Search results

Understanding the essential truth about what leadership is, is not easy. The problem is that each person sees leadership through the lens of his or her unique virtual reality. We each interpret the world and major ideas like leadership from a mind‐set that seems real and logical to us, but ignores or discounts other equally (maybe even more) logical perspectives. This paper explores alternative leadership realities. It concludes that most of us must progress through each of five leadership virtual environments before we can sense the full meaning of leadership.

The work community is becoming the most significant community for many people. We are coming to expect our work ‐ where we spend most of our time ‐ to satisfy our deeply held needs for wholeness and to help provide spiritual support for our values and our aspirations for personal as well as economic growth. Reports on original research which supports a growing literature attesting to the centrality of work in meeting both economic and spiritual needs. Spirit refers to the vital, energizing force or principle in the person, the core of self. Respondent managers understand spirit in its secular connotation as defining self meaning and motivation for action. Begins a definition of a model of leadership based on this kind of spiritual relationship, one founded on morality, stewardship and community. Also lists some critical issues that this emerging leadership model faces.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

The purpose of this paper is to extend management innovation theory and research by going beyond analysis at a single level. Focussing on management innovation at the lower level in the organizational hierarchy, the authors develop a multilevel framework; in doing so, the authors answer earlier calls for a study of the effects of multilevel transformational leadership (TFL) on management innovation and innovation in general.

This study collected multisource and multilevel data from 169 managers, 423 employees of 141 units from 21 banking service firms in an emerging economy.

The results from hierarchial linear modeling analysis reveal that unit-level TFL was positively related to unit-level management innovation. Furthermore, firm-level TFL was positively associated with firm-level empowerment climate, which in turn enhanced unit-level management innovation. In addition, firm-level empowerment climate strengthened the relationship between unit-level TFL and unit-level management innovation. Finally, the unit-level trust mediates the relationship between firm-level empowerment climate and unit-level management innovation.

Firms operate more effectively when they generate management innovation. To help ensure the effectiveness of management innovation, it is essential that firms, especially those from the banking sector, encourage their managers to engage in TFL behaviors. The managers must consider how to utilize their TFL behaviors to create trusting relationships in order to achieve the organizational goals. Firms can also take steps to develop a supportive climate of higher levels of autonomy, delegation, freedom and task accountability, in order to promote higher levels of trust at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy.

The current study develops and tests a mediation model that links firm-level TFL to unit-level management innovation, and identifies unit-level trust as the intermediate outcome. With this theorizing and the findings, the authors deepen the current knowledge regarding the organizational implications of TFL behaviors for management innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which perceived servant leadership of the supervisors impacts the intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction of the followers.

Servant leadership factor structure was evaluated by applying Liden et al.’s (2008) measure, and used the second-order model to test its relationship with the intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test data from 205 individuals working in service-sector organizations in Kuwait.

The seven-factor structure proposed by Liden et al. (2008) holds valid in this sample, thus providing greater validity for this measure to be used in similar contexts. The results also indicate that second-order factor of servant leadership positively affects both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction.

Servant leadership was measured using follower perception of their leader attributes. Next, the cross-sectional data limit the ability to demonstrate causality between servant leadership and employee satisfaction. Further, data were collected only from service-sector organizations in Kuwait, which limits the generalizability of results.

This research helps in highlighting the significance of embracing more altruistic leadership approach in enhancing job satisfaction. Leaders in the analyzed region must be aware of the positive outcomes of this approach on job satisfaction, which can eventually contribute to engaged employees and their performance.

This research tries to add to the growing body of knowledge in terms of assessing relationship between servant leadership and job satisfaction in the service sector in the Middle East.

This paper explores some of the gaps and contradictions that can often be found in public sector leader development approaches and then examines some of the theoretical assumptions related to these gaps and contradictions. The purpose of this examination is to further identify and define some corresponding gaps within public sector leadership development theory, as well as to encourage future theory development.

Using three common examples of contradictions often found within the leadership literature, gaps within public sector leadership development theory are identified and then linked to relevant components of leader development models found within other disciplines. As they were developed in other contexts, these components were then further reviewed to determine their potential applicability in speaking to the gaps often found in public sector leader development theory.

Proposals are made to address some of the common gaps and contradictions often identified in some public sector leader development approaches, along with the detailing of future research directions for the further development of theory.

This exploratory review highlights some of the central assumptions and gaps in the literature for the purpose of clarifying future directions of research into public sector leadership development theory.