ABSTRACT
The goal of this chapter is to identify a profile of ideal political leadership style, as well as to relate it to actual political leaders in nations with varying levels of democratic maturity (Switzerland, Poland, Georgia and Pakistan). It focuses on Goleman's leadership theory and the possibilities and practical consequences of its application in the field of political management. The perception of the effectiveness of the six leadership styles distinguished by Goleman (i.e., coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching) was the subject of a cross-cultural research program, which includes: one experiment (Poland vs. Switzerland) and three cross-sectional surveys (in Poland, Georgia and Pakistan). The chapter presents the main results of this research and recommendations based on them for future research and political management practice.
