Why is the study of leadership important for aspiring managers? First, as we noted in the opening chapter of this book, leadership is the pivotal function of management. To be effective, managers have to lead. Subordinates expect their managers to lead; and if managers are to strategize, plan, control, organize, and develop employees, they must meet these exceptions. Moreover, advancement within organizations requires leadership skills. You do not get to run an organization or one of its subunits unless you have demonstrated that you can lead subordinates.

Second, it is important to learn what makes an effective leader. We have seen that leaders are skilled at using power to influence subordinates and other important constituencies, as well as to get things done. Although personality traits such as intelligence and charisma may define some successful leaders, many of the characteristics of effective leaders are behaviors that can be learned and improved through practice. It is possible to learn how to lead; competencies that can be learned, such as strategic thinking and emotional intelligence, are potentially important predictors of leadership success. We have also seen that it may pay managers to vary their leadership styles, matching them to the situations. Some situations call for more task-oriented leadership, others for more people-oriented leadership; if path-goal theory is correct, managers can learn the skills associated with these various leadership styles and tailor their use of them to match the circumstances they face. Finally, we have seen what it takes to be a transformational leader—to alter the strategy and organization architecture of the company or subunit that a manager leads. This requires a set of behaviors that can be learned and honed through experience. The central message of this chapter is that you can learn how to improve your effectiveness as a leader.