Theory and Practice of Leadership

It is accepted now both in theory and in practice that leadership is one of the most important resources in organizations. This belief goes back to late 50s in Selznick’s conceptualizing general management capability as a key ‘distinctive capability’ of organizations, and even further back to Plato’s concept of the philosopher king in ancient Greece. The study of leadership both in business and other contexts has been of interest to both practitioners and academicians. In business, leadership is often seen as a distinguishing feature of successful organizations and some organizations have apparently succeeded by their superior capabilities to create and nurture leaders at different levels. In academics, research on leadership has often sought to understand leadership by classifying it, linking it to successful outcomes, or trying to identify the causal factors behind successful leaders. However, the field is yet to have a consensus on these different questions.