptions and modes of thought that Vigour and persistence in pursuit of
become unquestioned. For example, goals,
traditional leadership theories have their Venturesomeness and originality in
roots in US organisational research and problem-solving,
take a particularly individualistic view of Drive to exercise initiative in social
leadership. Contemporary theories are settings,
Self-confidence,
beginning to redress the balance, but
Sense of personal identity,
remain predominantly Anglo-American in
Willingness to accept consequences of
origin. In this article we will discuss
decisions and actions,
some of the most influential leadership Readiness to adsorb interpersonal
theories, which offer a valuable context stress,
for the consideration of wider issues Willingness to tolerate frustration and
about defining leadership capabilities and delay,
development approaches. Ability to influence the behaviour of
others,
Leadership traits Capacity to structure social systems to
the purpose in hand.
For the first half of the twentieth century
it was assumed that it would be possible
to identify and isolate a finite set of Leadership styles & behaviours
traits, which could be used when An alternative to the trait approach was
selecting and promoting individuals to to consider what leaders actually do,
leadership positions. This search was rather than their underlying
strongly influenced by the great man characteristics. Interest in this approach
theory that focussed on how (primarily largely arose from work by Douglas
male) figures achieved and maintained McGregor (1960), which proposed that
positions of influence. The assumption management and leadership style is
was that these people were born to be influenced by the persons assumptions
leaders and would excel by virtue of their about human nature. He summarised
personality alone. two contrasting viewpoints of managers
In an extensive review of trait studies, in industry. Theory X managers take a
Ralph Stogdill (1974) found some fairly negative view of human nature,
qualities that appeared more often than believing that the average person has an
others (see Figure 3). The same set of inherent dislike of work and will avoid it
traits, however, has not been identified if possible. Leaders holding this view,
in other studies (e.g. Bird, 1940; believe that coercion and control is
Stewart, 1963) and with the list growing necessary to ensure that people work,
ever longer it has now been widely and that workers have no desire for
accepted that no such definitive set of responsibility. Theory Y managers, on
traits will ever be identified. Some weak the other hand, believe that the
generalizations, however, may exist. expenditure of physical and mental effort

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 9
in work is as natural as play or rest, and constitutes effective leadership
that the average human being, under behaviours in different situations.
proper conditions, learns not only to Indeed, most researchers today conclude
accept but to seek responsibility. Such that no one leadership style is right for
leaders will endeavour to enhance their every manager under all circumstances.
employees capacity to exercise a high Instead, situational theories were
level of imagination, ingenuity, and developed to indicate that the style to be
creativity in the solution of used is dependent upon such factors as
organizational problems. It can be seen the situation, the people, the task, the
that leaders holding different organisation, and other environmental
assumptions will demonstrate different variables.
approaches to leadership: Theory X
Fiedler (1964, 1967) proposed that there
leaders preferring an autocratic style and
is no single best way to lead; instead the
Theory Y leaders preferring a
leaders style should be selected
participative style.
according to the situation. He
Another influential behavioural approach distinguished between managers who
to leadership/management is the are task or relationship oriented. Task
Managerial Grid developed by Blake and oriented managers focus on the task-in-
Mouton (1964). This model focuses on hand tend to do better in situations that
task (production) and employee (people) have good leader-member relationships,
orientations of managers, as well as structured tasks, and either weak or
combinations between the two extremes. strong position power. They also do well
A grid with concern for production on the when the task is unstructured but
horizontal axis and concern for people on position power is strong, and at the
the vertical axis plots five basic other end of the spectrum when the
management/leadership styles (see leader member relations are moderate to
Figure 4). The first number refers to a poor and the task is unstructured. Such
leader's production or task orientation leaders tend to display a more directive
and the second, to people or employee leadership style. Relationship oriented
orientation. It was proposed that Team managers do better in all other
Management - a high concern for both situations and exhibit a more
employees and production - is the most participative style of leadership.
effective type of leadership behaviour.
Hersey and Blanchard (1969, 1977,
1988) had similar ideas but proposed
Figure 4: The Managerial Grid that it is possible for a leader to adapt
(Blake and Mouton, 1964)
his/her style to the situation. They
argued that the developmental level of
subordinates has the greatest impact on
which leadership style is most
appropriate. Thus, as the skill and
maturity level of followers increases, the
leader will need to adapt his/her task-
relationship style from directing to
coaching, supporting and delegating. A
similar model was proposed by
Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) who
presented a continuum of leadership
styles from autocratic to democratic.
Another influential situational leadership
model is that proposed by John Adair
(1973) who argued that the leader must
Situational leadership balance the needs of the task, team and
individual as demonstrated in his famous
Whilst behavioural theories introduced three-circle diagram (see Figure 5). The
the notion of different leadership styles, effective leader thus carries out the
they gave little guidance as to what functions and behaviours depicted by the

10 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
three circles, varying the level of The transformational approach has been
attention paid to each according to the widely embraced within all types of
situation. organisations as a way of transcending
organisational and human limitations and
Figure 5: Action Centred Leadership dealing with change. It is frequently
(Adair, 1973)
contrasted with more traditional
transactional leadership, where the
leader gains commitment from followers
on the basis of a straightforward
exchange of pay and security etc. in
return for reliable work. Figure 6
contrasts these two approaches you
will note similarities with the common
conceptualisation of management
versus leadership.
Figure 6: A Comparison of Transactional
and Transformational Leadership
(Covey, 1992)
Transformational Leadership
Builds on a mans need for meaning
Is preoccupied with purposes and values,
Transformational Leadership morals, and ethics
Transcends daily affairs
James MacGregor Burns was the first to
Is orientated toward long-term goals
put forward the concept of transforming
without compromising human values and
leadership. To him, transforming
principles
leadership is a relationship of mutual
Focuses more on missions and strategies
stimulation and elevation that converts
Releases human potential identifying and
followers into leaders and may convert developing new talent
leaders into moral agents (Burns, Designs and redesigns jobs to make them
1978). He went on to suggest that meaningful and challenging
[Transforming leadership] occurs when Aligns internal structures and systems to
one or more persons engage with others reinforce overarching values and goals
in such a way that leaders and followers Transactional Leadership
raise one another to higher levels of
Builds on mans need to get a job done and
motivation and morality. At the heart make a living
of this approach is an emphasis on the Is preoccupied with power and position,
leaders ability to motivate and empower politics and perks
his/her followers and also the moral Is mired in daily affairs
dimension of leadership. Is short-term and hard data orientated
Burns ideas were subsequently Focuses on tactical issues
developed into the concept of Relies on human relations to lubricate
transformational leadership where the human interactions
leader transforms followers: Follows and fulfils role expectations by
striving to work effectively within current
The goal of transformational systems
leadership is to transform people and Supports structures and systems that
organisations in a literal sense to reinforce the bottom line, maximise
change them in mind and heart; efficiency, and guarantee short-term profits
enlarge vision, insight, and
understanding; clarify purposes; Charismatic leadership
make behaviour congruent with
beliefs, principles, or values; and The concept of the charismatic leader,
bring about changes that are although introduced earlier (e.g. Weber,
permanent, self-perpetuating, and 1947; House, 1976), became popular in
momentum building (Bass and the nineteen eighties and nineties when
Avolio, 1994). charisma was viewed as an antidote to

11 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
the demoralising effects of organisational one wants to serve, to serve first.
restructuring, competition and Then conscious choice brings one to
redundancies dominant at the time. The aspire to lead. He or she is sharply
charismatic leader was seen as someone different from the person who is
who could rebuild morale and offer a leader first, perhaps because of the
positive vision for the future. need to assuage an unusual power
drive or to acquire material
This approach, in effect, combines both
possessions. (Greenleaf, 1970)
notions of the transformational leader as
well as earlier trait and great man The focus on serving a greater purpose
theories. Researchers have taken has made this approach popular within
different positions, but overall four major the church and non-profit sector but has
characteristics of charismatic leaders can had limited impact in more commercial
be identified: (1) a dominant personality, sectors. A related concept that has had
desire to influence others and self wider acceptance is that of team
confidence; (2) strong role model leadership.
behaviour and competence; (3)
Katzenbach and Smith (1993) emphasise
articulation of ideological goals with
the importance of leaders knowing when
moral overtones; and (4) high
to follow and the importance of the
expectation of followers and confidence
leader acting as a facilitator rather than
that they will meet these expectations
director. They propose that the leader
(Northouse, 2004, p171).
should ask questions rather than giving
Despite the hype, confidence in this answers; provide opportunities for others
approach to leadership is rapidly to lead them; do real work in support of
declining. A number of high profile others instead of only the reverse;
corporate scandals, plus the tendency of become a matchmaker instead of a
charismatic leaders to desert central switch; and seek a common
organisations after making their changes understanding instead of consensus.
(often leaving even more significant Belbin (1993) presents a similar image
challenges), has highlighted that this of the team leader as someone who
may not be a sustainable way to lead. chooses to delegate and share team
Because of the way in which charismatic roles; builds on and appreciates
leadership presents the leader as a diversity; seeks talented people;
saviour, it is now often referred to as develops colleagues; and creates a sense
heroic leadership1. There is a of mission.
resistance to this view of the leader
within many industries and organisations Distributed leadership
are seeking alternatives that develop
An increasing awareness of the
quieter, less individualistic leadership
importance of social relations in the
(Mintzberg, 1999; Badaracco, 2002).
leadership contract, the need for a
leader to be given authority by their
Servant and team leadership
followers and a realisation that no one
The notion of the servant leader has individual is the ideal leader in all
been around for some time. Like Burns circumstances have given rise to a new
early conceptions about transforming school of leadership thought. Referred
leadership, the emphasis is on the moral to as informal, emergent, dispersed
and ethical dimensions of leadership. or distributed leadership, this approach
The difference, however, is that the argues a less formalised model of
servant leader follows his/her path out of leadership (where leadership
a desire to serve rather an out of a responsibility is dissociated from the
desire to lead. organisational hierarchy). It is proposed
that individuals at all levels in the
The servant-leader is servant first
organisation and in all roles (not simply
It begins with the natural feeling that
those with an overt management
dimension) can exert leadership
1
See Mintzberg, 2004, p104 for a good influence over their colleagues and thus
critique of this approach.

12 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
influence the overall direction of the The process view also draws attention to
organisation. the emergent nature of leadership. It is
not a fixed entity, but rather a flowing
The key to this is a distinction between
and evolving process whereby different
the notions of leader and leadership.
leaders may become revealed over time
Leadership is regarded as a process of
as a consequence of group interaction.
sense-making and direction-giving within
a group and the leader can only be Leaderless but leaderful.
identified on the basis of his/her (Vanderslice, 1988)
relationship with others in the social
group who are behaving as followers. In Leadership theory in practice
this manner, it is quite possible to
Despite being presented as a
conceive of the leader as emergent
chronological sequence, many of the
rather than predefined and that their role
ideas presented remain popular today
can only be understood through
and there is no consistent agreement
examining the relationships within the
between academics or practitioners as to
group (rather than by focussing on
which is preferable or most effective.
his/her personal characteristics or
Northouse (2004) offers some useful
traits).
comparisons as to how leadership is
The origins of such an approach have currently conceived (see Figure 7).
their foundations more in the fields of
sociology and politics than the more Figure 7: Key Leadership Concepts
(Northouse, 2004, p3)
traditional management literature and
draw on concepts such as organisational Trait versus process leadership: the trait
culture and climate to highlight the approach proposes that leadership is a quality that
contextual nature of leadership. It is a resides within specific individuals, whereas the
more collective concept, and would process view sees it as a phenomenon that resides
in the context and behaviours of interacting people.
argue for a move from analysis and
Assigned versus emergent leadership:
development of individual leader assigned leadership refers to situations where the
qualities to an identification of what leader has been formally assigned his/her role,
constitutes an effective (or more whereas emergent leadership is where a leader
appropriate) leadership process within an becomes visible because of the way other group
organisation: a move in focus from the members respond to him/her.
individuals to the relationships between Leadership and power: power and leadership
are related because both involve a process of
them; from managers to everyone within
influence. In organisations we can distinguish
the organisation. between position power (where authority is
A still more radical process view of assigned by rank) and personal power (where
authority is assigned by followers). True leadership
leadership encourages a different tends to rely on a power that arises from
approach to the identification and relationships and a desire of followers to be 'led'.
development of leadership within Leadership and coercion: coercion is a form
organisations. It promotes a focus on of power that relies on the use (or threat) of force.
the way relationships give rise to varying Classic examples of coercive leaders include Adolf
identities, each defined by how they Hitler, Jim Jones and David Koresch who used
power for their own aims rather than the general
relate to others. So we should talk of a benefit of the group. Such methods and techniques
leader/follower effect rather than are generally not included in models of what 'good'
leaders and followers per se. This leadership is about.
draws attention to the outcomes of Leadership and management: leadership
effective leadership rather than the and management are phenomena that have a lot in
necessary precursors or behaviours; and common. Both involve influence, working with
on the development and promotion of people, goal achievement, etc. however, it has
leadership skills within all people at all been argued that there are some significant
differences (see previous section). To be
levels in the organisation rather than successful, these two activities need to be
just those at the top of the hierarchy. balanced and matched to the demands of the
The aim is to produce an ambience and situation.
culture that encourages high levels of
integrity, creativity, imagination, care
and collective ambition for excellence.

13 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
In truth, there is no one theory that can
explain all circumstances - each has its
strengths and weaknesses and the
choice as to which is accepted owes as
much to personal beliefs and experience
as to empirical evidence. The trait
approach, for example, whilst
problematic could prove useful when
attempting to identify or recruit a leader.
The style approach tells leaders what
they should do, rather simply focussing
upon which attributes they should
possess. The situational approach
encourages the leader to consider the
nature of the task and followers and to
adapt his/her style accordingly. The
transformational approach offers
guidance as to the most appropriate
leadership style in times of change. And
servant, team and distributed leadership
offer alternative ways of conceiving the
leadership process, the manner in which
it occurs and the associated values and
ethics.
Leadership is a complex phenomenon
that touches on many other important
organisational, social and personal
issues. It eludes simple definition or
theoretical representation and yet is
becoming increasingly significant in all
aspects of our endeavours. The theories
presented in this article have made
substantial advances to our
understanding of the nature of
leadership, leading, leaders and the led
but there is still much room for
improvement and a considerable degree
of discretion required in their application.
The nature of management and
managers and of leaders and
leadership is highly problematic: there
is no agreed view on what managers
and leaders should do and what they
need to do it. And there never can
be, since such definitions arise not
from organizational or technical
requirements (which are themselves
the product of managers theories of
organization), but from the shifting
ways in which over time these
functions are variously
conceptualized. The manager: as
much as the worker, is a product of
history. (Salaman, 2004, p58).

14 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
Leadership Competencies
Despite the fact that trait and From a review of 26 leadership and
behavioural theories of leadership have management frameworks in use
proved unsuccessful in isolating a throughout the public and private sectors
definitive set of leader characteristics, Bolden et al. (2003) concluded that a
the competency approach to leadership somewhat moderated version of
development and assessment is transformational leadership (Bass, 1985;
becoming increasingly widespread. Bass and Avolio, 1994) tends to be
Leadership standards, qualities and/or promoted in most frameworks. Whilst
competency frameworks now form the many go beyond simple definitions of
basis of the management development behaviours, to consider the cognitive,
and review processes within most large affective and inter-personal qualities of
organisations. leaders, the role of followers is usually
only acknowledged in a rather simplistic,
The notion of management (and
unidirectional manner. Leadership,
leadership) competence owes much of its
therefore, is conceived as a set of
origin to the work of McBer consultants
values, qualities and behaviours
for the American Management
exhibited by the leader that encourage
Association in the late 1970s and early
the participation, development, and
1980s. The aim of this work was to
commitment of followers. It is
explain some of the differences in
remarkable, however, how few of the
general qualitative distinctions of
frameworks reviewed (only 8 out of 26)
performance (e.g. poor versus average
referred to the leaders ability to listen
versus superior managers) which may
and none mentioned the word follow
occur across specific jobs and
(following, followers, etc.).
organisations as a result of certain
competencies which managers share The leader (as post holder) is thus
(Boyatzis, 1982, p9), with a job promoted as the source of leadership.
competency being defined as an He/she is seen to act as an energiser,
underlying characteristic of a person catalyst and visionary equipped with a
which results in effective and/or superior set of abilities (communication, problem-
performance in a job (ibid, p21). solving, people management, decision
making, etc.) that can be applied across
This concept was widely adopted as a
a diverse range of situations and
basis for management education and
contexts. Whilst contingency and
development in the UK following the
situational leadership factors may be
Review of Vocational Qualifications
considered, they are not generally
report in 1986 (De Ville, 1986) and
viewed as barriers to an individuals
continues to be widely promoted.
ability to lead under different
Following the Council for Excellence in
circumstances (they simply need to
Management and Leadership research
apply a different combination of skills).
(CEML, 2002), for example, the UK
Fewer than half of the frameworks
government pledged to address the
reviewed referred directly to the leaders
national management and leadership
ability to respond and adapt his/her style
deficit through a range of initiatives to
to different circumstances.
increase demand and improve supply of
management and leadership In addition to soft skills, the leader is
development (DfES, 2002). As these also expected to display excellent
initiatives are rolled-out across the information processing, project
country the emphasis on evidence-based management, customer service and
policy, measurable performance delivery skills, along with proven
outcomes and consistency of approach business and political acumen. They
encourages increased reliance on build partnerships, walk the talk, show
government-endorsed models, incredible drive and enthusiasm, and get
frameworks and standards. Some of the things done. Furthermore, the leader
most influential generic and public sector demonstrates innovation, creativity and
frameworks currently used in the UK are thinks outside the box. They are
shown in Figures 8 and 9. entrepreneurs who identify opportunities

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 15
- they like to be challenged and theyre to be culturally specific and thus depend
prepared to take risks. on a whole host of factors, such as the
nature of the leader, followers, task,
Of interest, too, is the emphasis on the
organisational structure, and culture
importance of qualities such as honesty,
(national, corporate and group).
integrity, empathy, trust and valuing
diversity. The leader is expected to We conclude, therefore, that whilst the
show a true concern for people that is development of frameworks and
drawn from a deep level of self- standards can be a valuable way of
awareness, personal reflection and encouraging individuals and
emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998). organisations to consider their approach
to management and leadership
This almost iconographic notion of the
development, it is in the application of
leader, as a multi-talented individual
these standards and frameworks that
with diverse skills, personal qualities and
difficulties often occur. When working
a large social conscience, posses a
with frameworks and standards there is
number of difficulties. Firstly it
frequently a temptation to apply them
represents almost a return to the great
deductively to assess, select and
man or heroic notions of leadership,
measure leaders rather than inductively
which venerate the individual to the
to describe effective leadership practice
exclusion of the team and organisation.
and stimulate debate. With an
Secondly when you attempt to combine
increasing awareness of the emergent
attributes from across a range of
and relational nature of leadership it is
frameworks the result is an unwieldy,
our opinion that the standards approach
almost over-powering list of qualities
should not be used to define a
such as that generated during the CEML
comprehensive set of attributes of
research, which identified 83
effective leaders, but rather to offer a
management and leadership attributes,
lexicon with which individuals,
condensed from a list of over 1000
organisations, consultants and other
(Perren and Burgoyne, 2001). And
agents can debate the nature of
thirdly there is little evidence in practice
leadership and the associated values and
that the transformational leader is any
relationships within their organisations.
more effective with regards to improving
organisational performance than his/her
alternatives (Gronn, 1995).
To a large extent these difficulties are a
direct result of the functional analysis
methodology central to the standards
approach. This method generates a list
of competencies from analysis of
numerous managers jobs the result,
therefore, is not a list of activities or
behaviours demonstrated by any one
individual, rather an averaging out
across multiple individuals. Imagine if a
similar technique was used to determine
the characteristics of the lovable man:
hed be caring, strong, gentle, attractive,
kind, rich, etc. in effect an unlikely, if
not impossible, combination!
Whilst personal qualities of the leader
are undoubtedly important they are
unlikely to be sufficient in themselves for
the emergence and exercise of
leadership. Furthermore, the manner in
which these qualities translate into
behaviour and group interaction is likely

16 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
Figure 8 - Generic Management and Leadership Frameworks

CEML Framework of Management and Leadership Abilities


The Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership conducted an extensive piece of research
using primary and secondary data sources to identify a key set of management and leadership
abilities (Perren and Burgoyne, 2001). The resultant framework identified 83 distinct management and
leadership abilities (condensed from an initial list of 1013), which were grouped into three generic
categories and 8 meta-groups. The categories and meta-groups are as follows:
Thinking Abilities: Think Strategically
People Abilities: Manage self, Manage and lead people, Lead direction and culture, Manage
relationships
Task Abilities: Manage information, Manage resources, Manage activities and quality
The full report can be downloaded from: www.managementandleadershipcouncil.org

National Occupational Standards in Management and Leadership


NOS in management were first introduced in the UK in 1992 to address the relatively low level of
education and training of UK managers in relation to their overseas counterparts. They act as a
benchmark for effective practice and form the basis of NVQ and SVQ awards in management.

A revised framework is due to be introduced soon and divides management and leadership into six
key functions: providing direction, facilitating change, achieving results, working with people, using
resources, and managing self & personal skills. For each of these elements the framework defines
outcomes, behaviours, knowledge & understanding and skills.

Further details are available at: www.management-standards.org

Investors in People Leadership and Management Model


The IIP Leadership and Management Model sets out a framework for the assessment of leadership
and management capabilities in relation to the new leadership and management dimension of the
Investors in People Award. There are four main principles (commitment, planning, action and
evaluation) each with associated indicators.

For further information please visit: www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/leadership/entry/home.asp

EFQM Business Excellence Model


The European Foundation for Quality Management Award is an internationally recognised quality
award based around business processes, of which one is leadership. The leadership dimension is a
key enabler and covers the following four areas:

1a Leaders develop the mission, vision and values and are role models of a culture of Excellence;
1b Leaders are personally involved in ensuring the organisations management system is
developed, implemented and continuously improved;
1c Leaders are involved with customers, partners and representatives of society;
1d Leaders motivate, support and recognise the organisations people.

For further information please visit: www.efqm.org/model_awards/model/excellence_model.htm

Institute of Chartered Management Chartered Management Skills


Chartered Manager candidates need to demonstrate (and provide evidence of) learning, development
and impact in the workplace against two of these six categories: Leading People, Meeting Customer
Needs, Managing Change, Managing Information and Knowledge, Managing Activities and
Resources, and Managing yourself.

For further information visit:


www.managers.org.uk/institute/content_1.asp?category=3&id=37&id=30&id=14

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 17
Figure 9 Public Sector Leadership and Management Frameworks
Senior Civil Service Competency Framework
This framework sets out key attributes that have been identified by Civil Service Corporate
Management as required for the Senior Civil Service (SCS). There are six main sets of competences,
each with a series of related behaviours. The competencies are as follows: Giving purpose and
direction, Making a personal impact, Thinking strategically, Getting the best from people, Learning and
improving, and Focusing on delivery.

For more information please visit: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/civilservice/scs/competences.htm


Defence Leadership Centre Helix Model
The Leadership Helix Model has been recently developed by the Defence Leadership Centre to act as
a basis for the development of leadership attributes in the armed forces. It comprises 9 qualities:
integrity, vision, communication, professional knowledge, decision making, innovation, focussed on
development, humility and an unspecified quality entitled ?.
For further information visit: https://da.mod.uk/DLC/Research/HelixModel/document_view
EO for Local Government Compendium of Competencies
The Employers' Organisation for local government's (EO) role is to help councils achieve the high
standards of people management needed to ensure the continuous improvement of services. Their
website includes a compendium of leadership competencies developed by and/or used by local
authorities across the UK. These have been classified into 20 different categories, including: Change,
Communication, Corporate Focus, Customer Focus, Decision Making, Equality and Diversity, Focus
on Results, Impact and Influence, Information Management, Integrity, Leading People, Partnerships,
Personal Management and Drive, Political Awareness, Project and Process Management, Resource
Management, Safety, Service Improvement, Strategic Focus, and Team Building.

For more information please visit: www.lg-employers.gov.uk/skills/leadership_comp


NHS Leadership Qualities Framework
The NHS Leadership Qualities Framework, developed by the NHS Leadership Centre, identifies 15
key qualities (personal, cognitive and social) across three broad clusters: Personal qualities, Setting
direction and Delivering the service.

Personal qualities: Self belief, Self awareness, Self management, Drive for improvement,
Personal integrity
Setting Direction: Seizing the future, Intellectual flexibility, Broad scanning, Political astuteness,
Drive for results
Delivering the service: Leading change through people, Holding to account, Empowering others,
Effective and strategic influencing, Collaborative working

For full details on the framework please visit: www.nhsleadershipqualities.nhs.uk

18 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
Leadership and Performance
Although the link between effective Figure 10: Management and leadership
leadership and performance is widely development, capability and performance
taken for granted, good empirical (Burgoyne et al., 2004)
evidence of this relationship is in short
supply. In this article we review recent
research and the types of indicators that
can be considered when deciding
whether or not leadership and leadership
development have any demonstrable
impact on the bottom-line. We conclude
that when considering the effect of
leadership within organisations it is
important to take a broad view of the
notion of performance and to consider
the impact of contextual factors.

Leadership, management and


human resource management
Thus, to determine the impact of
Part of the difficulty in demonstrating the
management and leadership on
impact of leadership (or any other
performance it is necessary to unpack a
organisational process) on performance
whole range of complex issues: what
is the manner in which a multitude of
constitutes MLD, MLC and performance?
factors interact. Traditional
We will not enter into an analysis of MLD
management and HRM (Human Resource
and MLC in this article, as they are
Management) practices relating to
touched on elsewhere in this and
planning, organising and controlling
subsequent reports, however, it would
resources (both material and human) are
be valuable to briefly consider the nature
closely associated with leadership
of performance.
practices of setting direction, aligning
people - and motivating and inspiring
them. Furthermore, performance, What is performance?
however conceived, is impacted by a When considering the likely impact of
host of factors other than leadership leadership and management on
(many of which are intangible and can performance a number of different levels
not be measured). For these reasons, of effect can be identified.
when assessing the impact of leadership
and leadership development it is The initial effect is likely to be at an
beneficial to take a more holistic, multi- individual level. Following development,
disciplinary perspective. In particular, it will be expected that the individual
we will consider management and leader/manager will become more
management development in conjunction effective. This may be revealed through
with leadership. hard measures, such as enhanced
productivity, technical competence
Implicit within any assumption of a and/or knowledge, but is perhaps more
relationship between management and likely to be demonstrated through softer
leadership development (MLD) and measures, such as improved self-
improved performance is a supposed awareness, communication and strategic
chain of causality, whereby it is argued thinking.
that MLD will lead to enhanced
management and leadership capability The next level of effect is likely to be at a
(MLC), which in turn will lead to group level, whereby an individual
enhanced performance see Figure 10. leaders behaviour begins to impact upon
that of his/her colleagues and
subordinates. As before, this change
may be revealed in hard
productivity/output measures, however,
it is more likely to be exhibited (at least

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 19
initially) through improved achieve and will be subject to a much
communication, motivation, morale and wider range of influencing factors 2.
team working. Related measures that
The remainder of this article will consider
may be affected include decreased
the empirical evidence for a link between
absenteeism and staff turnover,
management, leadership and
increased willingness to work overtime,
performance at different levels3.
and enhanced participation,
accountability and suggestions/feedback.
The relationship between MLD,
A third level of effect can be seen at an individual capability and
organisational level. Indeed, improving performance
organisational effectiveness is often the
key driver behind investment in Whilst it is widely assumed that MLD will
management and leadership enhance individual capability and
development. At this level of impact, it subsequently performance, the evidence
is intended that through development of implies a more complex interaction.
a critical mass of effective leadership in Keep and Westwood (2003), for
different parts of the organisation, the example, argue there is little evidence
organisation as a whole becomes more that the current supply of MLD is
successful. Such impacts may well be addressing the right skills, improving
revealed in hard measures such as capability or enhancing performance.
improved profit, turnover and share Bramley (1999) in a wide review of the
value and reduced wastage; however a evidence likewise found little support
wide array of other measures could be neither for the impact of off-the-job
considered, including customer management education nor for generic
satisfaction, relationship with suppliers, management courses. He did, however,
organisational culture and innovation. conclude that the most useful kinds of
Whilst most consideration of the impact development relate to work-based
of MLD stops at the organisational level, activities such as giving and receiving
the commitment of national and regional detailed feedback, goal setting and
government to enhance MLC indicates action planning.
that the potential impact of effective Boyatzis (1993) revealed concerns about
leadership can traverse organisational a possible break in the supposed chain of
boundaries. By building the capability causality, whereby he discovered that
and performance of organisations within simply having leadership competencies
a specific geographic area (be it regional, does not mean that you will use them.
national or international) much larger He went on to argue that MLD should
scale impacts are possible (including thus aim to encourage and support
economic, social and environmental). people to take on leadership roles and
In short, leadership and leadership
development can have an effect at many 2 In a review of international performance
levels and there are a host of factors, indicators the DTI is considering using
besides simple financial measures, upon measures of perceived quality of
management due to the absence of any more
which they impact.
objective measurements (see www.hm-
Another key thing to consider when treasury.gov.uk/media//97626/productivitych
attempting to monitor the performance s.pdf for more details). In addition, recent
impact of management and leadership, research at the Institute of Work Psychology,
University of Sheffield has found a strong
is the likely time delay for visible
correlation between self-report measures of
improvements. Thus, for example, it will organisational performance and objective
be far easier to measure the impact of measures such as productivity and profit,
an MLD initiative in terms of staff thus supporting the use of this relatively
attitudes rather than changes in easy-to-collect data in studies of
productivity as the latter will be slow to organisational performance.
3
This review draws heavily on a review
conducted by the Management and
Leadership Development Research Network
(Burgoyne et al., 2004).

20 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
responsibilities rather than simply satisfaction and commitment to be
equipping them with the necessary skills. positively related to sales increases
(Barber et al., 1999). In both these
A recent review of the literature
studies, the quality of line management
(Burgoyne et al., 2004) did, however,
(as perceived by staff) was an important
identify two key factors that seem to
link in the chain between capability and
increase the impact of MLD on individual
organisational performance via its impact
capability and performance: (1) the
on employee commitment and
inclusion of opportunities for receiving
motivation.
and discussing individual feedback; and
(2) the quality of management processes In a longitudinal study of the impact of
preceding, supporting and reinforcing business tools and techniques4 Nohria et
development activities. Thus, it appears al. (2003) concluded that none of these
that providing MLD alone is insufficient techniques in themselves had a direct
to ensure an increase in individual causal relationship to superior business
capability and performance, rather it performance what did make a
needs to incorporate appropriate difference was having a clear grasp of
opportunities for feedback and management and leadership practices5.
discussion, and be accompanied by
Without exception, companies that
supportive management processes.
outperformed their industry peers
The problem in demonstrating the excelled at what we call the four
relationship between MLD, capability and primary management practices
performance is largely the result of the strategy, execution, culture and
difficulty in untangling a series of inter- structure. And they supplemented
woven debates, including the their great skill in those areas with a
appropriateness of MLD (does it address mastery of any two out of four
the right skills? for the right people? via secondary management practices
an appropriate pedagogy? etc.) and the talent, innovation, leadership, and
impact of MLD (does it increase mergers and partnerships. (Nohria
capability? performance? other qualities? et al., 2003, p.43)
etc.). It is without doubt that not all
Further evidence is presented by
MLD activity is equal and that it is more
Cockerill (1993) who found that
the quality than the quantity that
management competence has a greater
matters.
influence on performance in dynamic
environments than in static
The relationship between MLC environments, thus implying that
and organisational performance effective management and leadership
In a similar vein to individual are more necessary in times of change
development, capability and than in periods of stability.
performance, despite the tendency of
many management and leadership gurus The relationship between MLD
to make categorical statements about and organisational performance
the characteristics of leaders of
Despite massive investment in
successful organisations based on limited
management and leadership
case study material, more reliable
development in all sectors, empirical
empirical evidence is hard to come by.
evidence of a link between MLD and
Two studies that do make this link, organisational performance is also
however, include a study of data from
800 Sears stores in the US, which found 4
Such as Total Quality Management (TQM),
employee attitudes towards their job and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
employer to be positively linked to and Supply Chain Management (SCM).
5
customer attitudes and business results, In this study the concept of leadership
with the line manager emerging as a key was only used in regards to senior
link in this chain (Rucci et al., 1998), and management (CEOs and the Board). It is our
view that all of the practices termed
a similar study of 100 stores of a major
management in this study have a
UK retailer that found employee substantial leadership element.

21 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
limited, but does generally support a managerial capability and the belief
positive causal relation. by line managers that their employer
is taking management development
Two studies that have identified direct
seriously. (Mabey and Ramirez,
financial benefits of investing in MLD
2004, p9).
include a study by Lee et al. (1993) who
estimated British Telecom to have saved In addition to this selection of studies,
270 million as the result of a there are a large number that indicate a
management-training programme (due link between HRM practices and
to the reduction in errors by untrained organisational performance as well as
junior managers and waste caused by the impact of training more generally.
missed deadlines, customer complaints, In a synthesis of research on HRM
etc.). And DTZ (1998) who found that practices, for example, Becker and
63% of firms involved in management Huselid (1998) identified management
development activity (supported by the development and training activities
Training and Enterprise Council) could linked to the needs of the business as
identify an impact of this on business one of four key HRM systems. Additional
performance - primarily via improved work on the benefits of HRM emphasises
staff morale, improved response and how managers need to implement
flexibility and improvements in quality practices through their own personal
which in turn, they believe, lead to skills (e.g. empowerment, team working,
greater customer loyalty and new and performance management) and, as
business. concluded recently by Purcell et al.
(2003), it is the quality of
Mabey and Thompson (2000) found that
implementation that really affects the
positive outcomes of management
success of an intervention more than the
development investment could largely be
nature of the initiative itself.
attributed to the manner in which an
organisation made its policy choices, In a longitudinal study of over 100 UK
with particular importance being given to manufacturing companies Patterson et
the companys commitment to training al. (1997) found that 18% of variations
activity. Marshall et al. (1993) found a in productivity and 19% in profitability
clear relationship between the use of could be attributed to people
external consultants in management management practices. Research is
development in SMEs and business increasingly indicating that HRM
performance, and in a study of initiatives are more likely to be effective
leadership in UK organisations Horne and where they fit with other HR and
Stedman Jones (2001) concluded that business strategies within the
where systematic implementation of organisation and that the key to this lies
leadership development existed there in successful management and
was a strong relationship to the leadership (see Richardson and
perceived quality of leadership in that Thompson, 1999 for an excellent review
organisation and organisational of this literature).
performance. Mabey and Ramirez
Although findings are complex and it is
(2004) reached similar conclusions in a
hard to quantify in any consistent way
recent international study as indicated
the link between MLD, capability and
below:
performance it is now fairly well
There is strong statistical evidence accepted that management and
that management development leads leadership are critical factors in the
to superior organisational effective implementation of HRM and
performance across companies of all business strategies that, in turn, affect
sizes, sectors and national location. organisational performance.
An impressive 16 per cent of variance
is explained by three factors: the The relationship between MLC
extent to which HR is integrated with and national performance
business strategy, the degree to
which the firm takes a thoughtful, For a number of years the UK
long-term approach to developing government has believed that effective

22 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
management and leadership is the key situation will be redressed over time
to unlocking national productivity and a (Campbell et al, 2001; Wood, 1992).
series of reports have consistently
argued that poor national performance is Conclusions: the link between
directly associated with a deficit of good management, leadership and
managers and leaders (e.g. CEML, 2002; performance
DTI, 2001; Handy, 1987), but is this
really the case? Despite widespread assertions about the
importance of management and
The recent report from Porter and Ketels leadership with regards to individual,
(2003) review of UK productivity organisational and national performance,
questioned both whether the UKs empirical evidence remains limited.
economic performance is poor and Economic analyses tend to imply that
whether management is one of the main whilst management and leadership may
determinants of economic performance. play a role in determining national
They concluded there is always room for competitiveness, their impact is only one
improvement but that efforts to of many factors. At an organisational
upgrade management will not however level, management and leadership
be sufficient to achieve a sustained appear to have an effect on a range of
improvement in UK competitiveness. outcomes, but only as part of a more
Research into whether or not there is a general set of HRM practices. At the
national deficit in management skills individual level the impact of MLD seems
tends to point more strongly to a to be dependent on the type of
qualitative shortfall (i.e. a perception of intervention and the desire and
poor management and leadership within opportunity of individuals to take on
organisations) rather than a large-scale leadership responsibilities.
quantitative absence of management Whilst this evidence in itself may not
skills per se. The National Skills paint an overly positive image of the
Taskforce (DfEE, 2000) and Skills in impact of management and leadership
England report (Campbell et al, 2001) on performance a number of key lessons
indicated that skills shortages are more do emerge:
prevalent within technical, generic,
intermediate, ICT and numeric skills With regards to HRM (and other
areas than management, even though business initiatives), its not so much
this was noted as an area of concern. what you do as how you do it that is
important. Thus, an integrated
Horne and Stedman Jones (2001), approach aligned with the strategic
however, found a third to a half of objectives of the organisation is more
respondents in their survey of 15,000 likely to be effective than any
managers rated leadership within their number of stand-alone initiatives.
organisations as poor, with similar,
With regards to MLC, it is the leaders
findings being reported by Charlesworth
influence upon employee motivation
et al. (2003) about management in the
and commitment that appears to
public sector.
have the greatest impact, rather than
With regards to how the leadership and any specific characteristic or
management capability of UK managers behaviour of the leader per se.
compares with that in other countries, And with MLD, the development of
such information is inherently difficult to skills and knowledge alone is not
gather and interpret (see Jagger et al, sufficient to improve performance - it
2002). In a comprehensive review of requires the provision of constructive
the stock of UK management, however, feedback, appropriate support and
Bosworth (1999) identified a lower level encouragement to take on
of academic qualification amongst UK management and leadership
managers in relation to those of responsibilities.
competitor nations although
demographic trends indicate that this
These findings demonstrate the
importance of considering leadership in

23 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
the wider context of the organisation. In direct linear manner indicates the need
isolation, there is no guarantee that for more elaborate longitudinal research
leadership development and/or capability that considers performance in its widest
will enhance individual or organisational sense. The manner in which improved
performance, however, if considered as a management and leadership leads to
key enabler within wider organisational enhanced performance is highly complex
and HRM processes its impact becomes and thus when considering the benefits
evident. Equally, the presence of arising from interventions a much
effective leadership and management broader notion of performance needs to
processes within an organisation be embraced than one simply of
increases the likelihood of further enhanced productivity or profit.
training and development being
successful. Without a sense of vision,
inspiration and direction, HRM and MLD
initiatives will not be integrated with
business objectives and employees will
lack the motivation and commitment to
work towards shared organisational
goals.
A further point arising from this review is
the pressing need for more extensive
research into the relationship between
leadership and management
development, capability and
performance. Of particular importance is
an improved understanding of the
manner in which these (and other)
elements interact to make them effective
within certain situations but not others.
To this extent, it is advised that all
organisations should seek to find ways of
evaluating their management and
leadership capability and development
processes, not in a simplistic linear
fashion, but as part of a holistic
integrated organisational strategy. In a
Leadership and Management
Development Best Practice Guide
developed during the CEML research,
evaluation was included as one of the
key elements of any initiative (Burgoyne
and James, 2002) and a recent article in
the Harvard Business Review (Ittner and
Larcker, 2003) argued that the majority
of organisations fail to take sufficient
account of non-financial performance
indicators.
Thus in conclusion, despite the absence
of definitive empirical evidence indicating
the relationship between management,
leadership and performance it is now
widely agreed that these are key
ingredients in the effective performance
of individuals, groups, organisations,
regions and nation states. The difficulty
in measuring this relationship in any

24 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
The Shadow Side of Leadership
Whilst much is written and said about feeling that it would take a miracle or
the benefits of effective leadership, far messiah to alleviate or ameliorate this
less consideration is given to the painful form of existence (Gemmill
possible negative impacts of a culture and Oakley, 1992, p.273).
that promotes leadership as the
This paper was written largely in
answer.
response to the recurring emphasis on
It is not just where leaders turn bad, charismatic and inspirational leadership
working for selfish or deluded aims and dominant at the time, and which is still
encouraging followers to work towards widely pursued within many
goals that are ultimately not in their own organisations. The primary concern was
interests or those of society, where that in over-idealizing the leader,
leadership can have a negative effect. members deskill themselves from their
In corporate scandals such as Andy own critical thinking, visions,
Fastow of Enron and Dennis Kozlowski at inspirations, and emotions (ibid, p.
Tyco it is clear how personal ambition 279). Such a situation, rather than
and greed lead to disastrous empowering followers to reach their
consequences for their organisations and maximum potential, engenders a sense
similar examples are replete in politics, of alienation, helplessness and failure
religion, and all other domains of human that leads to passivity and a childlike
activity (Kellerman, 2004). Of equal dependence on the leader. The authors
concern, however, is where more subtle conclude by proposing that leadership
social and psychological factors interact needs demythologising to enable all
to undermine the very principles that individuals, no matter at what level
good leadership is meant to address. within the organisation, to recognise
their internal drivers and abilities and
In an influential paper Gemmill and
thus find new ways of expressing their
Oakley (1992) proposed that leadership
creativity and identity when interacting
could be an alienating social myth that,
with others.
rather than empowering organisations,
deskills employees and places excessive Conger (1990) expresses similar
dependency on the leader. To make concerns, but this time from the leaders
this argument, they draw heavily on perspective, arguing that there are three
psychodynamic literature and propose main areas in which leaders can become
that through a process of reification, the deluded and lose touch with reality. The
abstract notion of leadership is taken as first of these is strategic vision. Whilst it
representative of an objective reality in is recognised that a strong vision has
effect, the very existence of notions such been central to the success of many
as leader and leadership compel us to well-known leaders, the strength of this
believe that such things must indeed be vision and a personal commitment to
real. achieving it can lead to a stubborn
refusal to consider alternative and
Within this framework it is argued the
competing approaches. This conviction
leadership myth functions as a social
that the world really is or should be
defence whose central aim is to repress
configured exactly as we see it is
uncomfortable needs, emotions, and
diagnosed by Maccoby (2000) as
wishes that emerge when people
narcissism, common amongst leaders
attempt to work together (ibid, p. 273),
because it is one of the forces driving
the implication being that followers learn
them to seek power: that is the power to
to depend on figures in leadership roles
make their vision come true. Such a
to offer them a sense of meaning,
situation may mean that the leader fails
direction and purpose.
to detect important market changes, the
When pain is coupled with an necessary resources required to achieve
inordinate, widespread, and pervasive the vision and an exaggeration of the
sense of helplessness, social myths needs of markets and constituents. In
about the need for great leaders and effect, the leader may become blind-
magical leadership emerge from the sighted, seeking out only information
primarily unconscious collective that supports his or her vision and

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 25
ignoring that which conflicts. This colleagues and subordinates, limit the
situation may be compounded where development of future leaders, and
other people within the organisation fail engender an action-orientated culture
to challenge the leaders vision, either that fails to take sufficient account of
due to fear of repercussions, or over- everyday detail.
dependence and trust in the leaders
Maccoby and Kets de Vries express
judgement.
similar concerns, but this time they point
Others in the organisation, who tend to an almost compulsive or pathological
to become dependent on a visionary trend within leaders towards narcissism
leader, may perpetuate the problem and an organisational tendency towards
through their own actions. They may neurosis. Maccoby (2000) argues that
idealize their leader excessively and larger-than-life leaders are almost
thus ignore negative aspects and inevitably driven by a need for
exaggerate the good qualities. As a recognition, power and self-promotion
result, they may carry out their that is key to their success, and
leaders orders unquestioningly and occasionally their downfall. Such leaders
leaders may in certain circumstances tend to express a clear vision and are
encourage such behaviour because of capable of inspiring followers through
their needs to dominate and be their charisma and communication
admired (Conger, 1990, p. 291). abilities. On the negative side, however,
they are often sensitive to criticism, shun
A second way in which leaders can lose
emotions, are poor listeners, lack
touch with reality is as a result of their
empathy, have a distaste for mentoring
communication and impression-
and development, and are intensely
management techniques. It is
competitive. Kets de Vries (2004)
undoubtedly true that effective
echoes these thoughts, as well as those
communication is a key leadership skill,
of Gemmill and Oakley by stressing that
however it is also one that is open to
leaders and followers are susceptible to
abuse. In order to make his or her
neurosis at both an individual and
vision more appealing, a leader may be
collective level. The blind desire of
tempted to distort the information that
followers to be lead can be just as
they convey selectively presenting only
harmful as the blind ambition of the
those aspects that enhance their
leader.
message. Whilst this may serve to
deceive followers (either intentionally or So what can organisations do to
unintentionally) there is evidence to eliminate or minimise these risks?
indicate that it may ultimately begin to Firstly it is important to be aware that
delude the presenter as well. This is such processes may be occurring the
particularly likely where positive very fact of making them conscious and
responses are received from the explicit can alert people to the fact that
audience, which reinforce and confirm something may be astray. Secondly,
the leaders argument. checks and controls can be put in place
to minimise the potential negative
The third issue presented by Conger that
impact of narcissism. Maccoby proposes
may undermine a leaders effectiveness
a number of solutions including finding a
are management practices that become
trusted sidekick who can challenge the
liabilities. Whilst unconventional
leaders assumptions and encourage
behaviour may commonly be associated
them to consider alternatives;
with charismatic and visionary leaders, it
indoctrinate the organisation to
may well give rise to difficulties in the
internalise the vision and values of the
organisation that are hard to overcome.
leader; and get into psychoanalysis,
In particular, problems may arise with
because through self-awareness and
managing upward and sideways,
reflection narcissistic leaders will be
relationships with subordinates, a lack of
better placed to exploit the positive
attention to administrative detail and
aspects of their personality and minimise
implementation, and failure to plan for
the negative impacts. And thirdly,
succession. Thus, the leaders need for
organisations can reconsider the
dominance may sour relationships with

26 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
importance that they place on
designated leaders in resolving their
challenges. Kets de Vries argues that
greater attention needs to be paid to
achieving congruence between the
personal needs of employees and
organisational objectives. This, he
proposes, will lead to a greater sense of
determination, sense of competence,
feeling of community, sense of
enjoyment and sense of meaning. He
doesnt, however, give much guidance as
to how this can be achieved and it
remains likely that people will continue
to be motivated as much, if not more, by
their dysfunctional emotional needs as
by their altruistic and rational goals.
Responsible leadership requires a deep
sense of self and community - valuing
diversity, ethics, the individual and the
collective. In effect, at its heart is a
shared emotional intelligence or, as Alan
Wheelis (1975, p.15) expresses it:
Freedom is the awareness of
alternatives and the ability to choose.

27 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
The Future of Leadership
To conclude this report we would like to The changing nature of work
consider future trends in leadership. The changes in society are impacting
significantly upon the nature of work and
Leadership Society and the Next the workforce. There is a trend towards
Ten Years flexible working (including part-time,
working from home and the mobile
To begin we will present a piece research office). Decreasing job security,
conducted by the Centre for Leadership company loyalty and unemployment are
Studies on behalf of the Windsor encouraging mid-life career changes and
Leadership Trust (Bolden and Gosling, self-employment. Demographic changes
2003). This work reviewed the and global trade are leading to sectoral
outcomes of Initial Windsor Meetings shifts from manufacturing and
(IWM) run from November 2001 to May production to service and leisure
2003, which give experienced leaders industries. There are an ever-increasing
from all sectors of society a week to number of stakeholders (often with
reflect on, discuss and explore the conflicting demands) and an increasing
questions and challenges of leadership. pressure to work in collaboration and to
A total of 17 syndicate reports were establish partnerships. Private sector
reviewed, each compiled by 6-8 organisations are becoming more
participants. The common theme during powerful and influential in areas
this period was leadership, society and previously controlled by the public
the next ten years. The nature of sector, such as pensions, transport and
participants means that this group offers healthcare.
a significant pool of expertise,
constituting the views of well over 100 The changing face of leadership
senior managers from a diverse cross In this climate of change, leadership is
section of organisations and occupations viewed as the key to organisational
in the UK and beyond. success. Although the core qualities of
leaders may remain constant, the
The changing nature of society manner and mix in which they are
All groups gave considerable attention to exhibited needs to become more fluid
changes in the society in which they and matched to the context. The leader
operate. There was a general consensus needs to become increasingly adaptable
that Western society is undergoing an making sense of uncertainty and
unprecedented period of change and that managing complexity. The qualities of
this appears to be accelerating. openness, empathy, integrity and self-
Technological advances are transforming awareness are coming to the fore and
communications and access to demand a more participative leadership
information; the retired population is style, whereby the leader not only
growing whilst the working population involves colleagues, but listens, is
diminishes; global economies are responsive to feedback and delegates
becoming increasingly interdependent; responsibility. The leader will
the ethnic and religious mix is increasingly need to win the right to
transforming; the divide between the lead, lead from the front, lead by
haves and have-nots is widening. There example and be prepared to share in
is an improved awareness of the social hardship. Developing a culture of
and environmental impacts of our leadership in which people can excel is
actions; a decreasing allegiance to being seen as increasingly important, as
traditional power structures; an is the need to create and communicate a
increasing complexity with regards to shared long-term vision.
stakeholders and decision-making; a
move from family groups to As the need for good strategic leadership
individualism; increasing customer (and becomes critical, it is proposed that
employee) demands; and a climate of further steps need to be taken to
change and uncertainty. identify, develop and support potential
future leaders from an early stage. The
emphasis should be on experiential and
reflective learning that builds upon

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 28
innate qualities and personal What now?
experiences, and enhances the ability to
define and communicate a vision and to The findings from this research indicate
adapt to different contexts and an underlying shift in thinking about
situations. leadership, not just amongst academics
but also practicing managers. We have
Many groups discussed the moral moved a long way from the early trait
dilemmas facing leaders and the and great man theories, whereby
challenge of taking difficult decisions, leadership was considered the reserve of
often with incomplete information (see an exclusive few who were born destined
Figure 11). Leadership can be a lonely to lead. There is a clear awareness that
task, and all groups made explicit a far wider range of factors are involved
reference to the importance of work/life some to do with holders of leadership
balance in alleviating stress and positions, some to do with others in the
isolation. organisation, and some to do with the
To conclude, the leadership journey relationship between all these and wider
is a never ending one. Change is a society. Leadership can be conceived of
constant. Where the journey and the as a social process of influence there
constant come together true leaders are things people can do to enhance
flourish. (IWM Syndicate Group, specific skills and their ability to cope
Nov. 2001) with situations but the processes and
outcomes of leadership remain socially
Figure 11 Leadership, Society and the embedded the result of a complex
Next 10 Years interaction between a multitude of
(Bolden and Gosling, 2003) factors. Thus, who becomes a leader,
Key leadership qualities for the next ten how they behave, and what they do are
years: all determined as much by social and
Integrity and moral courage cultural factors as by any individual
Self-awareness and humility characteristics Churchill, Hitler, Stalin,
Empathy and emotional engagement Gandhi and King were all products of
Transparency and openness their time, place and culture!
Clarity of vision
As we move further into the 21st Century
Adaptability and flexibility
Energy and resilience emphasis is turning towards the moral,
Decisiveness in the face of uncertainty social and ethical responsibilities of
Judgement, consistency and fairness leaders. As corporations become
Ability to inspire, motivate and listen increasingly powerful, so do the leaders
Respect and trust who inhabit them not just on a
Knowledge and expertise positional power basis, but also for the
Delivering results potential repercussions within and
between communities. Consider the
Some leadership dilemmas for the 21st wider effects of leadership within a
Century: pensions company, health organisation,
Can outcomes justify the means by manufacturing plant or football club
which they are achieved? the potential for economic,
When values clash how do we choose environmental and social impact
which takes priority? (whether good or bad) is far from
What should be done when the interests contained by the boundaries of the
of the organisation/shareholders are in
organisation.
conflict with the interests of society?
Can you lead if you dont subscribe to the A series of high-profile corporate
core values of the organisation? scandals, increasing disillusionment with
How can we achieve consensus without business and political leaders, and the
negating minority views? failure of many CEOs to deliver what is
expected of them raises doubts about
the capacity for individual leaders to
achieve the continued change in
performance sought within their

29 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
organisations. To maximise the potential To conclude, we would like to challenge
of all types of organisation it is essential you to conceive of alternative ways of
to tap into the creative and leadership going about leadership within any
qualities of all employees, not just the organisation with which you are
senior team. involved. We also encourage you to
consider the wider implications of your
The challenges we face, however, wont
involvement in leadership practice and
just be resolved by calls for more
any way in which it could be modified for
leadership. As discussed in the article
the wider good. Thus, if you consider
on the shadow side of leadership an
yourself a leader pay attention to how
overdependence on leaders can
you go about it; if you work within an
ultimately be detrimental to employees
organisation consider how the process
and organisations in a number of ways.
of leadership occurs and your role within
In the article on leadership and
it; and if you an observer/advisor then
performance the evidence implies that in
consider how leadership interacts with
order for leadership and leadership
social and organisational cultures.
development to be effective they need to
form a central part of an integrated Leadership is not a person or a
strategic, management and human position. It is a complex moral
resource process. In the articles on relationship between people, based on
leadership and management and trust, obligation, commitment,
leadership competencies we argue that emotion, and a shared vision of the
promoting leadership without reference good. Ciulla (1998)
to management (or vice versa) is
meaningless and bears little or no
relation to the lived experience of
managers within organisations.
In response to these challenges, many
organisations are beginning to re-
evaluate their perception of leadership.
There is a move away from the heroic
notion of the leader out in front, to a
more collective concept of the
leadership process where leadership
is a shared responsibility to which
everyone makes a contribution. This
view, however, should not be considered
as grounds for abandoning the notion of
leaders and followers (history has
shown us that this is an important
feature of human groups) but it should
encourage us to reconsider the relative
importance attributed to each (after all a
leader is nothing without followers) and
the manner in which such relationships
can both benefit and hinder success.
Looking forwards, it is without doubt that
the quality of leadership will remain of
central importance to organisations in all
sectors, much as it has previously. It is
also true that much can be done to
improve both the way in which
leadership is conceived and applied
within organisations and how it is
developed and integrated with other
organisational processes.

30 www.leadershipsouthwest.com
Further Reading and Resources
We hope that this report has opened Articles and reports
your eyes to some of the richness and
Abra, J., Hunter, M., Smith, R. and Kempster,
complexity of the field of leadership
S. (ed) (2003) What Leaders Read 1:
studies and has offered some useful Key Texts from the Business World.
insights into your current practice and National College for School
beliefs. If you would like to find out Leadership, Autumn 2003.
more, we recommend that you access [www.ncsl.org.uk/mediastore/image2
the following resources, and/or contact /randd-what-leaders-read-business-
us to find out about the wide range of full.pdf]
programmes and opportunities that are Bennett, N., Wise, C., Woods, P. and Harve,
J.A. (2003) Distributed Leadership:
on offer in the Region.
Full Report. National College for
School Leadership, Spring.
Books [www.ncsl.org.uk/mediastore/image2
Adair, J. (2003) The Inspirational Leader: /bennett-distributed-leadership-
How to Motivate, Encourage & full.pdf]
Achieve Success. London: Kogan Christensen, C.M. and Raynor, M.E. (2003)
Page. Why hard-nosed executives should
Badaracco, J. (2002) Leading Quietly an care about management theory.
Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Harvard Business Review,
Thing. Harvard Business School September.
Press. Conger, J.A. (1990) The Dark Side of
Bennis, W. (1989) On Becoming a Leader. Leadership, Organizational
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Dynamics, 19, pp44-45. Reproduced
Publishing. in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (1995)
Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2004) Concepts of Leadership, Aldershot:
Organizational Behaviour: an Dartmouth Publishing Co. Ltd.
introductory text (5th edition). Gosling, J. and Mintzberg, H. (2003) The Five
Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Minds of a Manager, Harvard
Collins, J. (2001) From Good to Great. New Business Review, November.
York: Harper Collins. Kotter, J. (1995) Leading Change: Why
Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence: Transformation Efforts Fail Harvard
Why it can matter more than IQ. New Business Review, March/April.
York: Bantam. Mintzberg, H. (1999) Managing Quietly.
Grint, K. (1997) Leadership: classical, Leader to Leader, No. 12 Spring.
contemporary and critical [www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks/L2L/sprin
approaches, Oxford: Oxford g99/mintzberg.html].
University Press. Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S., Rayton,
Hooper, A. and Potter, J. (2000) Intelligent B. and Swart, J. (2003).
Leadership: Creating a Passion for Understanding the people and
Change. London: Random House. performance link: unlocking the black
Northouse, P.G. (2004) Leadership: Theory box. London: CIPD.
and Practice (3rd Edition). London:
Sage Publications Ltd. Online resources
Raelin, J.A. (2003) Creating Leaderful
BBC Perspectives on Leadership:
Organisations: How to Bring Out
[www.ncsl.org.uk/BBCModule/ncsl.ht
Leadership in Everyone. San
m]
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Centre for Leadership Studies:
Sonnenfeld, J. (1995) Concepts of
[www.leadership-studies.com]
Leadership. Aldershot: Dartmouth
Council for Excellence in Management
Publishing Co. Ltd.
and Leadership:
Storey, J. (2004) Leadership in
[www.managementandleadershipcou
Organizations: Current Issues and
ncil.org]
Key Trends, London: Routledge.
National College for School Leadership:
Wheatley, M. (1999) Leadership and the New
[www.ncsl.org.uk]
Science: Discovering Order in a
Chaotic World, 2nd edition. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

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Appendix 1 CLS and LSW Portfolio of Activities
Leadership South West is based at the Personal challenges of leadership
Centre for Leadership Studies, University New ways of thinking about
of Exeter. As a major European window leadership
onto leadership studies, development How to improve leadership
and practice, the CLS aims to offer first- development
class leadership development, educate The relationship between leadership
the next generation of leadership and organisational performance.
developers and assess the value and
underlying assumptions of this field in Professional Network
general. Here is a list of our current The Professional Network is a series of
activities. For further details please visit initiatives organised and managed by the
www.leadership-studies.com. CLS for the benefit of both professional
consultants and enterprise leaders. It is
designed to build upon and leverage the
Programmes unique position of the Centre among UK
MA in Leadership Studies universities in its dedication to research
MRes in Leadership Studies and teaching associated with leadership.
MSc in Finance & Leadership The Network comprises 4 cornerstones:
MBA Specialising in Leadership CLS Consulting Services: tailored
PG Diploma in Leadership leadership programmes, assessment
PG Certificate in Leadership and strategic development for public,
Institute of Directors (IoD) Director private & not-for-profit organisations.
Development programme CLS Affiliate Scheme: accreditation,
Continuing Professional Development professional development and
Advanced Leadership Programme networking for leadership developers.
CLS Research Resources: tailored
Leadership South West evaluation, research, advice &
Through the creation of strategic support.
partnerships and application of the latest Executives in Exeter: personal
leadership thinking LSW aims to enhance development for senior executives.
awareness of the value of leadership
development and to improve the Conferences and seminars
availability, relevance and effectiveness The CLS Annual Forum, based in London,
of all forms of support, education and seeks to stimulate debate around key
policy within the region. Our major leadership themes. Keynote speakers
activities include: from a variety of backgrounds deliver
Quarterly Newsletter thought provoking insights into the
Annual Research reports challenges of leadership. This high-
Regional strategic support profile event is supported by numerous
Director Development seminars and workshops delivered
Schools Leadership across the UK. In addition, our faculty
Inspire: womens leadership portfolio and fellows regularly organise, chair and
Sector development solutions present at national and international
leadership & management conferences.
Research
We are at the cutting edge of leadership Exeter Leadership Partners
research and offer a wide range of The Exeter Leadership Partners are
services from applied research and major companies, which support the
evaluation to post-graduate and PhD work of CLS. In addition to privileged
research opportunities. We believe that access to the Centres teaching and
research should be an emerging dialogue research facilities an integral part of the
between experts, marrying conceptual scheme is the 4x4 Group: a strategic
thought with practical application, and leadership learning community who meet
continually seek ways of engaging about four times a year to hear from a
research users and decision makers with guest speaker and discuss leadership.
our activities. Our primary interests can
be grouped into 4 broad themes:

www.leadershipsouthwest.com 36

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