Leadership is one of the most complex and multifaceted phenomena to which organisational and psychological research has been applied. An evolutionary developmental perspective is used to create an evolutionary tree of leadership theory and reveal the path along which it has evolved. Nine evolutionary eras are identified, and requirements for a tenth era of leadership theory are discussed. These eras provide a broad framework for researchers and practising managers to categorise existing, and evaluate future, theories.

Empirical tests have indicated that following the Vroom‐Yetton Normative Model of leadership predicts reliably to successful managerial decision‐making. However, it does not consider the kind of social interaction among decision makers. Recent experiments have demonstrated that controversy constructively discussed can facilitate decision‐making. To see whether constructive controversy can supplement the Vroom‐Yetton model, 58 managers enrolled in an executive‐level MBA programme described a successful and unsuccessful decision‐making experience by answering the Vroom‐Yetton questions and by indicating the extent those involved in making the decision experienced constructive controversy. Results indicate that both the Vroom‐Yetton model and constructive controversy are significantly related to successful decision‐making. A regression analysis indicated that constructive controversy accounted for 45 per cent of the variance of decision success whereas the Vroom‐Yetton model accounted for 5 per cent. While the Vroom‐Yetton model is useful at the preplanning stage for choosing a decision style, much greater contribution is provided by constructive discussions of opposing opinions when actually generating the decision.

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Climate is presented as a perceptual attribute on an organizational, group, and individual level. The climate construct is defined and key issues concerning climate, which have been identified by past research, are addressed. These issues are level of analysis, measurement, validity, redundancy and usefulness. A model which represents the traditional conceptualization of climate is given. This model is later revised by integrating aspects from the discussion of the key issues. The paper concludes with recommendations for future climate research.

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