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This research compares and contrasts the concepts and perceptions of leadership presented by John W. Gardner, and John Heider. Gardner, who has served in a variety of leadership positions in both the public and private sectors, presents his views on leadership from a contemporary societal perspective in his new book, On Leadership. Heider, by contrast adapted the work, Tao Te Ching, of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (fifth century B.C.) to contemporary leadership problems in his mid1980s work, The Tao of Leadership.

Both Gardner (1990, pp. xixiii), and Heider (1988, (pp. xixii) developed and presented their concepts and perceptions of leadership, in part, in recognition of the fact that most "solutions" offered to the growing problems of leadership in the United States were in fact little more than handwringing restatements of the problem which tended to exacerbate the problem more than clarify the underlying issues. Over the past thirty or so years, scores of books and hundreds of articles have been written on leadership, motivation, and related topics. The general thrust of most of this writing has been that some form of participative, or nonauthoritarian

1 2leadership is required, as opposed to an autocratic aproach to leadership. Having once made such an assessment, however, the general pattern is for the author to present some complex leadership stratagem or technique which must be followed, as opposed to providing insights into the underlying tenets of effective leadership. A major problem with strategems and techniques is that they are usually developed within a set of unique organizational conditions, so that they are not easily and effectively transferrable to a different set of conditions. Both Gardner and Heider dealt with the essential, underlying issues of leadership. Thus, while there are differences in emphasis between Gardner and Heider, their concepts and perceptions are more similar than di...