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What Makes A Good Or Bad Leader?

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INTRODUCTION Casual observation over thirty years of a business career has gotten me interested in the dynamics of leadership. Empirical data suggests that employees with good managers or leadership thrive, while employees with bad managers or leadership suffer. Researchers have long wondered about what makes a good or bad leader. Since Thomas Carlyle’s “great man” theory“ (Carlyle, 1840), which led to Trait theory in the 1920-30, through Behavioral theory and into current times when most researchers focus on the relationships between leader and follower, researchers have been trying to understand the dynamics of good vs. bad leadership (Ashforth, 1994; Bennis 1959; Cowley, 1931; Skinner, 1953; Stogdill, 1948). The need for analysis …show more content…

If the hypotheses put forth later in this dissertation are proven correct and there is a measureable effect that each type of leadership has on employees then further evaluation of their delta will be done. If the delta proves to be of statistical significant then it would be worth expanding the study to include more types of business models to see if the findings hold up over a broader range of business, governmental and military environments. If this study proves negative leadership has a negative impact on employee’s morale and health and that positive leadership has a positive impact on employees’ morale and health then the following successfully arguments can be made due to the potential benefits derived:
1) Educators should require the creation of core classes that will provide instructions on what skills/behavior make a good leader and which behaviors to avoid because they have negative impact on followers.
2) Senior business leaders and governmental leaders should ensure that their managers and leaders have undergone training in good leadership practices and it is part of their yearly evaluations with specific goals set around the enforcement of good leadership practices.
Significance of the Study
The reason why such studies are important is very clear, according to the Integrated Benefits Institute U.S. time lost due to employees’ sickness cost the U. S.

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