Leadership activities of Australian executives

Our study examines the nature of Australian business leadership. Various extant concepts of leadership are reviewed in terms of current trends in Australian business leadership. Some of these concepts are used in the development of the Corporate Leadership Descriptor (CLD), and its sub-scales, namely the Leadership Operations Scale (LOS), Leadership Attributes Scale (LAS), and Job Outcomes Scale (JOS). Data were collected over a three year period from a variety of executive samples. Major findings indicate that key leadership functions focus on direction setting, team building, problem solving, and change agent responsibilities. Recommendations for further research and application of the CLD are provided.