Leadership Theory and Development: The Coming ″New Phase″

The current state of leadership training and development is summarised, as well as the three phases through which leadership theory and practice have passed (trait, behavioural and situational phases). Then weaknesses of these three approaches to leadership are highlighted, along with what seems needed for the field to advance. New and intriguing directions in leadership research are then outlined, along with preliminary insights from these approaches. Finally, it is argued that we may now be poised on the brink of significant innovative advances in theory and in leadership development, based on these new approaches and findings.