The Nature of Leadership
Completion requirements
Previous units have addressed how organizations are changing in response to the dynamic business environment. This leaves questions about how the role of leadership will change as well. This resource offers insights into the nature of leadership, the process of leadership, and how leaders emerge in organizations.
The Leadership Process
- What are the processes associated with people coming to leadership positions?
Leadership is a process, a complex and dynamic exchange relationship built over time between leader and follower and between leader and the group of followers who depend on each other to attain a mutually desired goal. There are several key components to this "working relationship": the leader, the followers, the context (situation), the leadership process per se, and the consequences (outcomes). Across time, each component interacts with and influences the other components, and whatever consequences (such as leader-follower trust) are created influence future interactions. As any one of the components changes, so too will leadership.
Exhibit 12.3 The Leadership Process