The multiple lenses of studying and approaching leadership

Abstract

This article discusses the multiple forms of studying and approaching leadership with a particular interest in recent theoretical and empirical studies from Brazilian scholarship on the topic. The article reviews what we denote as the three main lenses of leadership: individual leader(ship), followership, and collective leadership. The article’s typology epitomises the essential view of each lens and its historical treatment. We use this discussion about the three lenses to analyse the scientific literature on leadership in Brazilian scientific journals from 2016 to 2021. The systematic literature review of 32 articles reveals emphasis on the first lens, the focus on individual leaders, normally those in positions of authority, and the idea that leadership is a vertical and hierarchical activity rather than a collectivistic phenomenon. The article concludes by highlighting opportunities for empirical inquiry into more contemporary collective leadership research in Brazilian organisations.