Special issue on leadership falls behind

A special issue of the American Psychologist (January 2007) was devoted to leadership. The six articles, by W. Bennis; S. J. Zaccaro; V. H. Vroom and A. G. Yago; B. J. Avolio; R. J. Sternberg; and R. J. Hackman and R. Wageman, were written from an "industrial" perspective that places primary emphasis on positional leaders and their actions. Some readers of this series might conclude that the industrial model best explains leadership. It does not. The ecological perspective offers an alternative that deserves consideration. It is time to end the dominance of the industrial perspective.