Why is there little academic agreement on what makes a good leader?

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I, [names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

The leaders are considered to be the pillar of the organizations that play significant role in developing it by making use of different qualities of their personality. These qualities are usually possessed by the leaders by improving their organizational skills in order to fulfil the organization's aims and objectives in an effective manner. The leaders are required to play an important role at each step of the organizational functions in order to benefit the organization from his interpersonal effective qualities. The leaders are the important source for the organizational development and by implementing their ideas within the organizations, they can make the company successful in the long run. The business operations of the organizations are largely dependent on the leaders that the company has been operating under. All these facts have been stated within the past literature on the leadership theories. However past studies carried out on the leadership theories have been pin pointing various characteristics of the leaders and does not rely on a single characteristic. Thus it can be said that there is not agreement on a single leadership theory on the academic side.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1 Background of the Study1

1.2 Problem Statement2

1.3 Aim of the Study2

1.4 Objectives of the Study2

1.5 Significance of the Study3

1.6 Rationale of the Study3

1.7 Research Questions4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW5

2.1 Theoretical Framework5

2.2 Leadership Theories5

2.2.1 Charismatic Leadership5

2.2.2 Inspirational Leadership6

2.3 Models of Leadership7

2.3.1 Instructional leadership7

2.3.2 Transformational leadership8

2.4 Past Studies on Leadership9

2.5 Leadership Challenges10

2.5.1 Inability to Provide Feedback10

2.5.2 Ineffective Leadership Style11

2.6 Similarities and Differences in Leadership Theories11

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY12

3.1 Introduction12

3.2 Achievement of Aims of the Study12

3.3 Justification of Research Method13

3.4 Research design13

3.5 Method of Analysis14

3.6 Data collection Techniques15

3.7 Reason for adopting Qualitative15

3.8 Data Collection Sources15

3.9 Data Collection16

3.10 Research Instrument17

3.11 Reliability/Dependability17

3.12 Validity17

3.13 Ethical Consideration18

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS20

4.1 Findings of the Study20

4.2 Leadership20

4.3 Types of Leadership21

4.4 Scholarly Work on Leadership23

4.5 Pioneering Leadership Concepts24

4.6 Contributions of theory to the field25

4.7 Analysis of Literature In Relation To Controversies25

4.8 Cultural Aspects of Leadership26

4.10 Neo-Colonialism27

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION28

5.1 Reasons of Little Academic Agreement on what makes good Leader28

5.2 Objectives of the Study29

5.3 Achievement of the Objectives29

5.7 Style and Behaviour Theory32

5.8 Situational and Contingency theory32

5.9 Factors Affecting Leadership33

5.9.1 Role of Organizational Size, Management Innovation And ...