Promoting more integrative strategies for leadership theory-building

Abstract

The agenda for theory and research in the field of leadership studies has evolved over the last 100 years from focuses on the internal dispositions associated with effective leaders to broader inquiries that include emphases on the cognitions, attributes, behaviors, and contexts in which leaders and followers are dynamically embedded and interact over time. Leadership theory and research has reached a point in its development at which it needs to move to the next level of integration - considering the dynamic interplay between leaders and followers, taking into account the prior, current, and emerging context - for continued progress to be made in advancing both the science and practice of leadership. Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association.