what are Current Theories on Leadership Vision   2022 Latest Answers  

Current leadership theories have conceived vision as an idealized abstraction of  

long-term goals. Consequent to that, vision statements often use abstract and imagery language and emphasize values , distal goals, and utopian outcomes (Berson  

et al., 2015 ). Goals are utopian while the path to achieving those outcomes is cast in  

general, if not vague. Vision literature further implies a tacit agreement and understanding of outcomes between the leader and the followers. However, modern organizations have evolved into complex entities that exist within even more complex  

and dynamic societal and global systems. In analyzing our current understanding of  

leadership vision, there are three main areas of interest:

1. Over time organizations have transitioned from simple linear structures to  

knowledge-intensive entities. Similarly, the contextual environment has become  

a vast global dynamic landscape. The organizational environment is increasingly  

unstable with disruptive changes and uncertainties .  

2. The world is increasingly complex with globalization of organizational landscapes, changing technologies, constant transformations within organizations,  

and intense interactions with multiple stakeholders. Effective organizations are  

adaptive systems where the complexity of their organizations is matched with  

the complexity of the environment (The previous romanticized view of leadership presumes that the leader has the

cognitive capacity and wisdom to direct attention and focus to the right direc

tion, accurately comprehend complexity, and defifi ne the path forward for the

organization. There is a tacit assumption that the leader is capable of aligning

personal interpretive orientation, values , and beliefs with those of the followers

through an effective frame alignment. However, the leader’s individual goals

may be at odds with the followers or the collective entity. The leader’s percep

tion and interpretation of the environment may also be in dissonance with that

of the followers.