Issues in operationalizing and comparing leadership constructs

Numerous theories of leadership have yielded a rich array of leadership constructs, yet there has been little comparative work across theories. The authors of this letter exchange compare views around the definition of leadership and four issues related to operationalizing and comparing leadership constructs: the measurement of leadership constructs, overlaps in measures of leadership, follower's ability to differentiate among leadership constructs, and conceptualizing context in studying leadership.