LEADERSHIP AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT - DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP IN 4 CENTRAL QUEENSLAND TOWNS

Effective community leadership is increasingly recognised in Australia , as elsewhere, as an important contributor to local economic and soci al development. This article examines the nature of community leadersh ip in four Central Queensland towns as part of a wider project to test the links between it and the pace and form of local development. Empi rical data on leadership questions were collected from in-depth interv iews with prominent local individuals. The resulting information enabl es a comparison of the quality and depth of leadership present in each of the towns. The capabilities of key leaders are assessed on the bas is of four leadership functions and eight variables representing perso nal attributes. In addition, the authors develop, and in turn evaluate , a set of a priori propositions about the exercise of leadership in s mall Australian country towns. The information provided and its subseq uent analysis reveal that leaders' backgrounds, styles and abilities v ary substantially between the four towns studied and are changing for a variety of reasons. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd