Leadership Success or Failure: Understanding the Link between Promotion Criteria and Leader Effectiveness

Mike Stutzman¹, Tracy K. Tunwall^2
(1. Rockwell Collins University-Rockwell Collins, Inc., USA;
2. Department of Business and Rockwell Collins, Mount Mercy University, USA)

Abstract: Leadership is a real and vastly consequential phenomenon, perhaps the single most important issue in the human sciences (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005). Leadership is also historically one of the most poorly understood (Judge, Piccolo, & Ilies, 2004). Leadership solves the problem of how to organize collective effort; consequently, it is the key to organizational effectiveness and personnel management (Bono & Judge, 2004). With good leadership and proper training, organizations thrive and prosper. Bad leaders perpetrate terrible misery on those subject to their domain. The purpose of this qualitative study is to expand the field of knowledge regarding how proper leadership selection can positively impact the long-term sustainability and culture of the workforce through employee engagement (Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004). Increased understanding of the relationships among the variables included in this study offer the possibility to enable a long-term sustainable workforce model through the development of proper leader selection and measurement. In conclusion, leadership effectiveness should be defined and evaluated in terms of the performance of the group or team for which a leader is responsible. Ultimately it is recommended that a greater emphasis be placed on results to enhance the real-world relevance of leadership research. It is predicted that organizations that choose and reward leaders on the basis of how their teams perform will be more likely to succeed and stand the test of time (Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004). Many studies lend support to the latter view. In the long run organizations must develop cultural values that support and reward effective performance, not just successful socializing and politicking.

Key words: training; personnel management; corporate culture

JEL code: M53, M12, M14