Leadership literature reviews

We receive many requests for literature reviews on leadership and the following three are the ones we tend to recommend:

The Performance and Innovation Unit (part of the Cabinet Office) produced this literature review which is an excellent analysis of changes and trends in leadership thinking and the implications for public sector leadership. The review is Annex D of "Strengthening Leadership in the Public Sector" by the PIU (March 2001) - Performance and Innovation Unit. To read this review, click here (pdf format - 582 Kb) or to read it in HTML format, click here

Warwick University's Systematic Review of the Leadership Development literature

The field of leadership development has generated a growing body of literature. This study, which looked at about 3,500 items, mainly from the USA, Canada, Australasia and the UK, aimed to find and assess the most valuable contributions. Most of them date from the past eight to ten years, though the focus of the study was on 1997-2003. The research, commissioned from Warwick Institute of Governance and Public Management at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, was conducted by Jean Hartley and Barrie Hinksman.

The main purpose was to produce a summary of the research on leadership development from across the NHS and public and private sector organisations, identifying key themes, findings and areas of debate.

The research includes:

• A summary of the research produced from across the NHS, public and private sectors identifying key themes, findings and areas of debate
• A summary of the key learning methodologies associated with leadership development and the research to support their use
• A summary of the key leadership models underpinning leadership development activities and the research to support their use
• An outline of different approaches to leadership development across public and private sectors
• A summary of different methodologies and models
• Outlines of the key literature associated with each topic area

To read this review, click here (pdf format - 1.01 Mb)

Henley Management College's literature review

"A Literature Review: Evidence of the contribution leadership development for professional groups makes in driving their organisations forward" by Sadie Williams of Henley Management College, Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames.
The aim of the review was to answer the question, what evidence is there of the contribution leadership development of professional groups makes in driving their organisations forward? Key issues addressed by the review include:

• What is known about the ways in which leadership development for professional groups has an effect on change in organisations?
• Are there ways in which such development can move organisations forward?

To read this review, click here (pdf format - 497 Kb)