Ideal leadership

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Inter-Disciplinary Leadership -- or IDEAL Leadership -- is a scientific leadership theory developed in 2001 by Larry Stout, a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (Latvia). The model identifies six critical capabilities that are grouped under Leadership Capital and four capacities termed Leadership conditions. The six critical Leadership Capital capacities are the (1) vision and (2) values that constitute the leader's philosophy; the (3) wisdom and (4) courage that compose the leader's personal composition; and the (5) trust and (6) voice that enable them to influence others. The four vital Leadership Conditions necessary for these capacities to make a difference are (1) a place where the leader can hold sway, (2) a period that calls for his or her leadership, (3) a position that conveys leadership authority, and (4) people who are ready for leadership.

Ideal Leadership defines a leader as one who moves his or her organization forward in a positive direction. Given the right conditions, combined with adequate capital, the result is favorable not only to the particular organization, but also to the society at large. The theory postulates that failure in leadership is related to unfavorable conditions, or inadequate capital (termed anti-leadership).

The scientific nature of the Ideal Leadership Model is reflected in that it that it is a descriptive, prescriptive, and predictive theory. It fully describes all the divergent elements that compose the leadership phenomenon. It prescribes adjustments to a leader's capital in relation to the theory in order to make a leader more effective, based on a leadership assessment measured by leadershipmetrics. It also can accurately predict who would be effective in leadership and under what circumstances they would be effective.