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Leadership in organisations: Meta, macro and micro

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  • Nicholls, John

Abstract

The study of leadership suffers from too many definitions, not too few. Much of this confusion springs from the fact that there are two fundamentally different perspectives on leadership. From these arise three common usages of the word. This article suggests that we recognise this diversity and abandon the search for a unique definition. The first perspective views leadership as "influence on individuals" without using power or authority. This "meta" leadership relates individuals to their environment through "visioning" -- a complex interaction of perception, articulation, conviction and empathy (PACE). The second perspective views leadership as the "shaking and moving" of an organisation to face the future, cope with change and achieve results. It includes both the creation of a successful organisation, through "macro" leadership, and the accomplishment of specific jobs or tasks, through "micro" leadership. These three types of leadership -- meta, macro and micro -- are examined from the two perspectives. It is suggested that all three should be exercised by managers at all levels - no matter how junior.

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  • Nicholls, John, 1988. "Leadership in organisations: Meta, macro and micro," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 16-25, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:6:y:1988:i:1:p:16-25
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    Cited by:

    1. Derya Kara, 2012. "The Effects of Managers Transformational Leadership Style on Employees Organizational Commitment," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 2(1), pages 16-24, January.
    2. Peter Blokland & Genserik Reniers, 2021. "Achieving Organisational Alignment, Safety and Sustainable Performance in Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-35, September.
    3. Desjardins, Christoph & Baker, Mark, 2013. "The Leadership Task Model," Journal of Applied Leadership and Management, Hochschule Kempten - University of Applied Sciences, Professional School of Business & Technology, vol. 2, pages 17-39.

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