The Leadership Mystique

The proliferation of literature on effective leadership is amply reflected by the increase in the number of articles in its bible, Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership. While the old handbook, published in 1974, listed only three thousand studies, that number increased to five thousand within seven years, a pace of publication that has accelerated ever since. It is unfortunate, however, that the popularity of leadership research has not been equalled by its relevance. One of the problems has been that too many theories about organisations seem to have had their gestation in the ivory towers of academia. The titles of the theories - new and old - reveal the nature of their contents, plodding and detached, often far removed from the reality of day-to-day life. In this article an exposé is given of the leadership phenomenon taken from a clinical angle. Some of the psychological pressures on leaders are explored. Suggestions are made of what makes for effective leadership.