"An ecological perspective on leadership theory, research, and practice" by Richard M. Wielkiewicz and Stephen P. Stelzner
 

Psychology Faculty Publications

An ecological perspective on leadership theory, research, and practice

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2005

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Current theories of leadership are based mainly on the industrial paradigm emphasizing the preeminence of positional leaders and the machine-like qualities of organizations. Evolutionary and attributional biases tend to reinforce the industrial paradigm. The authors propose an ecological theory of leadership that makes 4 important assertions: (a) Effective leadership processes involve temporary resolutions of a tension between the traditional industrial approach and the neglected ecological approach; (b) specific leaders are less important than they appear because the ecological context is more important than what leaders decide to do; (c) organizations are more adaptive when there is a diversity of genuine input into decision-making processes; and (d) leadership itself is an emergent process arising from the human interactions that make up the organization.

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