Governance and Social Leadership by Robert A. Campbell

Author:Robert A. Campbell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press
Published: 2014-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

8. Studying Leadership

Leadership Research

This section focuses on scholarly approaches to leadership, with an exploration of both the theoretical and methodological aspects of academic research. While the sheer number and variety of theoretical models of leadership can come as a surprise to many readers, the unity and conformity of the methodological approaches are equally noteworthy. Given the lack of consensus regarding the nature and definition of leadership, the theoretical diversity can be easily explained. One would assume, however, that, by this same logic, there would be an equally diverse array of alternative and potentially complementary approaches to examining leadership in the field. Surprisingly, this does not appear to be the case.

Samuel Hunter et al. (2007) describe the typical leadership research project as one that relies on the administration of a survey for the purpose of gathering data and on the analysis of that data using statistical techniques to test hypotheses and generate conclusions. More specifically, these surveys are often pre-developed tools, such as the multifaceted leadership questionnaire (MLQ; Bass and Avolio 1990), that have been administered in multiple studies, and therefore are assumed to provide a valid basis for comparison and refinement. In most instances, surveys are distributed to employees who self-report their assessment of their immediate supervisor’s behaviour. In some studies, these same instruments are administered to managerial and supervisory personnel to report on their own behaviour. The survey results are then correlated with an outcome measure, such as organizational performance, which is also determined through self-reporting. The authors point out that this approach is based on a number of assumptions about the nature and role of subordinates, leaders, context and process, that may be unwarranted.

With respect to subordinates, one of the key assumptions that the authors expose is that simply by asking questions about the leadership behaviour of their superiors, researchers are assuming that these individuals possess an innate need or desire for leadership. In fact, the exact opposite may be the case. Individuals may carry out their duties within an organizational setting, collaborating with peers or working as sole professionals, viewing the role of management as one of obstruction or interference. Second, administering the same survey instrument in multiple settings presupposes that the particular work environment and the exact nature of the employees and the work they carry out are not relevant factors. Further, we have no way of knowing if subordinates have had the opportunity to witness the full range of leadership activities or behaviours in which their superiors engage. Managers may engage in a very different suite of behaviours with their subordinates, than they do when they are interacting with their peers or the individuals who they themselves report to. Finally, given the amount of supervisory, management and leadership training that takes place in all sectors of the economy, it is difficult to imagine that those respondents completing a survey would not have had some exposure to the ideas being studied. This lack of respondent naïveté can significantly distort results, as some individuals attempt to respond

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