Leadership
Unlocking the secrets of effective leadership is a vital pursuit for organisations and individuals. Understanding what makes a great leader can inspire, motivate, and transform the world around us. Our leadership research covers various leadership theories and styles, including leader-member exchange, humility, servant, ethical, identity, entrepreneurial leadership, and abusive supervision.
By studying these different approaches to leadership, we can better understand their effects on employee behaviour and organisational outcomes, ultimately helping organisations create more positive and productive work environments. Our research contributes to developing evidence-based best practices for effective leadership, helping leaders make informed decisions and build successful teams.
Our researchers
Collaborators
Our partners
Our team collaborates with a diverse range of organisations to provide co-constructed, research-based solutions to leadership challenges within them. We have worked with large government agencies on their leadership competencies models, evaluated several leadership development programs, and measured the effectiveness of leaders and teams over time.
In addition, we also provide leadership training programs that enhance skills and competencies, promote personal and professional growth, and improve overall team performance. Our training programs have included:
- A suite of programs for a large transport organisation on servant leadership
- Customised programs on value-based leadership
- Customised one-to-one coaching sessions
- Targeted leadership development sessions.
The latter three we have conducted for government agencies and international companies based in Australia.
Featured publications
- Tang, Y., Lam, C. K., Ouyang, K., Huang, X., & Tse, H. H. (2022). Comparisons draw us close: The influence of leader‐member exchange dyadic comparison on coworker exchange. Personnel Psychology, 75(1), 215-240.
- Eva, N., Wolfram Cox, J., Tse, H. H., & Lowe, K. B. (2021). From competency to conversation: A multi-perspective approach to collective leadership development. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(5), 101346.
- Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111-132.
- Seibert, S. E., Sargent, L. D., Kraimer, M. L., & Kiazad, K. (2017). Linking developmental experiences to leader effectiveness and promotability: The mediating role of leadership self‐efficacy and mentor network. Personnel Psychology, 70(2), 357-397.
- Sendjaya, S., Pekerti, A., Härtel, C., Hirst, G., & Butarbutar, I. (2016). Are authentic leaders always moral? The role of Machiavellianism in the relationship between authentic leadership and morality. Journal of Business Ethics, 133, 125-139.
- Kiazad, K., Restubog, S. L. D., Zagenczyk, T. J., Kiewitz, C., & Tang, R. L. (2010). In pursuit of power: The role of authoritarian leadership in the relationship between supervisors’ Machiavellianism and subordinates’ perceptions of abusive supervisory behavior. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(4), 512-519.
Ongoing projects
- Reconceptualising leadership: This research series investigates the value of examining leadership as different ‘styles’ and argues that more useful approaches can be used to integrate the field. This research has been presented at several international conferences and roundtables.
- Are servant leaders good for employees but not organisations? This research series examines how servant leaders develop the skills and abilities of their employees, so much so that they can leave the organisation for opportunities elsewhere - arguing that people do leave good bosses.
Watch, listen, read
- Great expectations: How gender bias is limiting women in leadership, Monash Business School, 2023.
- Impact: Volunteering is declining. How can we reverse the trend?, Monash Business School, 2023.
- Australia is running out of volunteers, SBS, 2023.
- Is there one best way to lead? Reconceptualising how we measure leadership, Monash Business School, 2021.
- Impact: Why do people volunteer?, Monash Business School, 2018.
- What kind of leaders will Generation Z want?, Thought Capital, 2019.
- Biggest mistakes bosses are making with Gen Z, news.com.au, 2023.
- What motivates people to volunteer and how do you manage them?, Monash Impact, 2018.
- The concept of collective leadership and how it could lead us out of a pandemic, Monash Impact, 2021.
- Five ways to reboot your organisation and develop diverse leaders, Monash Impact, 2022.
- Is good leadership bad for the wellbeing of leaders, Monash Impact, 2019.
- Why wicked CEOs prevail: Dark personality traits of the executive suite, Monash Impact, 2019.