Leadership and the Changing World of Work: A review, a critique and new directions

Although there is an extensive body of research on leadership, findings on the effectiveness of different leadership styles within the changing world of work are inconsistently inconclusive. No one style of leadership has been shown to consistently reshape people’s behaviours and render organisational members’ interactions more effective in the changing world of work. The aim of this study is to conduct a comprehensive systematic literature review and critique with the view to develop a more comprehensive understanding of emerging leadership and change patterns. To be able to do so, we investigate the extent to which the theoretical propositions on leadership styles’ positive (or effective) impacts within the context of the changing world of work is supported. We are particularly interested in looking into the extent to which leadership styles can sustain effective organisational change within the world of work