The Challenge of Leadership Development in the Digital Era

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the challenge of developing effective leadership in the digital era. As technology develops, a growing trend emerges that interpersonal relationship in organizations is characterized by technology-based interactions. This chapter shows how this trend pose a challenge to developing effective leadership in organizations. In doing so, this chapter posits that effective leadership emerges thorough frequent in-person interactions between leader and followers. To establish this position, this chapter proposes a relationship-based model of leadership development, in which the methods of exerting interpersonal influence that leader uses evolve as relationship develops. Using these different methods results in follower's commitments of different kinds and qualities. With this model, the chapter aims to explain why prevalence of technology-based interaction in organization makes it difficult for leader to develop close interpersonal relationship with their followers, which is followed by the suggestions on how to overcome these barriers.