Meindl, J. R. (1995). The romance of leadership as a follower-centric theory: A social constructionist approach. The leadership quarterly, 6(3), 329-341.
This is a good example of a theory paper. It shows the contrasts in the various interpretations of competing theories clearly.
Summary
Much leadership research in the past has focused on the leader. In contrast, the romance of leadership theory examines leadership as a social construction of followers. This subjective definition of leadership emphasis not on leaders’ behaviors or characteristics, but on the conditions, situations, or social processes that give rise to perceived (or attributed) characteristics. This “leadership is in the eyes of the beholder” approach allows for more flexibility in its conception of leadership. For example, a manager who raises the base pay for factory workers can be seen in a positive light (“She really appreciates us!”) or a negative light (“She’s probably doing this so she can take away our benefits”).
This theory places a strong emphasis on appearance (e.g., reputation over actions, impressions over personality). It is empowering to employees because it infers that potential followers have the ability to construct leadership in the “right way.” Leadership emerges, from followers, as a way to address certain organizational issues and improve organizational functioning. Studies using this theory have found that crisis causes a group to increasingly use charismatic criteria for emerging leadership. Higher levels of arousal also lead to increased use of charismatic criteria for leadership. A social contagion model has also been applied using this theory, highlighting the ways that leadership concepts can vary across networks.
Application
It is important, in preparing students for management positions, to stress the role that followers will have in defining and evaluating them.
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