interdependence of opposing tendencies. In this conceptualization the opposing tendencies not only
coexist and interact, but also form a complementary relationship.
4.4 CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP THEORIES
4.4.1 COMPLEXITY THEORY
Over the past two decades, more nuanced, complex, and distinct approaches to leadership have
emerged in the literature. Based on Quinn's (1984, 1988) competing values framework, the theory of
leadership complexity (Denison et al., 1995; Hooijberg et al., 1997) suggested that behavioral
complexity is an important concept to study within the realm of managerial leadership. Specifically,
they argued that more effective leaders display a variety of different and sometimes contradictory
behaviors to react to the wide range of situations they are typically exposed to and required to address.
7KHORFXVRIOHDGHUVKLSZLWKLQWKH³OHDGHUSOH[ ́PRGHOOies in the leader and the context. The theory
focuses on leaders' ability to integrate and differentiate socially, cognitively, and behaviorally taking
into account the context, while adapting their behaviors accordingly. If leaders do not have a
particular behavior in their repertoire that matches the demands of the context, then leadership will not
arise and the enacted behavior will be ineffective.
4.4.2 SOCIAL NETWORK THEORY
A second recent approach to leadership examines the phenomenon through social network theory.
Balkundi and Kilduff (2006) discussed the idea that a leader's cognitive representation of the patterns
of relationships within various networks (e.g., ego, organizational, and inter-organizational) is the
starting point for the way that the leader initiates and maintains social ties, which in turn influences
their leadership effectiveness. Although this theory sees the leader's network acuity as the starting
point, the locus of leadership lies within the network of relationships or the collective. These authors
argued that it is only through a full understanding of the social networks and one's role within them
that leadership can arise. Contrasting the earliest trait theories, Balkundi and Kilduff (2006) stated that
WKHLU³QHWZRUNDSproach locates leadership not in the attributes of individuals but in the relationships
FRQQHFWLQJLQGLYLGXDOV ́(p.420).
While complexity theory takes a more intricate perspective to the notion of opposite behaviors, social
network theory allows for conceptualizing leadership as something more than the sum of individuals.