TY - JOUR
T1 - Give them what they want or give them what they need? Ideology in the study of leadership
AU - Mumford, Michael D.
AU - Fried, Yitzhak
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - In recent years, a number of new, values-based, or ideological models focusing on leader behavior have been proposed. These models include authentic, servant, character-based, ethical, spiritual, and aesthetic leadership. In the present effort, we argue that these models, despite some differences in key dimensions, are tied together by a focus on moral behavior. The available evidence indicates that these models have only modest predictive power with respect to organizational performance criteria. More centrally, we argue that tests of these models are characterized by significant methodological problems with respect to both measurement and control. Moreover, these models suffer from some serious substantive concerns, including the explicit confounding of leadership and morality, discounting of system impacts, inappropriate assumptions about follower needs, and inappropriate scientific inferences. These models also fail to provide viable new approaches for leader development. We conclude that caution must be exercised when these models are employed as a basis for understanding leadership.
AB - In recent years, a number of new, values-based, or ideological models focusing on leader behavior have been proposed. These models include authentic, servant, character-based, ethical, spiritual, and aesthetic leadership. In the present effort, we argue that these models, despite some differences in key dimensions, are tied together by a focus on moral behavior. The available evidence indicates that these models have only modest predictive power with respect to organizational performance criteria. More centrally, we argue that tests of these models are characterized by significant methodological problems with respect to both measurement and control. Moreover, these models suffer from some serious substantive concerns, including the explicit confounding of leadership and morality, discounting of system impacts, inappropriate assumptions about follower needs, and inappropriate scientific inferences. These models also fail to provide viable new approaches for leader development. We conclude that caution must be exercised when these models are employed as a basis for understanding leadership.
KW - Leader development
KW - Leader selection
KW - Leadership
KW - Leadership theory
KW - Methods
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902676577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/job.1921
DO - 10.1002/job.1921
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84902676577
VL - 35
SP - 622
EP - 634
JO - Journal of Organizational Behavior
JF - Journal of Organizational Behavior
SN - 0894-3796
IS - 5
ER -