Leadership as an Organizational Quality

Abstract

In this article, leadership is conceptualized as an organizational quality. Adopting a perspective on organizations offered by institutional theory, the authors offer a view of leadership that builds on the following points: Leadership flows through the networks of roles that comprise organizations. The medium of leadership and the currency of leadership lie in the personal resources of people. And, leadership shapes the systems that produce patterns of interaction and the meanings that other participants attach to organizational events.