TOWARD A "GRAND UNIFYING THEORY" OF LEADERSHIP: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSULTING PSYCHOLOGY

A succinct overview of some of the major research approaches to the study of leadership is provided as a foundation for the introduction of a multicomponent model of leadership that draws on those findings, complexity theory, and the concept of emergence. The major aspects of the model include: the personal characteristics and capacities, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and human working relationships of leaders, followers, and other stake holders, the organization's systems, including structures, processes, contents, and internal situations, the organization's performance and outcomes, and the external environment(s), ecological niches, and external situations in which an enterprise functions. The relationship between this model and other approaches in the literature as well as directions in research on leadership and implications for consulting practice are discussed.