The importance of leadership in any organization is a widely accepted and much studied phenomenon. However, the authors of this book maintain that most research on leadership has focused only on the leader and ignored subordinates, treating them as a homogeneous entity and passive recipients of leadership efforts.

Treating the subordinate instead as an active partner in the leadership process, this book studies the relationship the develops between a leader and his/her subordinates in the framework of a dyadic relationship. This dyadic hypothesis is then tested both through rigorous statistical analysis and with the help of empirical data.