Chapter 11: Extending Relational Leadership Theory: The Role of Affective Processes in Shaping Leader–Follower Relationships

Leadership, defined by Yukl (2006) as a social interaction process in which an individual (the leader) attempts to influence the behaviors of another (the follower), continues to be an area of intense research in organizational behavior. Moreover, research on organizational leadership tends to revolve around individual-level elements, as evidenced by the distinct foci placed on leader traits, behaviors, contingencies, and situational factors. Chemers (2000), however, notes that focusing on these aspects of leadership often produces overly-simplified and unrealistic theories of leadership effectiveness. In Chemers’ words, “leadership theory and empirical research have been regarded as a fractured and confusing set of contradictory findings and assertions without coherence of interpretability” (p. 27). Yukl agrees with this, arguing that extant leadership theory disregards the social nature of the leadership process and how interactions between leaders and followers shape leadership effectiveness.