Leadership in Organizations

Just like a human body cannot function without a brain, an organization be its small or large cannot survive without leadership. Leadership is defined differently in different organizational contexts but at the core of this concept are the skill sets and attributes that can help an organization navigate through difficulties and maintain competitive. Some widely cited leadership theories include Great Man Theory (Carlyle, 1888), Trait Theory (Allport, 1937), and Contingency Theory (Fiedler, 1967). Researchers and practitioners also put leadership skill sets and attributes into different categories to reflect different leadership styles. The most common ones include transactional leadership, autocratic leadership, servant leadership, distributed leadership, laissez-faire leadership (or delegative leadership), transformational leadership, among others. There are also commercially available instruments that help measure one’s leadership characteristics. Example instruments include the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (link), the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and the many 360 degree leadership assessments.

Looking at the two preceding scenarios, Johnston and Astrid both have been very successful in their professional careers by demonstrating strong leadership styles and leading changes in their respective program and organization. But one seems to continue to be successful with digital transformation when the other has ran into road blocks. So, what is the role that technology is playing in today’s leadership development in organizations? How can a traditional leader continue to be successful leading digital transformation? How can new leaders be prepared to lead changes and transformations in the era of 4IR? Is leadership in digital world different than in non-techy world? If so, how different?