On the journey to achieving leadership enlightenment, we are faced with choosing between two paths. Unfortunately, many are entirely unaware that a second path exists. The first path leads to ambiguous, emotional, immeasurable soft skills and questionable outcomes. On the other hand, the second path guides you toward the science of leadership, which consists of concrete, repeatable, and measurable hard skills that effectively incorporate the essential soft skills as catalysts for success. If we prioritize the desired destination or outcomes, making a wise and informed decision in selecting our path becomes crucial.
The study of leadership involves its theories, practices, and principles. It also consists of the examination of the traits, behaviors, and values of successful leaders to develop a comprehensive understanding of what makes an effective leader. When you begin to dig deeper, the study of the science of leadership becomes leaderology. The field of leaderology seeks to provide insights into the various nuances of leadership, including the roles, responsibilities, and competencies required of leaders to lead individuals, teams, and organizations toward their objectives. Accordingly, leaderologists often find themselves involved in organizational and team development.
Make no mistake! Leaderology is distinct from leadership coaching, which focuses on the development of individual leaders through mentoring, coaching, and counseling. In contrast, leaderology is a more comprehensive, scientific, and academic study that examines organizational and societal leadership. Moreover, leaderologists study how one affects the other and how to change one to maximize results. Accordingly, leaderologists must possess strong theoretical and practical knowledge of leadership and organizational dynamics.
The emergence of leaderology can be traced back to the mid-twentieth century when researchers began studying the traits and behaviors of successful leaders. Over time, the study of leadership has become more sophisticated, incorporating new theories and methods to better understand leadership’s complexities. The field of leaderology has grown in response to the increasing demand for skilled leaders who can navigate the complexities of today’s rapidly changing global business environment and for ideal organizational situations to host leadership and teams.
Leaderology plays an essential role in social science as it helps to explain how leaders influence and shape society. By examining the behaviors and actions of successful leaders, leaderologists can gain insights into how to address social and political issues effectively and determine which tactics don’t work. Leaderology is also critical in understanding how organizations and institutions can better lead their teams to promote social and economic progress and develop individuals accordingly.
Leaderology draws from various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, economics, political science, international relations, and more. As mentioned, it is a professional field that requires a high level of education and specialization. Specifically, leaderologists are usually required to have a deep understanding of organizational theory and development, performance improvement, team development, motivation and influence techniques, change models, negotiating, facilitation, bias evaluation and control, mindfulness techniques, emotional intelligence, human mind heuristics, organizational structure, psychology, business, international business, global trends, and more.
A fun nuance of leaderology is history. Leaderology also examines and evaluates historical mistakes and victories of past leaders and organizations. By examining the successes and failures of past leaders, leaderologists can develop a deeper understanding of what works and what does not work in different contexts. This knowledge can then be applied to current or future situations to improve the effectiveness of leaders and organizational outcomes. Some advanced leaderologists even specialize in strategic forecasting, which involves predicting future trends and developing strategies to adapt to them.
Something worth noting is that the leadership industry currently remains interdisciplinary and unregulated. However, as more professionals dedicate the entirety of their education to leadership specifically, leaderology as a discipline will continue to expand. At the time of this writing, true leaderologists are relatively rare. However, leaderology will likely become even more critical as organizations face increasing pressures to adapt to economic and technological shifts. The need for skilled leaders who can lead complexity, uncertainty, and change will only grow, and leaderology will be essential in developing these leaders. Adopting leaderology or contracting with a trained leaderologist will likely provide you and your organization a tremendous advantage.
At the very least, organizations need leaderologists because they provide the knowledge and skills required to develop effective leaders and drive organizational success. A leaderologist can help organizations understand how to motivate employees, lead change, navigate complex relationships, and develop effective strategies. By hiring a true leaderologist, organizations can create a competitive advantage that enables them to thrive. Similarly, by becoming a true leaderologist yourself, you can be the one to help in that fight.
Leadership is a lot more than showing empathy or listening. Leaderology applied in real-world situations is complex and varies depending on the context in which it is used. For instance, a leaderologist can help an organization navigate a merger or acquisition successfully, develop effective strategies to adapt to a changing market, or improve employee engagement and productivity. There is also the alignment of organizational directives and employees, leadership pipeline preparation, and organizational process and productivity improvement. Of course, we must not forget the development of leadership skills and influence techniques.
As an emerging discipline, leaderology is a critical field that provides insights into what makes an effective leader or follower. With the increasing demand for skilled leaders who can navigate complex environments and effective organizations that can compete in the rapidly changing business environment, leaderology will likely become even more critical in the years to come. Organizations that want to succeed should consider investing in developing effective leaders within their organizations and the leaderologists that can help them achieve that end.
Leaderology is undeniably a complex and demanding field that stands apart from the superficial brand of leadership often promoted on social media. It is essential to acknowledge that there is no universally applicable solution or style, as each situation requires a tailored approach. It is also worth noting that the strategies advocated by many non-leadership-educated individuals, often self-proclaimed gurus, tend to lack a scientific foundation and demonstrate limited effectiveness in the long term.
Choose your path wisely.
Author(s): Dr. David M Robertson
Board Insights | Open Source | ORCID iD
Published Online: 2023 Jul – All Rights Reserved.
APA Citation: Robertson, D. (2023, Jul 16). The Emergence and Future of Leaderology in Today’s Business World. The Journal of Leaderology and Applied Leadership. https://jala.nlainfo.org/the-emergence-and-future-of-leaderology-in-todays-business-world/