4.5 CONCLUSION
In classical leadership theories and research on effective leadership there was a strong bias toward
description of leadership processes at the dyadic level, which involves the interaction between a leader
and an individual follower. Key questions at this level were how to develop a cooperative, trusting
relationship with a follower, and how to influence a follower to be more motivated and committed
(Yukl, 1999b). New leadership theories offered a distinctive approach that tied in with the great
appetite for stories about heroic chief executives and with the growing self-awareness of many
organizations about their missions. Underneath most theories of charismatic and transformational
leadership lies the implicit assumption of the leader as hero. The argument is that an effective leader
will influence followers to perform better. This orientation steers research in the direction of
identifying the essential traits, skills, and behaviors of individual leaders for motivating subordinates.
The research on dyadic processes provides important insights on leadership, but it often
underestimates the importance of the context in which a dyadic relationship occurs. Contemporary
leadership approaches, in contrast account for a leadership going above the individual and for a more
paradoxical perspective on leadership, combining seemingly opposing leadership behaviors. The
strategic leadership concept which is elaborated in the next chapter follows a similar line of reasoning.