Leadership: Theory and Practice

Peter G. Northouse. Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997, 274 pages, $22.95 softcover.

Reviewed by Cgleste M. Brotheridge, Ph.D. Student, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

What do we know about leadership and how might this knowledge be applied in the workplace? These two questions provide the focus for this book as Northouse and several contributing authors consider the topic of leadership from a number of different perspectives. In his introduction to the book, Northouse indicates that "based on the research literature, this text will provide an in-depth description and application of many different approaches to leadership." Wow! What an exciting promise to make to readers-especially me, given my practitioner experience in facilitating leadership development workshops and my natural hunger as a Ph.D. student for insights and perspectives on such an important topic. It is from both perspectives that I offer this review.

In 12 chapters, Northouse and several contributing authors provide a concise and articulate presentation of leadership theories ranging from those which are traditionally included in an organizational behavior textbook to those found in the popular press. Aside from an introductory chapter, the chapters tend to be organized in a similar format. With a few exceptions (to be discussed later), each chapter considers a single theory and is, on average, 19 pages in length. A typical chapter includes: (a) a six-page description of the theory, (b) a one-page description of how the theory works, (c) a three-page review of the theory's key strengths and weaknesses, (d) a one-page discussion of how the theory might be applied in the workplace, (e) three case studies intended to illustrate theoretical concepts, each one page in length, (f) a three-page leadership instrument, (g) a one-page summary, and (h) a page of references.

In Chapters 2 to 7, Northouse discusses leadership theories that are commonly presented in organizational behavior textbooks. In Chapter 2, he presents a cogent perspective on the history of the trait approach and then presents a...