Schools of business usually include the study of leadership as part of a survey of organizational behavior (OB) theory. This article examines how several of the most frequently used OB texts treat leadership. This article identifies some underlying myths being purveyed in those texts and the realities of the leadership dynamic that are being ignored.
Major finding: leadership, as presented in the selected texts, is a collection of control theories that ignores essential aspects of the leadership concept. Furthermore, these texts imply that leadership is achieved by being promoted into a supervisory role.
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