Beyond the daily catch: Desired leader profile in Iceland

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners univocally agree that leadership affects performance and the effectiveness of organizational outcomes (Uhl-Bien et al., Leadersh Q 25(1):83–104, 2014). Interestingly, it was the context of Iceland that emerged in one of the seminal studies confirming the direct relationship between leadership and performance. Through a 3-year analysis of fishing industry and ship performance in particular, Thorlindsson revealed that leadership attributes of different captains could account for 35–49% of the variation in performance (i.e., the catch in this particular case). However, up-to-date discussion on leadership performance has extended beyond the daily catch, and today there is a general consensus that leadership effectiveness depends on the leader’s identity and the extent of the schemes and prototypes that he or she holds matches those of his or her followers. The following chapter is an attempt to formulate the desired leader profiles in Iceland.