Leadership has become a hot topic
in the world of business. The development of the next generation leaders
requires fostering throughout their lives the proper self-image, decision
making patterns, and ethical approaches that reduce personal bias and challenge
improperly rooted premises. The use of evidence-based leadership offers an
opportunity to create more logical thinking patterns that helps counter the
natural biases that make their way into decisions that impact a great many
people. Using such data is not paint-by-the-numbers type leadership but one
that uses the available information in new ways that check alternatives and
incorporates scientific knowledge.
Evidence based leadership is the
concept that leadership is based on the ability to take information from the
environment and use this information to make adequate decisions that impact a
large group of people. It is possible to define such a concept as, “making decision
through conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of four course of information:
practitioner expertise and judgment, evidence from the local context, crucial evaluation
of the best valuable research evidence, and the perspective people who might be
affected by the decision (Briner & Rousseau, 2011). Leadership entails a
wider scope of stakeholders and influence based on the decisions but does not
ignore the systematic influence of management techniques.
Such leaders do not simply make
decisions premised upon affiliations or personal needs but use evidence to
guide their decisions to more accurate conclusions. In such a scenario, the use
of evidence acts as check and balance that helps to ensure that the best
decisions are made by limiting of personal bias within those decisions. They
draw from their experiences, use research, understand the context of the
information, the likely outcome of such decisions, and the people who are impacted
by such decisions. It is the thorough analysis of the factors and the possible
outcomes before decisions are finalized that increases utility.
Higher education can help train
students to be better leaders at a time when leadership is lacking. Some have
argued that schools have not done a great job of training on management skills
in order to develop leadership skills (Mintzberg & Gosling, 2002). Others
have suggested that research in business schools should be more analytical by
nature allowing for a stronger theoretical underpinning and a more
sophisticated methodology (Gordon and Howell, 1959). Each of these indicated that the ability to
analyze and use theory to help guide decisions can be beneficial in rounding
out of leadership decisions.
Leadership is about expanding one’s skills and experiences
over the life development of the individual. “Every form of growth or stage of
development in the life cycle that promotes, encourages, and assists the
expansion of knowledge and expertise required to optimize one’s leadership
potential and performance” (Brungardt, 1997). Leadership entails the processes
of continuous growth and development. Using data in fostering that growth
creates greater levels of structure and logical thinking patterns that can influence
the mental framework toward future decisions.
The development of such leadership requires a
transformation of self-efficacy. Leadership needs self-insight and self-knowledge
in order to make appropriate decisions and work well with others. If we think
about how self-image, data for decision-making, and our beliefs in influence
our decisions, we can create new ways of viewing our environments and may find
such concepts to be beneficial in enhancing current leaders and fostering
future ones.
The use of research and data in decision-making
helps us to avoid those fallacies that have created poor self-concepts that influence
decisions that have a profound and systemic influence on people. Accurate and
effective leadership requires a level of inductive and deductive reasoning. It
is the ability to view ourselves, the information available, and the outcomes
in a manner that benefits businesses and other stakeholders in the most
effective ways possible.
As the nation seeks paths to
growth and internal development for future sustainability it will need new ways
of viewing and enhancing leadership. Leaders are human and make the same
mistakes other humans make in their decision-making processes. This means that leaders
are influenced by their social networks, self-image, financial stakeholders and
many other pressures in their lives. By using research and evidence, such
leaders can provide a better way of managing by using critical thinking to help
round out their personal motivations. Such information also helps to create
more accurate environmental understandings that further develop the decision
making process to be aware of alternative solutions not previously considered.
Briner,
R &
Rousseau, D. (2011). Evidence-based I-O psychology: Not there yet. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives
on Science and Practice. 4.
Brungardt,
C. (1997).
The making of leaders: A review of the research in leadership development and
education. Journal
oi Leadership
Studies.( 3).
Gordon, R. & Howell, J. (1959).
Higher education in business. New
York: Columbia University Press.
Mintzberg, H & Gosling, (2002).
Educating managers beyond borders. Academy oí Management Learning and Education.
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