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The leadership pipeline: Fad, fashion, or empirical fact?

Kaiser, R. B. (Ed.) (2011). The leadership pipeline: Fad, fashion, or empirical fact? [Special Issue]. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 14, 71-75.

The leadership pipeline concept has had an enormous impact on leadership development and talent management over the past decade. This model assumes that what it takes for managers to succeed differs for jobs at different levels in the organizational hierarchy. However, the research basis behind popular books on the topic is thin. This special issue of The Psychologist-Manager Journal features a summary of relevant empirical research and two direct tests of whether and how the behaviors related to effectiveness are different at the bottom, middle, and top. The issue concludes with practical commentary by one of the original thinkers who articulated the psychological challenges that managers face as they transition to higher level jobs.

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The Leadership Pipeline: Fad, Fashion, or Empirical Fact? An Introduction to the Special Issue
Robert B. Kaiser

Differences in Managerial Jobs at the Bottom, Middle, and Top: A Review of Empirical Research
Robert B. Kaiser, S. Bartholomew Craig, Darren V. Overfield & Preston Yarborough

Do the Behaviors Related to Managerial Effectiveness Really Change With Organizational Level? An Empirical Test
Robert B. Kaiser & S. Bartholomew Craig

Leadership Skills across Organizational Levels: A Closer Examination
Kenneth P. De Meuse, Guangrong Dai & Joshua Wu

Some Implications of Validation of the Leadership Pipeline Concept: Guidelines for Assisting Managers-in-Transition
Arthur M. Freedman


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