Legislative Leadership: A Review of the Literature
Abstract
This paper examines the degree to which legislative leaders in the modern era are
expected to expend energy on public relations, campaign activities, and interaction with
other government officials, perhaps at the expense of more traditional institutional
activities, and how this expenditure has changed over the history of core leadership
positions. The internal and external responsibilities of legislators in positions of
leadership are also examined as well as the inherent costs associated with the multifaceted
and contextual relationships that leaders establish with their members. The
conclusions that can be drawn from this review underscore the importance of
membership environment in explaining and defining successful leadership, and
encourage further study of the effects of these contextual and ever-changing relationships
on successful legislative leadership.