ABSTRACT
Leadership as a construct and a practice has considerable currency in contemporary thought. Whether one looks at academic disciplines, practical fields or the popular press, the term ‘leadership’ figures prominently in the attempt to describe a particular set of relationships among people. There are undoubtedly a number of reasons for this position of significance given to the idea of leadership: these would certainly include the romanticized elements of leadership as well as the more realistic effect that ‘leaders’ have on our social and natural world. Perhaps a good deal of interest in the concept can be traced to a certain malaise about our interactions with and within organizations and the routine and determined nature of life that organizations tend to impose. Facing an uncertain future where a mistake can have deadly and unknown ramifications, we ask that somebody be prescient enough to guide us. Whether the concern is with questions of a global nature or with questions of a more local character, and whether the concern is with improving an organization or improving chances of survival, it is clear that the idea of leadership meets some kind of modern need, a deep desire both to be in control of our circumstances and to alter them for the better.
