The General Theory of Leadership

Until now there has been no general definition or general theory of leadership. "The General Theory of Leadership: Defining Leadership, Understanding How it Emerges in Individuals, Learning" solves that problem. It develops and presents the general definition and the general theory of leadership to the world of researchers, teachers, and practitioners of leadership. Grounded in general systems theory, both the general definition and general theory are supported by other hypotheses such as structural coupling theory, theory of structural determinism, and Pavlov's work on stimulation and response. The definition and thesis developed in this book are general because they have universal application in the sense wherever there is an organization, these concepts will hold true, just like other general definitions and general theories.

Until now there has been no general definition or general theory of leadership. "The General Theory of Leadership: Defining Leadership, Understanding How it Emerges in Individuals, Learning" solves that problem. It develops and presents the general definition and the general theory of leadership to the world of researchers, teachers, and practitioners of leadership. Grounded in general systems theory, both the general definition and general theory are supported by other hypotheses such as structural coupling theory, theory of structural determinism, and Pavlov's work on stimulation and response. The definition and thesis developed in this book are general because they have universal application in the sense wherever there is an organization, these concepts will hold true, just like other general definitions and general theories. At the heart of the general definition of leadership is the human element. Here the book emphasizes that an individual, in order to be effective in the practice of leadership, must pose a high combination of factors such as knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, and courage. All these must be applied in dealing with threats and opportunities emergent in the organization's environment. These emergent events in the organization's environment function much like Pavlovian bells and stimulate the emergence of leadership in individuals within, and outside, the organization. These concepts of stimulation and emergence are at the core of the general theory. But there can be no emergence of leadership without learning, which in itself requires a certain level of cognitive energy and as well as capacity. Thus, learning for organizational and environmental knowledge acquisition, and intelligent analysis of acquired knowledge to generate understandable information for decisioning, are foundational to the practice of leadership in organizations as open systems.

Dr. Mwelwa Mulenga is a scholar-practitioner in entrepreneurship and organizational leadership. As a practitioner he has broad corporate experience including that of president, vice-president, and entrepreneurial leadership. As a scholar Dr. Mulenga lectures and writes on entrepreneurship and leadership. He developed the general definition and general theory of leadership, both which will be published in 2021 in book form as The General Theory of Leadership: defining leadership, understanding how it emerges in individuals, and learning how to practice it in organizations. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Excelsior College in the State University of New York at Albany, a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the California State University at Los Angeles, and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, graduating magna cum laude, from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. He has also attended the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Executive Education Program in Leadership. Dr. Mulenga volunteers for several organizations in the United States and Zambia, including lecturing graduate students in the School of Education at the University of Zambia. He lectures in qualitative research methodology and organizational leadership. He has also lectured, as part of a team of lecturers from Northeastern University, in the Executive Education Program for university executives from the University of San Francisco Quito in Ecuador.