Living up to expectations: Ideal and actual leader behavior and leader performance

The complexity of leadership and its monumental importance to business has motivated researchers attempts to resolve the question what makes an ideal leader. The subjective nature of good leadership led us to turn to followers perceptions and beliefs for an answer, the inherent biases all people have on leadership called Implicit Leadership Theories (ILT). Our study sought to establish whether a difference between employees ILT and their leader\u27s actual behavioral traits (ILT-B) would affect a leader\u27s perceived leadership performance (LPM). Using a sample of ninety employees from thirty trade wholesale, small and medium enterprises in Quezon City, we looked at the various relationships between ILT, ILT-B, and LPM. By conducting correlation, multiple regression, and stepwise regression analyses, we determined which leadership traits affected the different components of managers perceived leadership performance. We found that Charisma was an indicator for a leader\u27s. Urgency and Execution performance. We found Charisma was an indicator for a leaders. Urgency and Execution performance rating Intelligence and Tyranny for Empowering Others Sensitivity and Tyranny for Developing Self and Other and Sensitivity, Tyranny and Intelligence for Communication. Understanding Implicit Leadership Theories and their effect on a leader\u27s performance appraisal, Filipino human resource managers and entrepreneurs can now design training and development programs geared at improving specific aspects of leadership performance, the result of which will be quality leadership for managers and organizations alike