literature reviews and leadership

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• v.9(6); 2023 Jun
• PMC10275767

A study on managerial leadership in education: A systematic literature review

Abdul karim.

a Department of Leadership & Islamic Educational Management, Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon, Indonesia

b Department of Management, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Cirebon, Indonesia

Nunung Nurnilasari

Dian widiantari.

c Department of Islamic Educational Management, Universitas Islam Bunga Bangsa Cirebon, Indonesia

Fikriyah Fikriyah

d Department of Primary Teacher Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon, Indonesia

Ros Awaliyah Rosadah

e Department of D3 Hospitality, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Cirebon, Indonesia

Aip Syarifudin

f Department of Early Chieldhood Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon, Indonesia

Wahyu Triono

g Department of Informatics Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon, Indonesia

Kirana Lesmi

h Department of Out of School Education, Universitas Insan Cendekia Mandiri (UICM) Bandung, Indonesia

Nurkholis Nurkholis

Associated data.

Data included in article/supp. material/referenced in article.

Articles on managerial leadership (ML) have been published from year to year, since 1950s. The use of ML theory in previous research is common, but some inconsistencies are found regarding the terms commonly used. In other words, there is a mismatch between the use of the term ML in article paper and structures. This will certainly have an impact on bias and ambiguity for future research literatures.

Theoretical review on this topic is rarely carried out, specifically in ML theory. The novelty of this research lies in the classification results of articles that used the term ML in accordance with the theory.

This theoretical review was conducted to examine the classification of accuracy of articles which were using the term ML in title with four consistency and accuracy indicators on the article structures starting from the problem, aim, literature, results and discussion, as well as conclusion sections.

This review as a qualitative literature research used a language and historical approach, as well as a ML theory. This study Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The technique and instrument used was bibliographic instruments, comprehensive list of keywords and mixed search terms to search the articles online with the help of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers. A total of 68 articles published from 1959 to 2022 as a final reviewed. They were obtained from several well-known digital journal content such as Jstor, Proquest, Oxford University Press, Google Scholar, and National Library, as well as various journals under major publishers such as Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, SAGE, Emerald, Brill, and Wiley. The data collected were analyzed using content analysis with 4 indicators of consistent (accurate & additional) and inconsistent (difference & additional), and 4 accuracy category of accuracy, appropriate, bias, and error for determaining the articles classification, and validated them by using triangulation and grounded theory.

The results showed that in 1959 the first article appeared using the word ML, in 2012 the first and only article appeared that only used ML, and the last is in 2022. Then, the consistency of the title with other article sections is 17 articles (25% of 68) according to the accurate term indicator. Last, the accuracy of articles was divided into four categories: 10 articles (15% of 68) in the accuracy category.

Contribution

This systematic review contributes the article classification that can become a more established scientific roadmap of references and reasoning of studying ML.

1. Introduction

The study of leadership has been a central part of the literature on management behavior in an organization for several decades and has been widely researched. In relation to that, there has been growing interest in global leadership among scholars and practitioners due to the strategic importance of organizations for expanding services. The previous research suggested that certain cultural leadership characteristics are likely useful. This view is widely supported by findings from almost all major research. Currently, there have been a thousand articles on the related subject, and it has been increasing at a high rate and a large body of literature [ [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] ]. Classically, managerial leadership (ML) was an effective and efficient organizational approach [ 9 ]. It was an on-demand useful leadership [ 10 ]. Recently, ML theory has been a combination between the functions and work of the managers with the role of leaders in an educational organization and corporate [ [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] ]. In addition, the ML is set up to discuss obstacles inhibiting leadership performance in formal organizations from achieving success in the current environment [ 8 , 15 , 16 ].

This research contributes to knowledge with an exploratory research of a review of consistent managerial leadership (ML) terms to avoid bias in some reading sources and references. The analysis was done by classifying articles using the term viewed from how the consistency fits the article's structure, problems, objectives, literature, findings, and conclusions through indicators of consistency and accuracy.

The issue has been explored through the lens of an event's team, which is in response to the call for more empirical research on the enablers and inhibitors of successful events as articulated in the literature. The issues in this study focus on inconsistencies in ML terms between the title and other parts of the article structure, making the articles biased and resulting in terminology errors. One solution is implementing history, consistency, and classifying articles based on accuracy indicators.

Several phenomena emerged in research articles about ML are that in reviewing the leadership literature, however, little consensus exists among researchers and practitioners about how to develop leaders [ 5 ]. The key emerging knowledge gap is the fact that the available studies have not investigated the link between leadership ethics and services [ 4 ]. The massive size and scope of the literature precludes detailed descriptions of individual studies of every leadership reference [ 1 , 17 ]. Furthermore, the literature on leadership does not involve an extensive list of leadership styles [ 6 ]. Only a few good studies have contributed to the roles and functions of leaders [ 18 ]. Moreover, regarding the review on the leader roles, they often struggle to balance the expectations of their many roles and responsibilities [ 16 ]. Leadership has always been more difficult in challenging times. It calls for a renewed focus on genuine leadership [ 19 ]. Consequently, several conscious leaders are vacuumed in institutions. Therefore, principle leaders are urgently needed [ 20 ].

ML is often used as a reference in developing leadership theory in the world of education, this is what makes ML a contribution that can be utilized and applied by all leaders as one of the right strategies in educational institutions. Leaders' knowledge, understanding and experience of the institutions or organizations they lead also influence their success in actuating the managerial of educational institutions.

Accordingly, based on relevant previous studies and reviews related to ML terminology, including: Yukl reviewed major leadership theories and summarized findings from empirical research on leadership [ 1 ]. Bolden reviewed conceptual leadership to identify its origins for further work [ 17 ]. Lekka & Healey identified specific leadership styles, behaviors, and practices that represent effective leadership [ 2 ]. Nazari & Emami discussed the status of leadership theory concerning its purpose, construct definitions, and historical foundations for future research [ 19 ]. Igbaekemen & Odvwri found the missing link between leadership styles and the impact on the follower's performance in an organization [ 20 ]. Khan et al. found the social contract of leadership is viewed as a myth that functions to reinforce existing structure about the necessity of leaders in organization [ 3 ]. Rigii found a clearer understanding of the concept and the need for practitioners to work towards ensuring organizations are aligned with best practices for leadership qualities [ 4 ]. Park et al. critically examined the literature on leadership competencies and behaviors [ 5 ]. Xie investigated the relationship between leadership and organizational culture measured in the literature [ 6 ]. Besides, Gifford et al.’s systematic review revealed that leadership for research use involves change and task-oriented behaviors [ 7 ]. According to Karim, Mansir et al., the current literature on ML development is sparse [ 11 , 21 ]. This observation leads to a review of the relevant literature in managerial leadership in education.

The study and research on ML has indeed been carried out from various aspects and events that occur in the world of education, but the existing research has not thoroughly explained the ML concept that can be applied to educational institutions that are programmed in a systematic, precise, accurate and sustainable manner. Based on the previous studies, there is still little research which investigated managerial leadership in educational system and too much the research explored the leadership in education. This research will contribute to the review of the literature confirmed that what is really known about the link between ML and performance, still remains largely unanswered. Based on the phenomena, problems, and various opinions of previous researchers, the novelty of this study is a review of the consistency of articles using ML in the title with other article structures through accuracy indicators to produce history, consistency, and article accuracy classification.

Based on the literature review and the results of previous research observations conducted at educational institutions that implement ML as a system. This research will thoroughly discuss managerial leadership in education, an education system that is systematically designed in accordance with the decisions of the leadership, managerial leadership theory in terms of various aspects of organizational and institutional management, so that this research can bring out the novelty of theory from various literature related to managerial leadership.

Within this gap between what we know and what we do, this paper will focus an investigation on the litelature review connecting with managerial leadership in educational system as central key to build positive school culture to achieve educational objective. Managerial leadership represents a rapidly evolving research domain which has seen significant theoretical development to date, but is still lacking in empirical testing of theories proposed. This is an important shortcoming as managerial leadership is paramount for corporate success in education. This literature review aims to address three research questions (RQs).

To set the stage for the importance of the topic, some literature highlights the ubiquity, and increasing rate, of managerial leadership in education. On the others hand, we aimed to systematically review the published literature on managerial leadership in education with a focus on frequency, setting, content, learning evaluation, and learning outcomes. This article is a critical review of the terminology of 68 articles mentioning the word ‘ML’ in their titles. The review used four consistent and accurate indicators to classify which articles fell into accurate, appropriate, biased, and error categories.

Based on the facts and problems described in the background above, the objectives for the importance of this research can be formulated, including the history of articles using the word ML in the titles, the consistent of the articles in using the word ML in their title with article sections based on consistency indicators, and The accuracy classification of articles using the word ML measured on accuracy indicators. With this aim, a systematic review can analyze the history, consistency and accuracy of articles on ML.

2. Literature review

2.1. the theoretical origins of managerial leadership.

Managerial leadership (ML) is a term that integrates management and leadership into a coherent concept [ 22 ]. Espinoza & Schwarzbart handle the convergence of roles with the title of managerial leader (MLr) [ 23 ], while Sveningsson et al. defined the ML as a work practice. In order to understand leadership as a work practice, we need more theories of managers' behaviours [ 24 ]. Gifford et al. argued that ML, for both point-of-care and senior managers, inspire and encourage for staff through a combination of task-oriented behaviours that are responsive to specific situations [ 7 ]. Ather argued that ML is an approach of getting things done through others most effectively and efficiently in an organization [ 9 ]. The ML in very essential to influence the quality. Meanwhile, leadership is the process that managers use to influence subordinators work towards organizational goals. Conceptually, leadership can be seen as that combination of traits, values, attitudes, and behaviors that result in the effective long-term performance of organizations [ 25 ]. In line with this approach, Valentine & Prater argued that leader's belief that collective decision making is a stronger response to solving the larger, while choosing to exercise ML skills to make routine decisions [ 26 ]. Larson identified that the problem solving was important behaviors of ML during a crisis and praise-recognition were important behaviors during a stable situation [ 27 ]. ML strategy creates change that affects the function and structure of an organization.

Before discussing more deeply about ML, it is also necessary to understand theories about leadership and management of an institution or organization, one of which is transformational leadership which can improve the quality of management processes and product innovation in institutional or organizational management [ 28 ]. In the organizational management theory, an institution or company requires knowledge dynamics and organizational orientation to ensure that one's leadership can bring progress to the organization they lead [ 29 ]. A theoretical review of managerial leadership work demonstrated the need to explore the relationships between managerial leadership and staff job satisfaction in the educational institution [ 30 ]. The emphasis here is placed on the theoretical framework used in this study, the Multiple Linkage Model of Leader Effectiveness [ 31 ]. Moreover, This Multiple Linkage Model considered a series of leadership behaviors, leadership power/influence factors, leadership skills, overall managerial leadership effectiveness, and situational variables [ 32 ]. A combination of these factors appeared necessary for understanding effective managerial leadership. Leadership effectiveness is, of course, a relative concept [ 33 ]. A managerial leader is considered to be effective ifthe manager's staff performs their work well and is adequately satisfied with their working milieu [ 34 ].

ML provides a four-tiered approach that helps professionals from all walks of life develop strong management and leadership skills [ 35 ]. It includes top leadership models and frameworks, tools for assessing leadership strengths, techniques for handling change and growth [ 36 ]. Specifically, MLr must have several skills: they think strategically and build effective teams and they create a healthy organizational culture [ 37 , 38 ]. ML implies two fundamental dimensions: 1. Informal dimension, which steams from the expertise and the abilities the leader, possesses and which is built over time by means of others' recognition. 2. Formal dimension, which steams from his formal authority, associated with a formal managerial position.nent of management and it heavily influences the performances and outcomes of organizations [ 39 ]. Characteristics of ML which combined from some of the experts’ thought above are [ 1 ]; leadership roles; values, culture, attitudes, task behaviours, unstructured relationships, and loyalty motivation [ 13 , 40 , 41 ], [ 2 ] the function of manager; planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling, and [ 3 ] managerial roles; interpersonal, informational, and decisional [ 11 , 42 ].

ML in principle will set the pattern of institutional management to advance an organization. This is done as part of the implementation of quality and quality management. This ML character is built to create a healthy and civilized organizational environment. ML style can create a ready-to-work organization and solid teamwork [ [43] , [44] , [45] ]. ML can be applied to educational institutions led by school principals through three approaches, namely the trait approach, which emphasizes motivation and managerial skills; the power/influence approach, which examines the accumulation and use of power; and the behavioral approach, which focuses on managerial activities [ 46 , 47 ]. The concept of ML pattern knowledge will be studied with various literatures to produce new theories that support educational management to be more advanced and of high quality in accordance with the policies of leaders who manage their institutions.

2.2. Theoretical review

Reseachers usually define managerial leadership according to their individual perspective and the aspect of the phenomenon of mos interest to them. after a comprehensive review of the ML literature, [ 48 ]. Most definition of managerial leadership involve an influence process, but the numerous definition of leadership that have been proposed appear to little else common. most of reseacher pinpointed that ML has been defined in terms of individual traits, leader behavior, interaction patterns, role lelationship, follower perception, influence on task goals, and influence on institutional culture [ 48 , 49 ].

A theoretical framework is usually explained in the literature review section, such as ML and situational concepts [ 3 ]. In reviewing the theory, we aimed to synthesize relevant bodies of literature and make connections between knowledge bases to propose a conceptual framework. We followed guidelines; that is, location of articles, search period, number of articles screened, and criteria for screening [ 5 ]. Rigii argued that the framework depicts a situation where accountability and ethics first interact with leadership qualities [ 4 ]. Based on the conclusions and the conceptual framework, the review ends by outlining the implication of this paper on theory, practice and policy in the next section.

The authors argue that managerial concern for people determines event's success as it enhances the effectiveness of intra-team interaction, thus enabling better team performance. Managerial concern for people is closely linked to managerial competencies as they explain how effectively event managers can deal with event employees, not only when resolving conflicts, but also when setting goals. Moreover, effective leadership requires managers to develop cognitive, social and emotional intelligence in order to recognise the needs of all team members, thus anticipating changes in motivation.

2.3. Consistency terminology and accuracy indicators

In the scientific areas, the most important thing is a common understanding of the basic concepts and terms. People are historically devoted to achieving this goal [ 50 ]. Product definitions and the grant of rights are the backbone of any licensing agreement. Using consistent terminology is key [ 51 ]. Therefore, the indicators used to review the use of the ML in each part of the article are the indicators of consistency and accuracy initiated by Yablo [ 52 ], Pavese, Menditto et al., and Royer which involve being consistent and inconsistent [ 50 , 51 , 53 ], are.

2.3.1. Consistent

Consistency ensures that author, reader, leader, and manager get the information they need to make the best possible high-level of decisions [ 51 ].

• 1) Accurate term is the accuracy of the use of the word “managerial leadership” without additional terms.

Accuracy is a qualitative performance characteristics, expressing the closeness of agreement between a measurement result and the value of the measurand [ 53 ].

• 2) Additional term is the accuracy of the use of the word “managerial leadership” (ML), adding terms either at the beginning, middle, or end of the word ML in each section of the article.

Closeness of agreement between a quantity value obtained by measurement and the true value of the measurand. The misuse of the word accuracy in place of trueness in most analytical publications was recently addressed [ 53 ].

2.3.2. Inconsistent

According to Royer, inconsistent is we had realized that all our terminology was inconsistent, but had never come up with such clear, understandable, easy-to-follow language until implementing organization [ 51 ].

• 1) Different of term a term that is used differently from the word “ML,” but the article still discusses managerial and leadership theory.

An effort has being made to understand whether the apparent inconsistencies are due to historical stratification or to sound reasons (e.g. sectorial), and to find ways toward reducing their number –not necessarily toward a single set of meanings for the concepts and terms, but limited, in addition to their general meaning, to undisputable sectorial needs [ 50 ].

• 2) Additional variable are variables that are used differently from ML terms and even tend to be different. However, the article still discusses managerial or leadership.

Similarly, if one or more influence quantities cause effects on the measurement result that can be identified as systematic components of the error (systematic error), such effect is expressed by the performance characteristics trueness. It can be quantified as bias, i.e. the difference [ 53 ]. However, an inconsistent rule is not false; indeed it may be correct in the only sense that matters, that of according with speakers' semantic intentions [ 52 ]. Managerial leadership holds a proven positive effect on the event team's performance and employee motivation to collaborate in order to achieve the set event's objectives. So the strong leadership makes an event's more competitive in institutional competition.

The code of article section is divided into; problems (P), objectives (A), literature (L), results (R), and conclusions (C). While the indicator codes used are Accurate term (AT), Additional term (AdT), Different term (DT), and Additional variable (AV) as described by Table 1 . The code for 68 articles is sorted by order of the year of the article. For example, the first article in 1959 was written 1a to 2019 64a, and the last year 2022 was written 68a. For the year code, the last two digits are taken. For example, 1959–2022 was written 59-22, while names are coded with initials, such as DAE.

Consitency and accuracy indicators.

Based on the theoretical review and managerial theory terminology described above, it can be concluded that ML can be applied with various decision-making indicators, namely the consistency and accuracy of its leaders which can influence the success of leaders in managing and managing the organization they lead.

The objects in this review are articles using the word managerial leadership (ML) in the titles published from 1950 to 2022, an analysis of the consistency of articles in each section of the article, and the classification of articles that fall into accurate, appropriate, biased, and error categories.

3.1. Method and approachs

The systematic literature review presented in this research has conducted a commonly applied methodology [ 54 ]. By following systematic methods to explore and classify relevant literature, such reviews provide reproducible, reliable assessments of the current status of a field of a research and diminish potential bias that may occur in narrative styles of analysis [ 55 ] by using PRISMA statement in Fig. 1 . The resulting quantitative assessment evaluates the subject area, type of method used, and outcomes obtained.

Selection flow diagram for the studies. (Adapted from The PRISMA Group [ 56 ])

This study of the literature in relation to ML in educational management addresses three main aims [ 1 ]: to examine history of article using the word ML in the titles [ 2 ]; to identify the consistent are the articles using the word ML in their title with article sections based on consistency indicators; and [ 3 ] to identify the accuracy classification of articles using the word ML measured on accuracy indicators.

An extensive review of published papers from 1950 to 2022 was carried out in order to capture consistency terminology in the area of ML. The emphasis was on those issues that either represented inconsistency in using ML that have implications for the literatures and future researchers [ 2 ]. Furthermore, methodological issues in leadership research for improving ML terminology are discussed also [ 1 ]. This article used an ML theory approach to obtain in-depth data [ 57 ], combining the role of a leader and a manager's function [ 11 , 12 , 58 , 59 ], historical [ 60 ], and internationally accepted language with consistent indicators consisting of AT and AdT and inconsistent consisting of DT and AV [ 50 , 52 ]. In fact, the skill and competence of ML must be enhanced for the leader to create positive culture in the educational institution [ 61 ]. Today, digital competence for leaders is very significant.

3.2. Techniques and data instrument

This review was firstl conducted on targeted articles that were most relevant to our purpose and research question in multiple online databases [ 5 ] such as Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, SAGE, Brill, Emerald, Springer, and Wiley, as well as several well-known digital journal content such as Jstor, Proquest, Oxford University Press, Google Scholar, and National Library with the help of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers [ 62 ]. The bibliographic instruments and comprehensive list of keywords and mixed search terms [ 63 ], such as ‘managerial leadership,’ ‘manager & leader,’ and ‘managerial leadership in education’ within the search titles were used to obtain 110 articles published from 1950 to 2020. The articles were selected based on the research objectives, especially the keyword ‘managerial leadership in education,’ to answer the problem formulations. As a result, this research identified 68 articles included in the final review, published between 1959 and 2022. The 68 articles were then presented according to year, name, title, and ML term in each article structures, such as problem, aims, literature, findings, and conclusions into “articles by year” files, “article section recapitulation,” and “review recapitulation” [ 64 ]. The year, name, and ML word in each article section and indicators were coded to simplify the review and analysis process. For example, in 1950, there was a DAE article. The code for the problem section that corresponded to the AT indicator was coded PAT1a59DAE, meaning that P stands for problem, AT means AT indicator, 1a means the first article, 59 means published in 1959, and DAE means the author's name [ 50 , 52 , 53 ].

3.3. Data analysis and validation

The 68 articles were analyzed using a content analysis technique through four indicators, namely AT, AdT, DT, and AV, to review the consistency of the use of the term ML in the title with other structures [ 65 ]. The data already contained in the file by year were analyzed for each part of the article structure. Then, each word was reduced and simplified so that only words or terminology appeared in each table according to indicators [ 66 , 67 ]. Once it had been simplified, the results were recapitulated and interpreted in a separate table. The data that had been successfully interpreted was then validated using the grounded theory ML technique to become data presented in the results and discussion [ 68 , 69 ].

4.1. Article history using world ML

Based on the data analysis of this study, the result of the history of articles using the word ML in the titles will be presented on Table 2 and Table 3 . Our systematic review attempted to analyze the paper based on history of publication from 1959 to 2022 concerning the ML in education. So we will illustrate in table below.

Articles details.

Articles titles type.

The article table using the word ML in the titles reveals: 1) GS provided 14 articles from 1999 to 2022 with article code/year/author/publisher/journal as follows: 16a99EY/GS/NDCC to 62a18WAG/GS/IS. 2) ProQuest provided 11 articles from 1980 to 1957 with codes 4a80 P/P/UO to 57a16HHHL/P/NDSU. 3) Elsevier published ten articles from 1971 to 2008 with the code 3a71NG/E/BH to 35a08JGJH/E/LQ. 4) Wiley published eight articles from 1959 to 2022 with the code 1a59DAE/W/PP to 68a22AB/W/JCN. 5) Taylor & Francis published seven articles in 1990–2022 with codes 5a86CM/T&F/JGHE to 66a22 kT/T&F/APJSWD. 5) JSTOR provided five articles from 1986 to 2017 with code 6a86JDM/Js/JDA up to 58a17ALD/Js/AMJ. 6) Emerald published five articles from 2006 to 2021 with codes 24a06AMMR/Em/LHS to 65a22ESO/Em/ERIJ. 7) SAGE published five articles from 1989 to 2022 with codes 9a89GY/S/JM to 67a22JKT/S/GBR. 7) Springer published two articles in 1990 and 2001 under the code: 10a90JIAR/S/JBE & 17a01 MG/S/JBE. 8) OUP published one article in 2012 with the code 49a12S/OUP/UQBSP. Wiley published the first and last articles with ML term in the titles. GS, the largest database of five other databases, provided 14 articles entitled ML. Meanwhile, Elsevier, the largest publisher of the six publishers, provided ten articles with ML in the titles.

In the 50s, one article was found with code 1a, then in the 60s with code 2a, and the 70s with code 3a. The three articles using ML are in the main title (header). In the 80s, six articles used the word ML with the following details: four articles with codes 4a - 9a with the word ML, then two articles with codes 7a and 8a with the addition of the words ethical and behavior. The word ML in the six articles is in the main title (header). In the 90s, seven articles had the word ML with the following details: five articles with codes 10a - 16a with the word ML, then two articles with codes 13a and 14a were added with the words practice, ethical, and behavior. The word ML in six articles with codes 10a - 16a is in the main title (header), while one with code 11a is in the sub-header. The title of the article published in 1959 that first used the word ML in the main title is an article with code 1a, with DAE as the author, W, as the published, and PP as the journal. In addition, the title of the first 1987 article with the addition of the word ‘ML’ located in the main title is the article coded 7a, with GE as the author, the Js database, and the JBE journal.

In the 2000s, the articles with the word ML in the titles reached 22 articles with the following details: twelve articles with codes 17a - 38a, then one with code 34a, with the word ‘managerial leaders’, and seven with code 19a- 32a with other words styles, roles, behaviors, development, practices, and implications, and two articles with codes 24a and 33a using ‘managers’ leadership.’ The words for both ML and ‘managers’ leadership’ in 21 articles with codes from 17a - 38a are in the main title (header). In contrast, another article coded 34a uses the word managerial leaders located in the sub-header. The title of the article published in 2008 using managerial leaders, which is in the sub-title, is the article coded 34a, with TOP as the author, T&F as the publisher, and PPMR as the journal. Meanwhile, the first 2006 issue title uses the other words managers' leadership style. It is in the main title is the article coded 24a, with AMMR as the author, E as the publisher, and LHS as the journal.

In the 2010s, the title of articles with ML term reached 26 articles with the following details: 14 articles with codes from 40a – 63a. One article coded 45a with the word managerial leaders, eleven articles coded from 39a - 70a with the words ‘behaviors’, ‘competencies,’ ‘styles,’ ‘roles,’ ‘strategies,’ and ‘skills,’ and an article with code 61a that only uses the word ‘leadership.’ As for the location of the words both ML and ‘managerial leaders,’ there are 24 articles with codes from 39a - 62a and 70a in the main title (header). Meanwhile, two other articles with the word ‘managerial leaders’ coded 55a and 63a are in the sub-header. The title of the first and only 2012 published article in the main title is an article coded 46a, with EMG as the author, T&F as the publisher, and ICUT as the journal. At the same time, the title of the last article published in 2019 using a hyphen (−) M-L skill located in the main title is an article coded 70a, with SV as the author, W, as the publisher, and PIQ as the journal. In addition, the only article titles published in 2018 that only use the word leadership are articles coded 61a, with LX as the author, E as the publisher, and EJTD as the journal. In the 2020s, four articles were found with code 65a – 68a. One article with code 68a uses the title MrL with the heading type, and one article with code 66a uses the title L as a sub-heading, while the other two articles with codes 65a and 67a use the title ML + T as a heading.

Research has consistently shown, however, that leadership is a skill that can be taught and improved. This theme of leadership teachability was echoed in several of the study populations reviewed in this study, where residents felt more confident after participating in explicit teaching programs about leadership.

4.2. Article consistency

Our systematical literature review in this stage, we have determined the publication papers in several reputable journals based on Problem, Aims, Literatures, Results, and Conclusion concerning ML. for further analysis we display in Table 4 below.

Review on articles’ problems (P), aims (A), literatures (L), results (R), and conclusion (C) published from 1959 to 2022.

According to the AT indicator, the problems section contains 17 items (20%) from articels code (PAT1a59DAE) to (PAT68a22AB), the aims section includes 21 items (24%) from code (AAT1a59DAE) to (AAT68a22AB), the literature section contains 20 items (23%) from code (LAT12a92LEF) to (LAT68a22AB), the results section includes 15 items (17%) from code (RAT12a92LEF) to (RAT68a22AB). The conclusion section contains 14 items (16%) from code (CAT4a80P) to (CAT68a22AB), with 87 items (25% of 340 items), it means 17 articles which were used the ML.

Beside that, according to the AdT indicator, the problems section contains 18 items (15%) from the code (PAdT7a87GE) to (PAdT67a22JKT). The aims section includes 28 items (23%) from the code (AAdT4a80P) to (AAdT67a22JKT), the literature section has 24 items (20.7%) from code (LAdT1a59DAE) to (LAdT67a22JKT), the results section include 26 items (21%) from code (RAdT1a59DAE) to (RAdT67a22JKT), the conclusion section consists of 25 items (21%) from code (CAdT1a59DAE) to (CAdT67a22JKT), with 121 items (36% of 340 items), it means 24 articles which are adding ML with the words ethical, behaviors, roles, style, development, function, position, skills, environmental, methods, principals, and performs.

Then, according to the DT indicator, the problems sections contains 14 items (26%) from the code (PDT6a86JDM) to (PDT63a19LMG), the aims section has 15 items (28%) from the code (ADT6a86JDM) to (ADT61a18LX), the literature section has 8 items (15%) from code (LDT66a22KT) to (LDT6a86JDM), the results section includes 9 items (17%) from code (RDT6a86JDM) to (RDT58a17ALD), the conclusion section contains 8 items (5%) from code (CDT6a86JDM) to (CDT63a19LMG), with 54 items (16% of 340 items), it means 11 articles not included in articles that use the word ML, but still discussing leaders and managers.

Additional indicators of variable suitability with the problems section contained 19 items (24%) from code (PAV2a65JKC-J) to (PAV66a22KT), the aims section has 4 items (5%) from code (AAV3a71NG) to (AAV66a22KT), literature section has 16 items (20%) from the code (LAV2a65JKC-J) up to (LAV61a18LX), the results section contains 18 items (23%) from the code (RAV2a65JKC-J) to (RAV61a18LX), the conclusion section contains 21 items (27%) from the code (CAV2a65JKC-J) to (CAV61a18LX), with 78 items (23% of 340 items), it means 16 articles not using the word ML, but still discussing managerial or leadership.

Thus, the consistency of the title with other article sections based on four indicators is as follows: 87 of 340 items (25% of 68 articles) is 17 articles according to the AT indicator, 121 of 340 items (36% of 68 artcles) is 24 articles with the AdT indicator, 54 of 340 items (16% of 68 articles) is 11 articles with the DT indicator, and 78 of 340 items (23% of 68 articles) is 16 articles with AV indicators. The article sections with four indicators show those 24 articles which are consistent with ML by additional terms (AdT).

A major finding in our study is that even managerial leadership may bear strong imprints of the constructions of subordinates and is even often initiated (or inhibited) by the very targets for leadership, i.e. the ‘followers’. This is to some extent in line with parts of the literature on active, selfleading followers, but in contrast, our study highlights the followers' initiation of the managerial leadership process, and therefore adds a new angle.

4.3. Article accuracy

The data in Table 5 for the 68 articles bellow show that approximately between 14 and 21 articles correspond to the AT indicator with the following details: 17 articles on the problem section, 21 articles on the aim, 20 articles on the literature, 15 articles on the results, and 14 articles on conclusion. Then other data shows that between 18 and 28 articles correspond to the AdT indicator with the following details: 18 articles on the problem section, 28 articles on the aim, 24 articles on the literature, 26 articles on the results, and 25 articles on the conclusion. Then the article data, according to the different term indicators, contain between 6 and 15 articles with the following details: 15 articles on the problem aspect, 15 articles on the aims, 6 articles on the literature, 9 articles on the results, and 7 articles on the conclusion. Finally, the article data that corresponds to the additional variable indicator contains approximately 4–22 articles with details as follows: 18 articles on the problem section, 4 articles on the aim, 18 articles on the literature, 18 articles on the results, and 22 articles on the conclusion section.

The clasification of articles accuracy.

Classification of articles those fall into the accuracy category in using the word managerial leadership (ML) in the title section with other article sections, namely 10 articles with article codes/year/author as follows: 7a87GE published in 1987, 8a89WFBA in 1989, 12a92LEF in 1992, 18a02DPK in 2002, 30a07SMA in 2007, 45a11RC in 2011, 48a12RRS in 2012, 55a14MB in 2014, 67a22JKT in 2022, and 68a22AB in 2022. Meanwhile, the classification of articles that fall into the category of accuracy in using the word ML adds the words ‘ethical,’ ‘behaviors,’ and ‘style’ in the title section with other article sections, namely 23 articles with the code: 9a89GY published in 1989, 13a95PEM in 1995, 14a96DRL in 1996, 1a04CK2 in 2004, 23a04S in 2004, 28a07FCM in 2007, 34a08TOP in 2008, 35a08JG(J.)H in 2008, 38a09ANb in 2009, 39a10CK in 2010, 42a11JYC in 2011, 43a11JWV in 2011, 44a11RFL in 2011, 49a12S in 2012, 50a12YJ in 2012, 51a13BDH in 2013, 53a13DG in 2013, 56a15FL in 2015, 57a16HHHL in 2016, 62a18WAG in 2018, 64a19SV in 2019, 65a21ESO in 2021, and 67a22JKT in 2022.

Then, the articles are categorized as appropriate in using the word ML in the title section with other article sections, namely 15 articles, divided into two groups. The first group, articles that use the word ML in the title but have other words in other parts of the article, are 10 articles with the following code: 1a59DAE published in 1959, 9a89GY in 1989, 23a04S in 2004, 28a07FCM in 2007, 34a08TOP in 2008, 38a09ANb in 2009, 43a11JWV in 2011, 49a12S in 2012, 57a16HHHL in 2016, and 62a18WAG in 2018. The second group is articles that use the word ML with other words in the title, but there is a change to the word ML in other sections, namely five articles with the code: 21a04CKa published in 2004, 39a10CKb in 2010, 42a11JYC in 2011, 56a15FL in 2015, 70a19SV in 2019, and 65a21ESO in 2021. As for the articles in the appropriate category based on the results of the score calculation, there are four articles with the codes: 14a96DRL, 35a08JG(J.)H, 44a11RFL, and 53a13DG were published between 1996 and 2013.

Beside that, the articles were categorized as biased in using the word ML in the title section, then changed to managerial and leadership words in the other articles, namely 1 article with code 6a86JDM published in 1986. Several articles with other biased categories based on the results of the score calculation; there were 23 articles divided into two groups: the first group with 16 articles that used the word ML in the title section and underwent changes in the article section, coded 4a80P, 10a90JIAR, 11a92HR, 16a99EY, 17a01MG, 22a04DBC, 26a07AEO-A, 31a07WGRN, 32a08HPN, 36a09ANa, 37a09DA, 40a11IHDA, 41a11IW, 47a12RMS, 52a13CS, and 63a19LMG published from 1965 were scattered until 2013. Meanwhile, in the second group, 7 articles used the word ML with additions in the title section and changed the parts of the article, namely articles coded 20a03AOD, 24a06AMMR, 25a06TH, 27a07EL, 58a17ALD, 59a18CS, and 66a22KT published from 2003 to 2018.

The last, the classification of articles was categorized as an error in using the word ML in the title section, then changed to the word managerial or leadership only in the article section, namely an article coded 3a71NG published in 1971. The article includes another error because it does not use the word ML in the title. Still, the word leadership later changed to managerial and leadership words in the article section; an article coded 61a18LX was published in 2018. In addition, nine other articles are categorized as errors based on the results of the calculation of scores which are divided into two groups: the first group contains five articles that use the word ML in the title and then change to managerial and leadership with the code 2a65JKC-J, 5a86CM, 15a98YAN, 46a12EMG, and 29a07WJrP which were published from 1965 to 2007. The second group contains four articles with the word ML and other words but changed to the word managerial and leadership, articles coded 19a02SKK, 33a08JS, 54a13LK, and 60a18DDM published from 2002 to 2018. Our results and findings highlight the vital role of followers in the initiation phase of managerial leadership, thereby contributing to an ‘expanded view’ of leadership/followership-dynamics. It is therefore also an example of how social constructionist studies can be social relevant to organizational concerns.

Based on the description of the research findings and Fig. 2 above, the researcher concludes that the ML literature has many research results that have been conducted and is divided into four categories, namely first, research whose theory is accurate and consistent according to the classification of the articles studied. Second, the results of appropriate research whose theories influence each other and support each other's variables so as to produce new theories related to ML. Third, research that is theoretically biased and does not support managerial leadership theory but can influence the concept of ML literature. Fourth, research with an error theory in this case means that the research results are not related and do not support each other so that there is a contradiction between the theories found and the previous theory. So that the research under study allows for a novelty theory about ML patterns in educational institutions which can be used as a reference for educational institutions with systemic management.

Clasification accuracy of articles.

5. Discussion

5.1. article history.

Based on the results analysis indicated that most articles using the word ‘managerial leadership’ (ML) in the title are provided by the database, followed by publishers. The database instrument is also used and recommended by Park et al. to obtain data online [ 5 , 70 ]. The 1959 was the first year articles using the title ML were found, as indicated by Emery, who wrote “ ML througn motivation by objectives [ 71 ] .” In addition, the first article to use the word ‘ethical’ was 1987 by Enderle [ 72 ], entitled Some perspective of MEL. Then in 2006, for the first time, the article used the word ‘managers’ leadership style’ as the main title, as written by Ref. [ 73 ], entitled A study of relationship between MrLS . Then in 2008, an article was found that first used the word ‘manager leaders’ as a subheading, written by Peterson & Fleet [ 74 ], entitled A tale of two situations: An empirical study of non-for-profit MLr. In 2012, the first and only article using the word ML only as the main title was written by Grassell [ 75 ]. Then in 2019, the last article with the word ML was found by Vandergoot et al., entitled Factors that influence the transfer generalization and maintenance of M-LSk: A retrospective study [ 76 ] . The newer published article from 2018 to 2023 pin pointed by Lekchiri who published the ML effectiveness in HE [ 77 ]. Rudolph et al. wrote the research paper concerning critique of research on health leadership in the organization [ 78 ]. As development theory in the leadership field Arici & Uysal investigated the leadership and green innovation creativity [ 79 ]. Fries discussed the leadership style and behavior [ 80 ].

5.2. Article consistency

A review in the problems section of 68 articles published from 1959 to 2022 found that 17 articles used the word ML in the problem section and matched the AT indicator. Then 18 articles using other ML words and according to AdT indicators. Then 15 and 18 articles use the word ‘managerial’ or ‘leadership’ and are by indicators of different terms. Only one article (1a) matched the AT indicator or an article that used the word ML in the problem section. Emery emphasized the aim of his article to outline an approach to ML that provides practical means [ 35 , 71 ]. Only in the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s did all the problems in the article section meet four indicators described by Delbecq as the last article with an AT indicator with the issue of an overview on effective ML [ 81 ]. In addition, Murphy & Enderle also mentioned that the illustration of the MEL was not only influenced by the organization's practice [ 82 ].

In the aims section, 21 articles use the word ML, 28 articles use the word ML with additional terms, three articles use the word ‘managerial’ or ‘leadership,’ and 15 and 4 articles use the word ‘managerial’ or ‘leadership.’ From the 50's to the ’90s, almost only one article per era was found, such as 1a, which uses the word ML in the objective section, as it was written by Emery “to outline an approach to ML,” that “to outline an approach to ML [ 71 ],” and article 2a as shown in Chadwick‐Jones “to demonstrate from case-study material the importance of MnL [ 83 ],” as well as article 12a, which aims to compare the ML practices performed at the senior- and middle-levels of higher education administration [ 18 , 84 ]. It was only from the 2000s to 2022 that more articles used the word ML in the article's destination. For example, Vandergoot et al. (2019) wrote the goal “to examine the factors affecting transfer generalization and maintenance of M-LSk” as the last author of 2019 [ 76 ].

The findings in the literature section showed that 20 articles use the word ML, 24 articles use the word ML with other words, 6 and 18 articles use the word ‘managerial’ or ‘leadership,’ and seven articles use the words' managerial’ and ‘leadership.’ In the 50s and 80s, no articles used the word ML. The word ML was only discovered in the 90s, as reinforced by Leonard and Lipsky with literature on ML practices and scales [ 18 , 85 ]. Since the 2000s, articles were found showing all indicators, although, in 2010, there were also empty different term indicators. However, a literature review showed that from 1959 to 2022, the AT indicator was the highest compared to other indicators. Kialain and Vandergoot used ML skills & development theory [ 8 , 76 ]. Kialain and Vandergoot et al. used ML skills & development theory [ 8 , 76 ]. The recent research was conducted by Ref. [ 80 ], Kafetzopoulos, and Kelemen discuss the development theory in the ML [ 86 , 87 ].

The data review of the results section of the article showed that 15 articles use the word ML, 26 articles use the word ML with other words, 9 and 18 articles use the word ‘managerial’ or ‘leadership,’ and nine articles use the word ‘managerial’ and ‘leadership.’ Other findings showed that from the ’50s to ’80s, as well as the 2010s, the word ML was not found at all in the results section, even if there were additional words such as “the managerial style of the top manager ranged from the benevolent authoritative” by Emery and Wongruangwisarn [ 71 , 88 ], and reinforced by Larson who used “transformational leadership behavior of management by exception [ 27 ].” However, in the 90s, articles were found using the word ML as written by Leonard, namely “selected ML practices”. In a sense, ML is closely related to the success of higher education administrative management at both the secondary and senior levels. If the pattern of ML is applied properly, the administration of higher education that it manages will also produce good quality so that the graduates are of high quality [ 18 ].”

The review data for the conclusion section showed that 14 articles use the word ML, 25 articles use the word ML with other words, eight articles use the words' managerial’ and ‘leadership,’ and 7 & 21 articles use the word ‘managerial’ or ‘leadership.’ Articles from the ’50s to the ’90s have no articles with the word ML. It was only in the 2000s that Ather found an article that concluded, “A ML quality is expected to combat any managerial challenges and complexities of the centuries ahead [ 9 ].” In this period, there is not a single article conclusion that uses the words managerial and leadership. Even up to 2010–2022, only ML words were found with other words. Kleinman and Larson concluded that “organization culture was specifically associated with transformational leadership behavior of managers [ 27 , 89 ].” Rudolph and Tuffour concluded that “organization culture was specifically associated with transformational leadership behavior of managers [ 34 , 90 ].”

5.3. Article accuracy

The data on the consistency classification of articles that use the word ML with other articles showed four categories: first, 11 articles with accurate categories, confirmed by Leonard with An analysis of ML practices and substitutes for leadership in higher education administration [ 18 ], Blom with Leadership on demand: Followers as initiators and inhibitors of ML [ 10 ], Enderle with Some perspectives of ethical ML [ 72 ], and Howell with An examination of demographic characteristics, preferred ML style, and managerial effectiveness of full-service lodging managers [ 91 ]; Second, 15 articles with appropriate categories, as strengthened by Peterson & Fleet with A tale of two situations: An empirical study of behavior by not-for-profit managerial leaders [ 74 ], and Y Chin with Seven ML competencies [ 92 ]. Kelemen investigated the several innovation in leadership based on demand era [ 93 ] and Arici & Uysal discuss about innovation leadership [ 94 ]. Third, 23 articles with bias categories as exemplified by Montgomery, who described “the results from a study of management training needs for the public [ 95 ]; ” Fourth, 11 articles with an error category as written by George with the sentence “the relationships that emerge from leadership research should be regarded as diagnostic tools, not precise guidelines [ 96 ].”

Based on the results of the discussion above, it can be concluded that the consistency of articles was divided into four categories: 10 articles in the accuracy category, 23 articles in the appropriate category, 24 articles in the bias category, and 11 articles in the error category. Moreover, managerial leadership aspect becomes significant part to discuss in the management science, because the good leader and manager will create good culture in the education.

6. Conclusion

6.1. conclusion and limitation.

Based on the analysis of the research results and the discussion in the previous chapter, several conclusions can be drawn to provide answers to research purpose. The results show that [ 1 ]: the article history showed that articles with the word ‘managerial leadership’ (ML) in the titles were provided mainly by based data such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, followed by reputable publishers with various journals such as Taylor & Francis, Sage, ScienceDirect, Wiley, Emerald, and Erich. Started in 1959 the first article appeared using the word ML. In 1987 the first article appeared using the word ‘ethical ML,’ then in 2008, an article appeared using the word ‘managerial leaders.’ After that, in 2006, an article appeared using the words' managerial leadership style’. Then in 2012, the first and only article appeared that only used ‘ML’, and the development of theory of ML in 2022, the last article used the word ‘ML as effective leadership in educational institution.’ [ 2 ] A review of the consistency of the word ML in the title analyzed using four indicators against other sections showed that there are: 17 of 68 articles fall into category of AT indicator, 24 articles fall into category of AdT indicator, 11 articles into DT indicators, and 16 articles into AV indicator [ 3 ]. The consistency of articles was divided into four categories: 10 articles in the accuracy category, 23 articles in the appropriate category, 24 articles in the bias category, and 11 articles in the error category. Moreover, managerial leadership aspect becomes significant part to discuss in the management science, because the good leader and manager will create good culture in the education.

The review is limited to access to databases, publishers, and journals to get complete and more articles related to ML, resulting in an incomplete analysis of the articles found. In addition, qualitative methods with a few average and percentage formulations cause interpretation and validation results that still need improvements, thus requiring a mix of methods for further research. Therefore, based on the results of the research and the conclusions found, the researcher realizes that there are limitations to the research results so as to provide an opportunity for future researchers to be able to study managerial leadership from a chronological aspect of theory, namely bringing together or tracing from the first theory in 1959–2023.

6.2. Contribution and implication

The findings contribution imply that article classification can become a more established scientific roadmap and be used as reading material, literature, and a map of reasoning for further researchers, especially those studying ML. moreover, future studies may involve more literature review and theoreticah review connecting with managerial leadership and leadership style in many approach. It may also possibly include quantitative analysis to allow generalisation of findings. We also hope to analyze the digital competence of ML for future study.

This study implication describes the function of managerial leadership differs in various types of organizations specifically in education; how the typical skills of management and abilities of leadership combine in the various roles of managerial leadership; the extent to which the functions of management and leadership are culturally based paradigms.

Author contribution statement

All authors listed have significantly contributed to the development and the writing of this article.

Data availability statement

Additional information.

No additional information is available for this paper.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Leadership Styles: a brief literature review

Descriptions of leadership styles, leader behaviours, and potential impact on employees

Source: Daniels (2004)

The majority of authors stress the advantages of democratic leadership style over autocratic leadership at various levels. Interestingly, Dukakis et al. (2010) argue that the negative impacts of autocratic leadership are starkly evident in private sector organisations compared to public sector organisations. To explain this point, Dukakis et al. (2010) reason that leadership issues in private sector organisations associated with the application of autocratic leadership style would be reflected in the level of revenues, whereas leadership ineffectiveness in public sector organisations might be tolerated for longer periods of time.

Davies and Brundrett (2010) warn not to dismiss autocratic leadership style as totally inappropriate referring to specific cases where autocratic leadership might prove to be effective. Davies and Brundrett (2010) further elaborate that occasions where the application of autocratic leadership might prove to be effective include, but not limited to emergency situations and crises that can be resulted impacted by a wide range of factors.

However, the literature review has found a consensus among authors about inappropriateness of application of laissez-faire leadership style, regardless of the sector, public or private.

At the same time, the overall idea of dividing leadership into different categories is dismissed as impractical by Schermerhorn et al. (2011) and Griffin (2011). Specifically, Schermerhorn et al. (2011) argue that each leadership case is different as a subject to a range of unique circumstances, and therefore categorising leadership into rigid moulds would not be appropriate.

Daniels, R. (2004) Nursing Fundamentals: Caring and Clinical Decision-Making Cengage Learning

Davies, B. & Brundrett, M. (2010) Developing Successful Leadership Springer Publications

Dukakis, M.S., Portz, J.H. & Potz, J.S. (2010) Leader-Managers in the Public Sector: Managing for Results , ME Sharpe

Schermerhorn, J.R., Osborn, R.N. & Hunt, J.G. (2011) Organisational Behaviour John Wiley & Sons

Assessing Religious Leadership: A Scoping Review of Leadership Effectiveness Criteria and Current Trends in the Academic Literature

• Open access
• Published: 15 November 2023
• Volume 73 , pages 1–21, ( 2024 )

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• Annemarie Foppen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8527-8540 1 &
• Joke W. van Saane 2  

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A clear understanding of what constitutes effective religious leadership in the context of faith communities is essential for religious practitioners, religious communities, and educational institutes. Twenty-five years after the latest review study by Nauss, an updated overview is needed to account for new insights, especially regarding the latest developments in leadership research and the changing religious landscape. A scoping review was conducted in four databases from 1997 to 2022 to examine the academic literature. The search identified 64 unique references that researched effective religious leadership using 27 different effectiveness criteria. These criteria were categorized based on their target of evaluation: (1) the religious leader, (2) followers/members, and (3) the congregation. Although most references assessed leadership effectiveness by evaluating the religious leader, the most used effectiveness criterion was ‘attendance or numerical growth.’ Over the last 25 years, the criteria for religious leadership effectiveness have become more diverse, and a growing number of references combine criteria from multiple targets to evaluate effectiveness. However, the focus on Christian leadership remains prevalent in the academic literature. The present overview is intended as a starting point for future research as it identifies the current trends and existing knowledge gaps. The study’s findings also invite religious practitioners and congregations to reflect on their methods of assessing leadership effectiveness.

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Introduction

Assessing religious leadership is important for religious practitioners, religious communities, and educational and religious institutes. Insight into which competencies make religious leaders effective and how they affect people’s lives and their congregations can result in more vibrant religious communities (Boyatzis et al., 2011 ). However, identifying the criteria for religious leadership effectiveness has proven difficult (Malony, 2000 ; Nauss, 1994 ). The measurement of effectiveness among religious leaders is complicated and, in some contexts, debated or even resisted (McKenna & Eckard, 2009 ). Some consider religious leadership effectiveness untraceable due to its spiritual or transcendental dimension (Malony, 1984 ), making it not objectively measurable. For others, existing methods of assessment are perceived as uninspiring or unsuitable for their congregation (e.g., numerical growth; Dadswell & Ross, 2013 ; Strunk et al., 2017 ). The diverse contexts in which religious leaders operate provide another challenge. What is considered effective religious leadership can vary depending on the context, religion, denomination, congregational size, and geographical location (Nauss, 1996 ). Just as leadership has been defined in many ways, conceptions of leadership effectiveness vary among scholars; as Yukl and Gardner ( 2020 ) state, “The selection of [leadership effectiveness] criteria depends on the objectives and values of the person making the evaluation” (p. 30). As there does not seem to be a shared definition of leadership effectiveness in the literature nor in the domain of religion, and as most references studied were not explicit about their definition, the current study aims to provide an overview of the various effectiveness criteria used to assess religious leadership in the recent academic literature. Instead of proposing our own definition of effective religious leadership, we intend to identify and clarify the different ways effective religious leadership is being evaluated, sorted by the target of evaluation.

DeRue et al. ( 2011 ) propose a model of leader traits, behaviors, and effectiveness in which leadership effectiveness criteria are categorized along three dimensions to organize the various effectiveness criteria. The model differentiates between effectiveness criteria based on their (1) content (i.e., task performance, affective and relational criteria, or overall judgments of effectiveness), (2) the level of analysis (i.e., individual, dyadic, group, or organizational), and (3) the target of evaluation (e.g., leader effectiveness, group performance).

In his review study, Nauss ( 1996 ) utilizes the latter as he identifies two types of criteria used for evaluating clergy effectiveness based on their target of evaluation, namely, the minister and the congregation. The first type, referred to as primary criteria, includes descriptions of the behavior and characteristics of the minister, such as ‘preaching behavior,’ ‘ability to serve,’ ‘personal characteristics,’ and ‘traits.’ The second type, i.e., secondary criteria, focuses on the effects or consequences of the minister on the congregation and its members, such as ‘church growth,’ ‘commitment,’ ‘satisfaction,’ and ‘changes in faith.’ To the best of our knowledge, Nauss's review of the empirical literature remains, to this day, the most comprehensive overview of assessing effective religious leadership in the academic literature. However, the kind of leadership that is considered effective changes over time. Social, cultural, and technological changes have significantly impacted religious practice, causing changes in our perceptions of the behaviors and characteristics that contribute to religious leaders’ effectiveness (Dobrotka, 2021 ). Thus, after 25 years, the field requires an updated overview to account for new insights, especially concerning the latest developments in leadership research and the changing religious landscape.

A changing landscape

Global mobility has changed the religious landscape radically from the 20th to the 21st century as millions of migrants have brought their religions, values, and traditions to other parts of the world (Giordan, 2014 ). Consequently, many nations transformed from homogeneous religious societies into places with much religious diversity. The work of Nauss ( 1996 ) and the empirical studies he reviews, however, are limited to Christian leadership, in most cases Protestant ministers. The social scientific study of religion traditionally also has a narrow focus on Christianity and Judaism. However, other religions have gradually been included, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and new religious movements (Rambo & Haar Farris, 2012 ). For the current article, we aimed to take into account the growing variety of religions and traditions by not focusing on a specific religion in our data search.

Additionally, almost every high-income country faces lower levels of religiosity, and many other countries have become less religious as well (Inglehart, 2021 ). This trend is reflected in the declining number of individuals involved in organized religion in Western societies and attending religious services (Brauer, 2018 ; European Social Survey, 2002 , 2016  as cited in De Hart & Van Houwelingen, 2018 ). At the same time, a rise in post-Christian or New Age spirituality is observed, characterized by a more individualized, experience-oriented, and anti-institutional spirituality (Marshall & Olson, 2018 ; Tromp et al., 2020 ). Along with these developments, confidence in and obedience to traditional religious leaders has declined in these societies (Hoffmann, 2013 ; Inglehart, 2020 ), giving rise to new types of authority and leadership. These changes in the religious landscape present new challenges for religious leaders in the West and will undoubtedly impact how effective religious leadership is viewed and evaluated.

Over the past decades, academic thinking about leadership has also changed (Zhu et al., 2019 ). In line with most of the earlier studies on ministerial effectiveness, Nauss focused on the religious leader and determined effective religious leadership in terms of ministerial functions or activities (McKenna & Eckard, 2009 ; Nauss, 1972 , 1996 ). This approach to leadership can be categorized as part of what Haslam et al. ( 2015 ) call “the classical leadership perspective.” New insights in leadership research, however, suggest that leadership is not solely about the person of the leader (e.g., character and competencies) but rather should be conceived of as a relational process between the leader, the followers, and the group (Haslam et al., 2020 ; Steffens et al., 2021 ). Leadership is now generally studied as a process of influencing other people to accomplish shared goals (Wilson, 2022 ). In line with this, most researchers evaluate leadership effectiveness “in terms of the consequences of influence on an individual, group, or organization” (Yukl & Gardner, 2020 , p. 28).

The current study

To account for these changes and developments in the religious landscape and leadership research, we conducted a scoping review in the recent academic literature to provide an overview of the various effectiveness criteria used to assess religious leadership over the last 25 years. A systematic approach was employed to search for studies on religious leadership that explicitly address the issue of effectiveness. A combination of search terms was used to account for the variety of religions (i.e., Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, Buddhism, and spirituality), the various terms for effectiveness (e.g., success, flourishing, thriving, vitality, vibrancy), and the various indicators for religious leaders (e.g., clergy, minister, pastor, imam, priest, rabbi). However, to limit ourselves, we focused exclusively on what Chaves et al. ( 2022 ) call congregations’ religious leaders: “religious specialists who are leaders of organized religious communities.” As a result, this review did not examine religious or spiritual leaders in more diffuse and fluid, interstitial settings (Ammerman, 2020 ), such as spiritual guides or meditation teachers; nor religious or spiritual leadership in secular or organizational contexts, such as spiritual caregivers in health institutions (Timmins et al., 2018 ); or organizational leaders who incorporate spiritual values in the workplace (Oh & Wang, 2020 ). In addition, this review concentrated solely on the academic literature (i.e., peer-reviewed articles, books, and dissertations) as this literature could be accessed and searched systematically through bibliographic databases. Also, this approach ensures that only studies meeting the highest scholarly quality standards are included. Consequently, we did not evaluate the professional literature and the extensive work being done outside of academia, such as Duke’s Faith and Leadership initiative. We strongly encourage others to follow up on the current study by reviewing this body of literature as well.

The purpose of the current study is to contribute to the field by building on the work of Nauss ( 1996 ) and extending it in three ways: (1) by updating the data and mapping religious leadership effectiveness criteria that have been used over the last 25 years, (2) by charting recent trends and developments in the academic literature, and (3) by broadening the search from an emphasis on Protestant Christian ministers to reviewing effective religious leadership across different religions. The studies’ findings and conclusions are used to propose directions for future research on the topic.

The present study used a scoping review methodology to examine the academic literature on effective religious leadership. This scoping review aimed to survey the academic literature on effective religious leadership, identify the criteria used to evaluate effectiveness, and detect any knowledge gaps (see Munn et al., 2018 ). We adhered to the five steps of Arksey and O’Malley’s ( 2005 ) methodological framework for conducting a scoping study—(1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) selecting the studies, (4) charting the data, (5) and compiling, summarizing, and reporting the results (Levac et al., 2010 ). The research question that guided this scoping review is: What leadership effectiveness criteria are used in the recent academic literature to assess religious leadership?

Identifying relevant studies

The review of Nauss ( 1996 ), which assessed relevant studies on effective religious leadership up to and including 1996, served as a reference point. A comprehensive search was performed in the bibliographic databases Atla Religion Database, PsycInfo, Eric, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (via Ebsco) from January 1, 1997, to January 12, 2022. To conduct the search, we first combined various terms for ‘religion’ and ‘leaders(hip)’ to search for leadership studies across various religions. In addition, all studies with direct synonyms for religious leaders were searched for using terms such as ‘clergy,’ ‘pastor,’ ‘minister,’ ‘rabbi,’ and ‘imam.’ Next, a focus on effectiveness was added by combining the search string above with the term ‘effectiveness’ and closely related indicators such as ‘success,’ ‘flourishing,’ ‘thriving,’ ‘vital,’ ‘growing,’ ‘vibrant,’ and ‘efficacy.’ The full search strategy is presented in Table 1 . From these results, we included journal articles, dissertations, and books in the final search. The search was performed without language restrictions, and duplicates were excluded. The database search identified a total of 11,653 references.

Study selection

The two-stage review process was divided into a title-and-abstract screening and a full-text screening round. The 11,653 references were submitted to Rayyan (rayyan.qcri.org), an online review application, to facilitate the review process. References were included when they studied congregations’ religious leaders, defined in this study as “religious specialists who are leaders of organized religious communities,” as opposed to religious specialists who are private practitioners (Chaves et al., 2022 , p. 737). Next, to be included in this study, references had to explicitly address the issue of effectiveness either as a focus of empirical research or theoretical reflection. The first author screened the articles and discussed her findings midway with the second author to further refine the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In addition, the second author reviewed a random selection of articles to assess the reliability of the review process ( n  = 112), resulting in an interrater agreement of 71% regarding which studies to include or exclude.

A total of 11,541 references were excluded during the abstract-and-title screening because they did not meet the inclusion criteria above, because they did not meet the initial criteria (i.e., not being published as a journal article, dissertation, or book), because an abstract was not available ( n  = 17), or because an abstract was not available in English and the reference was written in a language other than English, Dutch, French, or German ( n  = 2). Next, a full-text screening was performed with the remaining 112 references. During this phase, it was decided to focus only on journal articles and dissertations as obtaining the full text of the seven remaining books was challenging. Another 40 references were excluded based on the inclusion criteria during the full-text evaluation. One reference was excluded because the authors of the current study were not proficient in Polish. See Fig.  1 for the flow diagram and the number of references included in this review.

Flow Diagram of the Screening Process

Charting the data

For each of the 64 references included in this study, an overview was created with general information about the study. This overview included the study’s author(s), year of publication, research question, theoretical embedding, research methodology, the method used to assess effective religious leadership, and the most important outcomes reported in the study’s abstract. Charting how effective religious leadership was defined across the different studies proved difficult as many references did not provide an explicit definition. After careful consideration, it was decided to focus on recording the specific criteria used to assess religious leadership effectiveness.

Twenty-six of the 64 references examining effective religious leadership that were included in this study were published in 21 different academic journals, while the other 38 studies were dissertations. Ten studies were theoretical, literature-based contributions, whereas the additional 54 were empirical (i.e., 22 quantitative studies, 17 qualitative studies, and 15 mixed-method studies). Although the studies varied with regard to their discipline (e.g., psychology, religious studies, theology) and motives (to describe, understand, predict, or prescribe), there was a strong focus on Christian leadership ( n  = 60), with only three studies investigating Muslim leadership and one study researching religious leadership in general. In the years after 2010, the number of references published each year was considerately higher, with an average of 2.3 before 2010 and 3.5 from 2011 onwards. The nationality of the authors varied only minimally. All the dissertations were submitted to American universities, and the first author was situated in the United States in 16 of the 26 journal articles. The other 10 references were written by scholars from Australia (2), Nigeria (2), Germany (1), Indonesia (1), Ireland (1), Malaysia (1), South Africa (1), and the United Kingdom (1). An overview of the descriptives can be found in Table 2 .

Religious leadership effectiveness criteria

Twenty-seven different criteria of religious leadership effectiveness were identified among the included references. The criterion used most often in the references to assess effective religious leadership was ‘attendance or numerical growth’ (20 out of the 64 references; 31%). Other criteria that were used in ten or more of the references were ‘personal spirituality/character’ (11 references; 17%), ‘leadership style’ (10 references; 16%), ‘leadership skill and qualities’ (10 references; 16%), ‘perceived effectiveness’ (10 references; 16%), and ‘organizational mission and goals’ (10 references, 16%). Although we observed some differences between the journal articles and the dissertations, the overall use of criteria was quite similar, with an overlap of 23 out of the 27 identified criteria (89%). The most significant difference was observed in the criteria of ‘personal(ity) traits’ and ‘numerical growth or attendance’ as they were used as a criterion in 8 and 14 dissertation studies, respectively, versus 1 and 6 journal articles.

Following the model by DeRue et al. ( 2011 ), we categorized the leadership effectiveness criteria by their target of evaluation, which refers to “whether the leader is the target of evaluation (e.g., leader effectiveness, satisfaction with leader) or another outcome that is within the domain of leadership effectiveness but not specific to the leader [such as] group performance” (p. 11). The criteria used to assess religious leadership effectiveness could be subdivided into three target groups of evaluation:

leader -focused criteria that assess characteristics and outcomes associated with the religious leader as the target of evaluation, such as leadership style, leadership skills, or perceived effectiveness;

follower/member -focused criteria that evaluate outcomes specific to the followers or members of the congregations, such as satisfaction or spiritual growth;

congregation -focused criteria of effectiveness that evaluate outcomes associated with the religious community, such as numerical growth or attendance and organizational mission and goals.

An overview of the criteria sorted by target group can be found in Table 3 .

Leader-focused criteria

References that used leader-focused criteria examined individual characteristics, traits, skills, and qualities of the religious leader to determine effectiveness. The most utilized effectiveness criteria were ‘personal spirituality/character’ and ‘leadership style.’ The leadership styles associated with effective leadership in these references center on the relationship between leader and followers, such as transformational leadership (Taylor, 2019 ; Wasberg, 2013 ), servant leadership (Agee, 2001 ; Graham-Brown, 2020 ), and relational leadership (Watt, 2014 ). Other references list specific leadership skills, qualities, or personal traits as characteristic of effective religious leadership. The Ministerial Effectiveness Inventory (MEI; Majovski, 1982 ) was used in three references to assess leaders’ ministerial competencies; it contains items such as ‘the minister enables the congregation to experience opportunities for personal growth and spiritual enrichment’ and ‘I have an approach to ministry that emphasizes evangelistic and mission goals.’

Follower/member-focused criteria

The effectiveness criteria in this target group center around the congregants as the primary focus of leadership evaluation. Some criteria that focus on followers or members include their satisfaction with leadership, worship, and sacraments; how well their needs are being met; and their sense of community and financial support to the congregation. The most common follower/member-focused criterion used to measure leadership effectiveness was ‘spiritual growth.’

Congregation-focused criteria

The congregation-focused criteria operationalized leadership effectiveness through its effect on the religious community. The criterion most frequently used with respect to the congregation was’numerical growth/attendance.’ Other numerical criteria in this category included the number of conversions, baptisms, church plants, and religious classes. Additionally, references focused on the achievement of ‘organizational mission and goals,’ the degree of ‘community service and outreach,’ and congregational health / well-being as indicators of leadership effectiveness in the congregation.

Ways of assessing effective religious leadership

We observed different approaches to assessing effective religious leadership in the included references based on the targets that were used for evaluation. Some studies assessed religious leadership solely by using leader-focused criteria; other references exclusively used follower/member-focused or congregation-focused criteria. A last group combined the three target groups in various ways to determine leadership effectiveness (i.e., multiple targets). Most references utilized leader-focused criteria to determine leader effectiveness (44%), but a significant number of references used a multiple-targets approach to assess effective religious leadership (34%). This approach was especially prevalent in the dissertation studies. These references tended to take a more comprehensive approach to assessing religious leadership (e.g., Boyatzis et al., 2011 ; McKenna & Eckard, 2009 ). Among the journal articles, the focus on leader indicators was particularly prevalent (see Table 4 for an overview).

Trends and developments in the field

Indicators of effectiveness: from a focus on the minister’s behavior to a more diverse pallet.

While the main focus in Nauss’s review ( 1996 ) was on the minister and their observable behavior, more recent studies also include followers and the congregation as a factor in their evaluation of leadership effectiveness, with ‘numerical growth or attendance’ being the most used criterion of effectiveness. However, the centrality of leader-focused criteria still appears in the recent literature, especially in journal articles. At the same time, the pallet of indicators has become more diverse. For instance, ‘leadership style’ and ‘personal spirituality/character’ were added to the list of indicators, as well as some follower/member- and congregation-focused criteria such as meeting ‘followers’ needs,’ ‘congregational health,’ and achieving ‘organizational mission and goals.’

Beyond the bifocal view: Interactions between leader and congregation

In 1996, Nauss observed a bifurcation in his review study on how ministerial effectiveness was defined. References either focused “upon the minister’s behavior or the effects of the minister’s work in the activities and behavior of the church and its members.” A significant number of the references included in the current study departed from this bifocal view on assessing effective religious leadership by adopting a more dynamic approach. Twenty-two references explicitly combined criteria from multiple target groups to determine leadership effectiveness (5 articles and 17 dissertations). Also, many references that assessed effectiveness by focusing on one specific target often took the interactions between the leader and the congregation into account. For example, in various studies, leader characteristics were used as a predictor of follower/member-focused or congregation-focused criteria of effectiveness (e.g., Adams, 2013 ; Al-Hilali, 2012 ; Cobb-Hayes, 2018 ; Oney, 2009 ; Rowold, 2008 ; Rumley, 2011 ; Soldo, 2017 ). In addition, the transformational leadership model, a follower-oriented approach, was a recurring theory used by about 20 references (30%), either in the study’s design or as part of the theoretical embedding.

The “ultimate criterion”: A value-based approach to assessing religious leadership persists

A value-based approach to assessing religious leadership was recognized across the references as dominant criteria of effectiveness included ‘personal spirituality/character,’ leadership styles such as servant leadership, ethical leadership, and spiritual leadership, ‘organizational mission and goals,’ and ‘spiritual growth.’ Spiritual indicators were already being used as empirical measures of effectiveness in the review by Nauss ( 1996 ), but only minimally.

Measures of effective religious leadership remain scarce

Based on the included references, it appears that hardly any new instruments have been developed to measure effective religious leadership over the past 25 years, and there seems to be a specific lack of validated measures. The Ministerial Effectiveness Inventory by Majovski ( 1982 ) was used three times to map ministerial competencies. Another nine references administered the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio & Bass, 2004 ), a psychological inventory that measures transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership and three leadership outcomes (i.e., followers’ perception of leadership effectiveness, followers’ satisfaction with the leadership, and the leader’s ability to meet followers’ needs, inspire extra effort, and achieve organizational goals). In addition, studies that used congregation-focused criteria indicators to assess leadership effectiveness sometimes employed congregational models, such as the National Church Live Survey and the Natural Church Development characteristics (Powell et al., 2022 ; Schwarz, 2006 ).

The focus on Christian leadership remains

Only four references were included in this study that examined effective religious leadership outside the Christian context (6%). One study discussed religious leadership in general (Malony, 2000 ), and three studies examined Muslim leadership (Al-Hilali, 2012 ; Mahazan & Abdullah, 2013 ; Soldo, 2017 ). Given the few references that examined religious leadership outside the Christian context, there still appears to be a one-sided emphasis on Christian leadership in the existing literature. Although, at first glance, the ways of assessing religious leadership in these four studies do not appear to diverge from the main findings discussed above, we cannot generalize our findings on religious leadership effectiveness outside of the Christian context.

The present study conducted a scoping review to provide an up-to-date overview of how effective religious leadership has been assessed over the last 25 years in the academic literature and to chart recent trends and developments in the field. A literature search yielded 64 references that together used 27 different criteria to assess religious leadership effectiveness. The criteria were categorized based on their target group of evaluation, namely, leader, follower/member, or congregation. Most references used leader-focused criteria to assess religious leadership, but a significant number of studies also employed a multiple-targets approach to determine leadership effectiveness. Comparing our results to the review conducted by Nauss ( 1996 ), we did not observe drastic changes in how effective religious leadership is assessed. There were, however, some significant developments, and these are discussed below.

Next to the importance of leader-focused criteria, follower/member-focused and congregation-focused criteria are increasingly being included as valid measures of effectiveness. ‘Attendance or numerical growth’ was the criterion most frequently used in the included references to assess effectiveness. Although congregational growth has been debated as a criterion of vitality or effectiveness (e.g., Thiessen et al., 2019 ), success and status are often attributed to those leaders who can break with the downward trend and draw large numbers of visitors to their services. Linking congregational growth or decline to leadership efforts aligns with several studies showing that clergy contribute to church growth (e.g., Francis et al., 2015 ; Haskell et al., 2016 ; Wollschleger, 2018 ).

Recent references adopted a more dynamic and extensive approach to assessing effective religious leadership by combining multiple criteria and different target groups. The shift from a strong focus on the leader to a more follower- and group-oriented approach to religious leadership has taken longer than it has in the mainstream research on leadership (Haslam et al., 2020 , pp. 19–44) but appears to be prevalent in the current literature on religious leadership as well. Transformational leadership has a prominent place in the references in the current review study, as it does in most contemporary leadership research (Dinh et al., 2014 ; Zhu et al., 2019 ), which shows a continued interest in (neo)charismatic leadership topics such as inspirational leadership, visionary leadership, empowerment, and followers’ trust. Transformational leadership refers to a multidimensional leadership style in which leaders motivate followers to perform beyond expectations by transforming followers’ attitudes, beliefs, and values as opposed to simply gaining compliance (Bass, 1985 ; Rafferty & Griffin, 2004 ; Yukl, 1999 ). Behavior linked to transformational leadership has the following four components (Bass & Riggio, 2005 ): idealized influence (i.e., serving as a role model for followers), inspirational motivation (i.e., communicating a stimulating vision), intellectual stimulation (i.e., encouraging innovation and creativity), and individualized consideration (i.e., attention for followers’ development).

A value-based approach to assessing religious leadership remained prevalent in the reviewed body of research, with many references using indicators such as ‘personal spirituality/character,’ ‘servant leadership,’ and ‘spiritual growth’ to determine effectiveness. A normative approach to assessing religious leadership also appears inherent to researching leadership in the religious context (McKenna & Eckard, 2009 ; Wollschleger, 2018 ). The spiritual dimension entails a normative element to effective religious leadership, resulting in ultimate criteria of effectiveness based on specific beliefs or values that are so important that they are usually not open for debate or modification. Although such a prescriptive approach to leadership appears specific to religion, value-based approaches to leadership are also emerging in mainstream research on leadership (Dinh et al., 2014 ; Zhu et al., 2019 ). Recent studies demonstrate a growing interest in leadership behaviors that include value elements such as ethical leadership, authentic leadership, spiritual leadership, and servant leadership. Zhu et al. ( 2019 ) link this trend to a growing focus on corporate social responsibility.

Implications for research and practice

By identifying the various criteria of effectiveness and sorting the literature into three target groups for assessing religious leadership, this study offers clarity and coherence in a rather fragmented field of research. Consequently, this overview can function as a starting point for future research identifying the trends and developments in the field and current knowledge gaps. This will make it easier for researchers to determine their research focus and build on previous work. Some concrete recommendations for future research are given below. Additionally, the current findings show interesting leads for collaboration between researchers of religious leadership and mainstream leadership scholars. For example, the shared interest in transformational leadership would be an interesting starting point as this theory has some evident religious connotations (Spoelstra, 2017 ). Aside from its focus on charisma, which has historical roots in Christian writings, common elements include the central notion of transformation and the religious concept of conversion. The transformational leader is expected to induce change within their followers to transform (i.e., convert) them into more effective, engaged, or moral individuals, embodying higher values for the company’s good (Delaney & Spoelstra, 2022 ; Spoelstra, 2017 ). Another lead for collaboration could be the emergence of value-based leadership in mainstream leadership research (Zhu et al., 2019 ) as a value-based approach to leadership is central in the domain of religion as well (e.g., Agee, 2001 ; Graham-Brown, 2020 ; Taylor, 2019 ).

The current findings invite religious practitioners and congregations to reflect on their own ways of evaluating leadership effectiveness. What are current practices, and what would be appropriate ways to measure effectiveness based on the shared beliefs and values of their specific contexts? The overview of indicators of effectiveness used in recent research will hopefully inspire this process and encourage new and more comprehensive approaches to measure effectiveness in helping religious communities to flourish. Educational institutes can benefit from the current findings by reflecting on the trends and developments that have been outlined. The growing significance of follower-oriented approaches to leadership can, for example, lead to new areas of focus in educational programs and the screening of candidates for religious vocations.

Limitations

A limitation of the current study design is that the outcomes of this review study are confined to the references that were included based on the data search that was conducted. In our discussion of the literature, we stayed close to the included references and focused on the trends and insights that emerged from these specific references. As a result, we might have missed relevant works on the study of religious leadership effectiveness because they were outside of our search terms and inclusion criteria. For example, the reviewers have brought to our attention the work of Friedman ( 2007 , 2011 ). His work was widely influential in the 2000s and has been especially valued by mainline Protestant and Jewish leaders for its holistic approach to religious leadership based on Bowen’s family systems theory. Friedman’s work was most likely not identified during our literature search because it does not explicitly address religious leadership and partly falls outside the selected timeframe. The same will apply to the professional literature as our data search was limited to the academic literature. In addition, studies that did not research religious leadership in the context of faith communities or that did not explicitly discuss the issue of effectiveness also fell outside the focus of the current study.

Recommendations: An agenda for future research and practice

A theme that should be high on the research agenda is broadening the scope of research from focusing on Christian leadership to examining religious leadership effectiveness across different religions. The current data search only identified three references that researched religious leadership from a Muslim perspective and one reference that focused on religious leadership in general. This suggests that the findings of the current study may not be applicable beyond the Christian context as only limited academic research was included on the effectiveness of religious leadership in general. Therefore, future research should focus on conducting studies across various religious backgrounds to deepen our understanding of effective religious leadership. Additionally, the studies included in the current overview were conducted mainly by scholars from the United States examining religious leaders in an American context. We therefore also need more studies from underrepresented parts of the world to get a more comprehensive perspective on religious leadership effectiveness.

Another recommendation for future research concerns the coherence in the field and its theoretical foundation. The references included in this study do not strongly build on previous work in the field, and, as a consequence, research on religious leadership appears to be less incremental. Also, an overarching narrative of assessing effective religious leadership seems to be lacking as academic reflection on the topic stagnated after the work of Nauss and Malony (e.g., Malony, 1984 , 2000 ; Malony & Hunt, 1991 ; Nauss, 1972 , 1996 ). An updated theoretical foundation that does justice to the current landscape is essential for the field to progress. Future studies can build on such a foundation and create more sound evidence regarding religious leadership effectiveness by collecting data that supplements earlier findings and addressing current knowledge and research gaps. For example, a theoretical framework could combine the three target groups (i.e., leader, follower, and congregation) into a dynamic and comprehensive model (see Boyatzis et al., 2011 ). Additionally, transformational leadership could serve as an overarching theory given the popularity it already has in the field and the promising effects of this type of leadership style on the congregation (e.g., Carter, 2009 ; Rowold, 2008 ).

A concrete recommendation for practice that follows from the current overview is to use multiple criteria from multiple target groups to evaluate religious leadership in congregations (DeRue et al., 2011 ). As McKenna and Eckard ( 2009 ) point out, the criteria deemed appropriate will vary depending on the mission and overall purpose of the congregation. However, using a range of criteria can help overcome a one-sided focus on, for example, numerical growth or leadership competencies. By evaluating religious leadership using various criteria, we can better understand the dynamic and diverse leadership contexts and, hopefully, alleviate some of the discomfort people feel in assessing religious leadership effectiveness.

A theme for the research agenda that follows from the above is the need for reliable and validated scales to measure religious leadership effectiveness. Over the past 25 years, only a few new instruments have been developed. One possible reason for this could be the limited interest of social scientists in religious leadership. The only validated measure used by references in this study that was specifically designed for the assessment of religious leadership was the Ministerial Effectiveness Inventory by Majovski ( 1982 ), a shortened version of the Profiles of Ministry (Schuller et al., 1980 ) consisting of 59 items (Nauss, 1996 ). There are growing concerns regarding the content validity of this scale in current research because the qualitative data underlying the development of this scale (mid-1970s) has become less representative of effective leadership in the twenty-first century (Dobrotka, 2021 ). Additionally, the sample consisted exclusively of respondents from the 200 seminaries that were members of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada at that time. Consequently, the field could benefit from well-researched measures that can be used to evaluate religious leadership across different religious and cultural contexts. In order to develop such a scale, scholars should collaborate with practitioners to create evidence-informed scales that will benefit religious leaders and their communities as well. The work by McElroy et al. ( 2014 ), which describes the development of a measure of intellectual humility in the context of religious leadership, could be used for inspiration. Alternatively, researchers could build on and extend work in related fields, such as the development of the Authentic Leadership Inventory (Neider & Schriesheim, 2011 ), Spiritual Leadership Scale (Fry et al., 2005 ), Identity Leadership Inventory (Steffens et al., 2014 ), or Servant Leadership Survey (Van Dierendonck & Nuijten, 2011 ).

In short, the current scoping review provided an up-to-date overview of how religious leadership effectiveness has been assessed over the last 25 years in the academic literature. Although a focus on Christian leadership remained prevalent among the included references, recent references adopt a more dynamic and extensive approach to evaluating effective religious leadership by combining criteria from different target groups (i.e., leader, follower/member, and congregation) while using multiple measures and emphasizing the interactions between the leader and congregation.

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Foppen, A., van Saane, J.W. Assessing Religious Leadership: A Scoping Review of Leadership Effectiveness Criteria and Current Trends in the Academic Literature. Pastoral Psychol 73 , 1–21 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-023-01113-8

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Succession Planning: How to ensure succession planning efforts actually work in organizations

Impactnexus: leading with impact is a blog series on strategic practices in leadership.

By Dr. Sai Raghav

Succession planning is not a new phenomenon, but this trend has gained considerable momentum in the recent times. It is a proactive strategy formulated by the organizational leaders with the aim of ensuring continuity of leadership effectiveness, purpose, organizational direction, and sustained organizational success by identifying and grooming individuals with a potential for upward mobility (Jackson & Dunn-Jensen, 2021). However, due to increased work demands, lack of effective planning, and limited resources this endeavor often gets sidelined or is poorly implemented. To maximize the chances of success and minimize the challenges associated with succession planning initiatives in today’s organizations several key strategies can be employed, and each is briefly outlined below:

1. Early Initiation

Rather than waiting for announcements of retirement and job transfers, efforts should be directed towards early identification of such potential vacancies. Leadership gaps are capable of disrupting the organizational momentum and can increase the workload of other leaders. The risks associated with such sudden departures could significantly affect the workflow and the company’s profitability (Ritchie, 2020; Jackson & Dunn-Jensen, 2021). Early identification enables senior leaders to optimally utilize available resources and simultaneously place emphasis on the training and development of potential successors.

2. Alignment with the Vision, Mission, and Objectives (VMO's)  

An effective succession plan is one that aligns with the organization’s VMOs (Mihaylov & Zurbruegg, 2021). Ideally, the future leaders are expected to carry forward the torch, and they are better equipped to do so when the resource-coordinating skills and competencies they possess are in line with the organization’s strategic objectives. To ensure seamless transition it is recommended that leaders place heightened emphasis on refining the succession plan of their organization to closely align with the VMOs.

Future leaders are expected to carry forward the torch

Dr. Sai Raghav

3. Cultivate a Talent Pipeline

Building a strong talent pipeline is pivotal to organizational success. Leaders across the various levels of the organization must be on the constant lookout for high potential candidates and be willing to groom them for positions of higher responsibility. This not only bolsters levels of employee motivation and performance, but also minimizes the employees’ propensity to leave the company primarily because they feel valued, supported, and invested. At my current organization (Costco Wholesale), there is considerable emphasis on programs such as manger-in-training and temporary supervisory assignments because Costco Wholesale’s leaders only promote from within thereby eliminating the risk of knowledge spillover (Costco Wholesale, personal communication, March 17, 2024).

4. Promote a Learning Culture

History has perpetually taught us that one stops to evolve when one stops learning, and since there is increased pressure to deliver results in today’s intensely competitive business environment it is important to remain in a state of constant improvement. By identifying the necessary skills, competencies, and leadership qualities necessary to drive innovation and organizational growth senior leaders are better able to implement training and mentorship programs aimed at equipping the incoming leaders with the necessary tools to succeed. However, in order for the potential leaders to take advantage of the learning opportunities it is crucial that the organization’s leaders eliminate the barriers of communication and simultaneously maximize the levels of transparency. This, in turn, fosters a culture conducive of growth, nurtures continuous learning, and facilitates success.

5. Periodic Review of the Plans

Conducting periodic review of the succession plans in place is of fundamental importance because the external environment, which is constantly changing, significantly impacts the internal environment. In order for the succession plans to be effective and successful the leaders responsible should pay ongoing attention to the changing circumstances and update the plans (Gubler et al., 2020). The iterative process of revisiting succession plans also allows the organizational leaders to not only minimize inconsistencies and inefficiencies, but also enables them to capitalize on emerging opportunities for business growth and maintain outstanding agility.

Conclusively, effective implementation of succession planning initiatives is reliant on the execution of key strategies such as early initiation, alignment with the VMOs, talent pipeline development, cultivating a learning culture, and periodic review of the plans. This significantly paves the way for the senior leaders to advance the organizational agenda, and simultaneously enhance the chances of organizational success.

References:

Costco Wholesale. (Personal communication, March 17, 2024).

Gubler, T., Arnold, J., & Coombs, C. (2020). Succession Planning for Organizational Resilience: A Review and Synthesis of Current Research. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 27( 1), 50–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051819876178

Jackson, S. E., & Dunn-Jensen, L. M. (2021). Succession Planning: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature. In R. A. Johnson & R. S. Cavanaugh (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Behavior Management (pp. 187–209). Routledge.

Mihaylov, G., & Zurbruegg, R. (2021). Succession Planning: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions. Journal of Business Research, 129 , 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.07.022

Ritchie, B. (2020). Succession Planning in the 21st Century: A Systematic Review of Current Research and Directions for the Future. Human Resource Development Review, 19 (4), 418–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484320929074

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Raghav is an accomplished academic and scholar holding degrees in areas such as a Doctorate in Management (Organizational Leadership) from the University of Phoenix, an MS in Organizational Leadership with a specialization in Project Management from Northcentral University, an MBA with a specialization in Strategic Management from the Swiss Management Center, Switzerland, and a B.S. in Physiotherapy from N.T.R. University of Health Sciences, India. He is a presidential member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and a Fellow in Residence for the Center for Leadership Studies and Organizational Research.

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Onboarding New Employees — Without Overwhelming Them

• Julia Phelan

Give people the space and time they need to thrive in their new job.

A great onboarding experience can keep new hires engaged and committed, and increase their learning and preparedness for their new role. In trying to ensure new employees feel supported and properly prepared, some organizations flood new hires with far too much information. Even if managers have the best intentions, bombarding new hires with tasks  — such as asking them to read every single page of the employee manual or requiring them to get set-up on Slack, email, Box, and all the other platforms all at once — will backfire. Three strategies can help organizations mitigate this overload and ensure employees have the space, time, and mental resources available to learn and thrive in their new job.

We know that effectively onboarding new employees has huge value. A good onboarding process — with clear information on job requirements, organizational norms, and performance expectations — not only enhances employee productivity but helps increase loyalty and engagement, and decrease s turnover .

• JP Julia Phelan , Ph.D. is a learning design consultant and expert in applying learning science principles to create effective learning experiences. She works with organizations to help build a strong workplace learning culture by improving training design, implementation, and outcomes. She is the co-founder of To Eleven , and a former UCLA education research scientist. Connect with her on LinkedIn .

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Review: Turning Dancers Into Aliens One Step at a Time

Under the artistic leadership of Emily Molnar, Nederlands Dans Theater returned to New York City Center with a less than stellar triple bill.

By Gia Kourlas

Emily Molnar, the artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater, is committed to giving her dancers, as she has said, “ creative agency and a greater sense of belonging .”

That matters in the studio. You want it to matter onstage. But without substantial dances to dance, it can’t help but to matter very little — especially not in promoting the individuality that comes, one hopes, from having creative agency in the first place.

The company, under Molnar’s artistic direction since 2020, returned to New York City Center on Wednesday with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels and three works, including “N.N.N.N.” (2002) by the esteemed William Forsythe. (As a dancer, Molnar was a member of his Frankfurt Ballet.) It isn’t Forsythe on his best day — it’s too knowingly playful to really soar — but at least it was succinct, with dancers that looked like real people. As the evening dragged on, this wasn’t necessarily the norm.

In the Forsythe work, four men create a score using their breath, which provides the rhythm and the choreographic pulse alongside barely-there music by Thom Willems. Swinging their arms, resting their hands on one another’s shoulders, they inhaled and exhaled with fervor. Their breathing, sharp and drawn out with the occasional whoosh, mirrored the rise and fall of their limbs.

They tapped and lightly smacked one other as they lined up side by side, tangling and untangling like interlocking puzzles, yet there was something off about their flow as their movement right from the start seemed premeditated. It was as if they anticipated how their weight dropped instead of being guided by it.

Still, gimmicky Forsythe is better than nothing. The other works on the program were created by duos — which really goes to show that two choreographers aren’t better than one. In “The Point Being,” the Dutch choreographic pair of Imre and Marne van Opstal — they are siblings and former members of the Nederlands company — collaborated with Lonneke Gordijn and DRIFT , an Amsterdam studio, to create a light installation that interacted with dancing bodies.

Delicate rope ladders, like curtains, hung in front of and behind the dancers amid a landscape of shadows and spotlights, which sometimes flashed like surveillance beams. As for the look, beige and dusty? It was right out of “Dune.” With choreography credited to the van Opstals and DRIFT, the dancers, emboldened by a lugubrious movement quality, left their humanness behind. Instead they transformed — sigh — into creatures with faces masked in expressions of pained concentration.

The work purported to explore, in part, the notion of synchronicity. While dancers did, at times, team up — embodying a ponderous and recognizable slow-motion quality — the women weren’t always on equal footing, but bodies prone to manipulation. In moments, there was dragging by the ankles and wrists, along with a position that left me cold: a male grip just under the chin, fingers wrapped around the throat.

Aside from sculpturally gooey duets and trios, groups traversed the stage in orderly walking patterns, which offered another layer but little tension. Perhaps the point of “The Point Being” was that it was a light show for dancing rather than a dance. Throughout, the design, which featured lights moving along the side of the stage, shifted to create — in its finest moment — a sleek daybreak glow. But mainly within this choreography of space, bodies were reduced to little more than an aimless kind of boneless articulation.

Another choreographic duo, Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, presented “Jakie,” largely an ensemble work for 16. Like most dances by Eyal and Behar, “Jakie” was a foray into a world of steely, androgynous sensuality, a path paved by Eyal’s many years with Batsheva Dance Company and Ohad Naharin’s Gaga movement language. Wearing unitards that matched their skin tone, the dancers were presented as both nearly nude and sexless as they teetered in demi-pointe, balancing on the balls of their feet as they moved more or less as a pack: formations of awkward Barbies, torqued and twisted, sweaty and strained.

Set to a pulsing score by Ori Lichtik (there is also music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, performed by Alva Noto), “Jakie” was purposely repetitive as the dancers, more jittery than hypnotic, moved as one under Alon Cohen’s apocalyptic lighting. More than a dance, “Jakie,” with its quivering legs and contorted torsos, was an extended vibration. Dancers pinched their earlobes and held fingers in the air, which added shapes — antlers or gills — to their silhouettes. From Nederlands, it was more of the same: dancers posing as aliens.

Nederlands Dans Theater

Through Saturday at New York City Center, Manhattan; nycitycenter.org .

Gia Kourlas is the dance critic for The Times. She writes reviews, essays and feature articles and works on a range of stories. More about Gia Kourlas

Stepping Into the World of Dance

The choreographer Emma Portner, who has spent her career mixing genres and disciplines , comes to ballet with an eye on its sometimes calcified gender relations.

In Irish dance, precision is prized. But perfection is beside the point at Gayli , a series of L.G.B.T.Q.-friendly ceili classes during March at Mary’s Bar, a queer Irish pub in Brooklyn.

A childhood encounter with an American soldier in Iraq led Hussein Smko to become a dancer. Now the artist performs on New York stages .

“Deep River” is in many ways an apt title for a dance work by Alonzo King, a choreographer fixated on flow .

Robert Garland has held many positions at Dance Theater of Harlem over many years. At long last, he has caught the most prized title: artistic director .

Alexei Ratmansky, arguably the most important ballet choreographer today, has stepped into a new role at New York City Ballet  with a deeply personal first work  that reflected his Ukrainian roots.

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John Barth, innovative postmodernist novelist, dies at 93

The Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — John Barth, the playfully erudite author whose darkly comic and complicated novels revolved around the art of literature and launched countless debates over the art of fiction, died Tuesday. He was 93.

Johns Hopkins University, where Barth was an emeritus professor of English and creative writing, confirmed his death in a statement.

Along with William Gass , Stanley Elkin and other peers, Barth was part of a wave of writers in the 1960s who challenged standards of language and plot. The author of 20 books including "Giles Goat-Boy" and "The Sot-Weed Factor," Barth was a college writing instructor who advocated for postmodernism to literature, saying old forms were used up and new approaches were needed.

Barth's passion for literary theory and his innovative but complicated novels made him a writer's writer. Barth said he felt like Scheherazade in "The Thousand and One Nights," desperately trying to survive by creating literature.

He created a best-seller in 1966 with "Giles Goat-Boy," which turned a college campus into a microcosm of a world threatened by the Cold War, and made a hero of a character who is part goat.

The following year, he wrote a postmodern manifesto, "The Literature of Exhaustion," which argued that the traditional novel suffered from a "used-upness of certain forms." The influential Atlantic Monthly essay described the postmodern writer as one who "confronts an intellectual dead end and employs it against itself to accomplish new human work."

He clarified in another essay 13 years later, "The Literature of Replenishment," that he didn't mean the novel was dead — just sorely in need of a new approach.

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"I like to remind misreaders of my earlier essay that written literature is in fact about 4,500 years old (give or take a few centuries depending on one's definition of literature), but that we have no way of knowing whether 4,500 years constitutes senility, maturity, youth, or mere infancy," Barth wrote.

Barth frequently explored the relationship between storyteller and audience in parodies and satire. He said he was inspired by "The Thousand and One Nights," which he discovered while working in the classics library of Johns Hopkins University.

"It is a quixotic high-wire act to hope, at this late hour of the century, to write literary material and contend with declining readership and a publishing world where businesses are owned by other businesses," Barth told The Associated Press in 1991.

Barth pursued jazz at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, but found he didn't have a great talent for music, and so turned to creative writing, a craft he taught at Penn State University, SUNY Buffalo, Boston University and Johns Hopkins.

His first novel, "The Floating Opera," was nominated for a National Book Award. He was nominated again for a 1968 short story collection, "Lost in the Funhouse," and won in 1973 for "Chimera," three short novels focused on myth.

His breakthrough work was 1960's "The Sot-Weed Factor," a parody of historical fiction with a multitude of plot twists and ribald hijinks. The sprawling, picaresque story uses 18th-century literary conventions to chronicle the adventures of Ebenezer Cooke, who takes possession of a tobacco farm in Maryland.

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Barth was born on Maryland's Eastern Shore and set many of his works there. Both his 1982 "Sabbatical: A Romance" and his 1987 "The Tidewater Tales" feature couples sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.

Barth also challenged literary conventions in his 1979 epistolary novel "Letters," in which characters from his first six novels wrote to each other, and he inserted himself as a character as well.

"My ideal postmodernist author neither merely repudiates nor merely imitates either his twentieth-century modernist parents or his nineteenth-century premodernist grandparents. He has the first half of our century under his belt, but not on his back."

Barth kept writing in the 21st century.

In 2008, he published "The Development," a collection of short stories about retirees in a gated community. "Final Fridays," published in 2012, was his third collection of non-fiction essays.

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Book Review: ‘City of Ruins’ completes a masterful Don Winslow trilogy

This image released by William Morrow shows “City in Ruins” by Don Winslow. (William Morrow via AP)

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Years ago, when novelist Don Winslow first read Aeschylus, he recognized that the Greek father of literary tragedies had explored every major theme found in modern crime fiction, from murder, vengeance, and corruption to power, justice and redemption. He became obsessed, he said recently, with the idea of retelling the ancient stories in a modern-crime fiction trilogy.

For the last 30 years, while churning out a succession of books that include some of the best crime novels ever written, he worked on the ambitious project in fits and starts, sometimes despairing but never giving up.

“City of Ruins” marks the conclusion of his saga of Rhode Island mobster turned Las Vegas gambling tycoon Danny Ryan. If Winslow is to be believed, it is also the last novel he will ever write as he turns his considerable talents to political activism.

The trilogy opened with “City on Fire” (2021) as Ryan and a handful of allies fled Providence, Rhode Island, after losing a gang war to the Italian Mafia. It continued with “City of Dreams” (2023) as Ryan tried, and failed, to build a new life in Los Angeles.

As “City in Ruins” opens, we find an older Ryan operating as a silent partner in two Las Vegas casinos. A man who was once a dock worker and underworld strong arm in Providence is now rich beyond his dreams, but he still wants more.

Why, he wonders. Is it greed? No. Not that.

“Be honest with yourself,” he says. “You want more money because money is power and power is safety. And you can never be safe enough. Not in this world.”

After all, the Italian mob and the FBI are still out there, hell bent on revenge and/or justice for the crimes he’s committed. For the people he has killed.

So Danny overreaches.

He schemes to purchase a prime piece of real estate on the Las Vegas strip to build a fabulous gambling resort, putting him in conflict with the city’s power brokers including a rival casino owner who has mob connections of his own.

Soon, the old enemies also are circling. Danny does what he can to prevent the power struggle from turning violent, but through a series of miscalculations, bullets start flying, endangering not only his gambling empire but his life and the lives of those he loves.

While “City in Ruins” can be read as a standalone, readers would be best served by reading the trilogy from the beginning. With his compelling characters, his vivid prose, and his exploration of universal themes, Winslow has produced a masterpiece of modern crime fiction.

Bruce DeSilva, winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including “The Dread Line.”

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