Leadership and Succession: The Challenge to Succeed and the Vortex of Failure

Despite a large number of studies concerned with leadership and leadership succession of which more than 200 have addressed the latter results have been inconsistent and inconclusive. One suggestion from the literature was to conduct more qualitative case research as a supplement to the many empirical survey studies which have been published. The present study explored, at first hand, eight firms that opinion leaders had identified as successful (six in New Zealand, one in Canada, one in the United States) and another seven US firms studied by others that had once been touted as successful. Two patterns emerged: (1) socialized leadership relationships succeeded in transforming the firm by applying leadership and management principles to serve the needs of others, and enlisting support throughout and beyond the firm; and (2) personalized leadership relationships promised much and either achieved success, narrowly defined, or failed completely. The conclusion: socialized leadership relations matter critically. Recommendations are offered for leadership succession and future research.