ABSTRACT
Much of the fascination with the topic of leadership stems from its assumed impact on performance. This assumption is supported by research on inferential models of leadership perceptions, which we have already examined. Moreover, leadership as a determinant of performance has been the central focus of leadership research for several decades, with interest shifting from trait to behavioral to contingency to reciprocal influence to social-cognitive theories of leadership. The main thesis of this chapter is that much of the extant leadership literature can be better understood by distinguishing between direct and indirect means by which leaders affect performance. The distinction between direct and indirect effects on organizational outcomes has been made by other leadership researchers (Hunt et al., in press) and is equally applicable to upper-and lowerlevel leadership.
