A great deal of work has been done by many authors and researchers in trying to identify and define "leadership". The vast body of research has focused on leadership traits, habits, competencies, behaviours, styles, values, skills and characteristics. Dave Ulrich (Ulrich, D et al, Results Based Leadership, Harvard Business Press, Boston, 1999) categorised much of the research into:

- Who leaders are - values, motives, personal traits

- What leaders know - knowledge, skills and abilities

- What leaders do - behaviours, habits, styles and competencies

However, when one looks at the vast body of research into leadership, it is mostly concerned with: - the inputs of leadership and leaders, - not the outputs