LEADERSHIP

Leadership Network
The Leadership Network is a federal government initiative – a horizontal organization whose mandate is to promote, develop and support networks of leaders throughout the Public Service of Canada.  The web site is a valuable resource for articles and information addressing leadership from a number of important perspectives.  An extensive collection of articles is divided into logical categories such as leadership, career development and building a healthy workplace.  A series of leadership development tools and self-assessment tools provide the visitor an opportunity to explore their own leadership styles and preferences.  Information available on the site is clearly marked as to its applicability to public or private sector.  This site contains valuable information for all sectors and all levels of leadership.

Changing Leadership Style
This article explores how we can change our leadership style through the application of the Transtheoretical Model.  According to the article, the change process occurs in five stages: Precontemplation; Contemplation; Preparation; Action; and Maintenance. Each of these stages is dealt with in terms of a description of the leader in the particular stage, and the specific change processes associated with that stage.  The descriptions are brief, but clearly articulated, and valuable for anyone seeking to improve their leadership style.  The site also provides two valuable links – one to a description of leadership styles and the other to 'Sources of Motivation and Motivational Inducement Systems'.

Sports Leadership Article "Effects of Leadership Style, Experience, and Competitiveness on the Cohesiveness of a Collegiate Sports Team".
This site provides details of a study in the area of leadership and teamwork in which the research population was a collegiate women's lacrosse team.  The report includes a relevant literature review, description of the research methodology and instrumentation, and outlines the findings and conclusions of the study. This study examined the effects of leadership in relation to competitive orientation, skill, experience and cohesion. Thirty-one members of the women's lacrosse team were administered the Leadership Scale for Sports, Sports Orientation Questionnaire, Group Environment Questionnaire, and four Sociometric Questions identifying leadership status, competitive orientation, skill, and cohesion. Next the leaders and non-leaders were identified using sociometric procedures. It was found that there was no significant difference between leaders and non-leaders in their preference for democratic and autocratic leadership styles. These findings support the previous study. Leaders were more skilled at the task of the sport. However, there is evidence to suggest that experience is not necessarily correlated with the skills of the sport. Leaders were more competitive than non-leaders. The overall cohesiveness of the team was modified by the experience and skill of the players. In comparison to the previous study, the present team was found to be more cohesive. Experience, skill, and competitive orientation of leadership of sports teams needs to be further researched.

Style of Management and Leadership
Manfred Davidmann discusses at length, styles of management and leadership and their associated outcomes in terms of organizational effectiveness.  Davidmann takes a systems thinking perspective, and encourages us to 'look at things as they really are'. “Clearly defined and described is the whole scale of style of management and organizing, from fully authoritarian to fully participative.  It applies to community organizations, commercial enterprises, political parties, whole countries. The social assumptions underlying each of the styles are given, as are problems they create, the symptoms by which they can be recognized, and the ways people work together or against each other within them.”  Davidmann makes a strong case for the benefits of participative leadership in improving profitability and organizational effectiveness.  He also provides suggestions and recommendations as to how we might implement more participative leadership in our own organizations.

A Style of Leadership that Really Delivers
This site provides details of a study conducted into the realities of transformational leadership.  "Much has been written in the popular press in recent years about the "transformational" style of leadership, but one key question has remained unanswered: Does it really make a difference in practice? Ivey Business School Professor Jane Howell gives a resounding "yes." She has recently completed extensive research on "transformational" leaders and their impact on organizational performance and innovation, with some exciting news for managers."  Howell divides leadership styles into four broad categories and four key behaviors associated with transformational leadership. This site provides the visitor with a succinct look at the benefits of transformational leadership.

Educational Leadership - On-line Libraries
This site is an extensive list of resources in the area of educational and academic leadership.  Articles, links and other resources are divided into eight broad categories: Education reform and restructuring; Ethics, diversity and gender; Program evaluation and analysis; General resources; Instructional leadership; Organizational theory and practice; Policy and program planning; and Professional development and academic leadership. Dedicated to leadership in educational and academic institutions, this site is a valuable on-line library of relevant resources.

A Basic Overview of Organizational Leadership
This site offers well-developed views of leadership in organizations, both profit and not for profit.  Carter McNamara, Ph.D. explores various definitions of leadership, leadership theories and styles, views about what knowledge and skills a leader should have, and current thinking on core leadership competencies.   Through an exhaustive series of links, McNamara presents diverse views on leadership in organizations.  Not only does he discuss such things as traditional and emerging paradigms, current thinking on leading versus managing, and the findings of leadership studies, but he also provides the site visitor with valuable guidelines to understanding the vast array of literature available on the subject of leadership in organizations.