What is Business Leadership?

Business leadership combines both hard and soft skills; teamwork, communicaton and motivation are as important as functional skills like planning, finance and business analysis. Leadership implies interpersonal influence and setting goals. This “interpersonal influence” sets the leadership apart from management – the latter has formal power to reward or sanction the behavior of others. There are many theories of leadership, stemming from fields like organizational behavior, social psychology or sociology.

Getting Started

Before beginning your research, spend some time thinking about the topic at hand and how to develop a search strategy. Consider the following:

• Are you looking at current practices and theories, or do you need an historical perspective?
• What is the scope of your research: global, developed countries, United States?
• Do you want practical advice or an overview of practices and methods?
• Are you interested in personal characteristics of leaders?
• Are you looking for biographical information?
  

Finding General or Background Information on Business Leadership

To get acquainted with the concepts and practice of business leadership, search for handbooks, encyclopedias and compilations (like readers and anthologies). Consider starting with these titles:

• Encyclopedia of Leadership - R HD57.7 .E53 2004
• Business Leadership: A Jossey-Bass Reader - HD57.7 .B875 2003
• The Nature of Leadership - HD57.7 .N377 2004
• The Leader's Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages - HM141 .L375 1995
• Leader to Leader: Enduring Insights on Leadership from the Drucker Foundation's Award-winning Journal [electronic resource]

Finding Business Leadership Information in Books

Searching ROSIE Using Keywords

Search by keyword using terms related to your topic of interest, for example “leader* and business” (or "organization," or "management"). The asterisk (*) allows you to search for words with different endings. Remember that you are searching book titles, subjects assigned to books, and (in some cases only) tables of contents – and not the contents of books. Leave the very specific, detailed search for periodical databases; in ROSIE, search for a single term or combination of two.

Searching ROSIE by Subject

Searching by Library of Congress Subject Headings allows you to do a more focused search for your topic; remember to explore the “related subjects” links. Some subject headings that may be useful include:

• Leadership
• Executive ability
• Organizational change management

You can limit your subject search by adding terms. Start with search by subject of “leadership” and follow the “Limit this search” top menu choice above the results list. Once there, in the last drop-down menu select “Words in the subject” and add your limiting terms, for example, "organization*", "ethic*" or "business".

Browsing Call Numbers

Because books are arranged on the Library’s shelves by subject, browsing the library stacks in the call number areas suggested below can also be useful. You can get additional ideas from a book's table of contents or index. You can browse book records online through ROSIE, but remember that only records of recently published books list tables of contents and none lists an index.

HD 57.7

Finding Articles Using Research Databases

Bowman Library subscribes to many Web-based databases where you will find newspaper, magazine and scholarly journal articles. Ones that are particularly useful for researching leadership in business are listed below. See Searching Electronic Resources Effectively for guidelines on making the most of your search.

ProQuest
Search ProQuest for articles about business leadership published in scholarly, trade and general interest periodicals. Explore the drop-down menus and “More Search Options” to broaden or narrow your search. Note, in particular, the limit to “Full text documents only.” On the results page, limit your search to scholarly (or trade) journals and magazines. Keep in mind certain titles that are likely to have articles on leadership or leaders: Fast Company, Forbes, Strategy & Leadership, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies or MIT Sloan Management Review. ProQuest has only abstracts of Harvard Business Review, but a librarian can log you in for full text online access at HBR site.

Wilson Select Plus
Search Wilson for articles published in academic and professional publications. The best strategy is to use search capabilities from the Advanced Search: use the top menu tab to get there and then explore the drop-down menus. Limit your search to full text.

The Conference Board
The Conference Board (TCB) is a non-partisan, non-profit business network that attempts “to bring leaders together to find solutions to common problems and objectively examine major issues having an impact on business and society.” TCB has reports and in-depth interviews on leadership. Select these topics (browse) from the drop down “topic” menu, or simply search for these terms.

Business and Company Resource Center
Start by choosing the “Articles” icon and then searching for “leadership” in “Subject Guide” (rather than searching by keywords).

Biography Resource Center
Contains biographies and full-text articles on notable business thinkers and leaders. Search by name or browse through “Biographical Facts Search” for a particular period, occupation, nationality, gender or ethnicity.

Selected Free Web Sites

The following Web sites have been selected by Bowman Librarians as examples of sites appropriate for college research. Keep in mind, however, that free Web resources are rarely filtered, often making it difficult to determine the content's accuracy. Use our guide Evaluating Web Resources to help you review the authority, currency, and objectivity or bias of every site you use.

Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/topics/leadership.html
HBS Working Knowledge is a forum for innovation in business practice. You will find articles and working papers, as well as research and ideas on the cutting edge of management thinking.

Leadership Digest - Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management
http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/digest/index.shtml
Browse current and back issues of the Wharton Leadership Digest, an electronic bulletin featuring interviews and book excerpts or summaries, and other articles.

American Management Association – Research Reports
http://www.amanet.org/research/index.htm
You can browse or search the latest reports as well as ones published in 2002-2004. Free registration is required.

Center for Creative Leadership
http://www.ccl.org/leadership/index.aspx
Follow the “Leadership Research” menu choice to articles and research projects overviews. The Center for Creative Leadership is a nonprofit educational institution serving individuals and organizations from the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Citing Your Sources

Be sure to check with your professor on which citation style is required. Bowman Library provides the following resources to assist with citation format:

For online resources, see How to Cite Your Research for links to MLA, APA and Chicago citation styles.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers - LB2369 .G53 2003 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association - BF76.7 .P83 2001 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).

The Chicago Manual of Style - Z253 .U69 2003 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).

Have Questions?

• Explore WOODIE for help with Research.
• The following guides include related information that may assist your research:
  • Business Ethics Research Guide
  • Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Enterprise Research Guide
  • Social Psychology Research Guide
• Ask a Librarian. We are here to help!