**4. Lessons from the early approaches of leadership concepts**

There are many schools of thought and approaches to leadership; therefore, reviewing theories of leadership is essential. Early approaches to the study of leadership adopted universal or a generic perspective. Mullins produced the framework

**195**

**Figure 1.**

*Framework for study of managerial leadership. Source: Mullins (2018).*

*Effective Leadership in the 21st Century: Lessons for the Tourism Sector in the African Continent*

There are common themes about the nature of leadership and leaders captured in every continent in the context of politics, the military, philosophy and businesses. Research literature on tourism reveals that leadership has not received the necessary attention in both tourist destinations and networked environments in general [39]. The work by [28] covers tourism and environmental degradation in China, while Zhang, Khan, Kumar, Golpîra, and Sharif covered logistical

for the study of managerial leadership as indicated in **Figure 1** [37], [314]. The primary composed approach to examining leadership dissects individual, mental, and physical characteristics of solid pioneers. For the last four thousand years, each generation has written about the art and science of leadership [38]. "Most leadership theories have been developed in capitalist western countries up to now and do not take into account the view and learnings from countries that have been in deep crises for many years" [13, 32]. Early approaches to leadership in the African tourism industry are captured by Gyr who revealed the early forms of travel and types of journey occurring in Africa. In his article, the "History of Tourism: Structures on the Path to Modernity" reveals that a well-travelled writer with an interest in both history and ethnology visited Egypt, North Africa, the Black Sea, Mesopotamia and Italy. This is one of documented early forms of travel and types of journeys occurring in Africa. Leading often means having the ability to effectively direct and guide a team to achieve, and sometimes exceed, objectives set, which contributes to the

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93844*

company's overall results.

### *Effective Leadership in the 21st Century: Lessons for the Tourism Sector in the African Continent DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93844*

for the study of managerial leadership as indicated in **Figure 1** [37], [314]. The primary composed approach to examining leadership dissects individual, mental, and physical characteristics of solid pioneers. For the last four thousand years, each generation has written about the art and science of leadership [38]. "Most leadership theories have been developed in capitalist western countries up to now and do not take into account the view and learnings from countries that have been in deep crises for many years" [13, 32]. Early approaches to leadership in the African tourism industry are captured by Gyr who revealed the early forms of travel and types of journey occurring in Africa. In his article, the "History of Tourism: Structures on the Path to Modernity" reveals that a well-travelled writer with an interest in both history and ethnology visited Egypt, North Africa, the Black Sea, Mesopotamia and Italy. This is one of documented early forms of travel and types of journeys occurring in Africa. Leading often means having the ability to effectively direct and guide a team to achieve, and sometimes exceed, objectives set, which contributes to the company's overall results.

There are common themes about the nature of leadership and leaders captured in every continent in the context of politics, the military, philosophy and businesses. Research literature on tourism reveals that leadership has not received the necessary attention in both tourist destinations and networked environments in general [39]. The work by [28] covers tourism and environmental degradation in China, while Zhang, Khan, Kumar, Golpîra, and Sharif covered logistical


#### **Figure 1.**

*Tourism*

Policy and regulatory environment

Continuous innovation

Population changes

New forms of urbanisation

**Table 1.**

**194**

world, effective leadership is significant for the travel and tourism sectors to thrive; the industry underpins much of the global economic activity. The United Travel predicts that 8 million new jobs will be created in Africa because there was jobs rise in the total number of travel and tourism from 22.8 million in 2017 to 30.8 million in 2028 [3, 5]. The previous statistics provide hope for the sector. A glimpse of the general leadership approaches is significant to better explore leadership theories.

result, there are duplication of efforts and general gaps

**Challenges Explanation Source**

quality in the long run. Effectively sharing vital reliable travel information, for example, essential signage's that can guide travellers in the proper manner to translation of services offered. This may be

the way business is done on a global basis, creating problems with global supply chains, delays in travel, and interruptions in communications. Geopolitical insecurity, visa regimes, cross-border

underdeveloped. Institutional or structural fragmentation, weak relationships between the various institutions and players, duplication of effort, and gaps. From the supply side, air transport and transport infrastructure remain the biggest challenge for travel

Creation and enforcement of uniform standards and protocols to connect with the travellers (domestic and international) and tourism stakeholders is limited. For example, tourism is one of the most taxed sectors from the taxes paid on airline tickets, hotel rooms,

Social and political structures evolve leading to inconsistencies in policy application. Lack of international openness requires policy attention at the regional level. Environmental degradation

coordination, unsustainable value chain linkages in rural and urban areas. New patterns of economic production and consumption

Effectively adopting ongoing revolutions in information technology

Practical relationship (beneficial, trust) between tourism-related businesses to strategically position themselves in the web of relationships. Inequality, unemployment and poverty

Inability to cater for today's travel aspirations due to limited access to the market. Inability for unique product development, quality standards and community experiences through arts, culture and crafts. Tourism is identified as an overlapping economic sector as a [21– 24]

[5, 25–29], [289]

[8, 9, 25, 29] [293]

[25, 30, 31] [293]

[32]

[5]

[23, 30, 33, 34]

[30, 35]

Globalisation Economic globalisation/trade openness in promoting environmental

Insecurity Conflicts, terrorism, and general instability. These acts have changed

linked to infrastructure development.

Infrastructure In many locations in Africa, infrastructure is outdated and

and tourism development in Africa.

Financial security Lack of access to finance and non-financial support. Limited

attractions, local transportation, souvenirs etc.

and telecommunications could be a challenge

travel and terrorism

There are many schools of thought and approaches to leadership; therefore, reviewing theories of leadership is essential. Early approaches to the study of leadership adopted universal or a generic perspective. Mullins produced the framework

**4. Lessons from the early approaches of leadership concepts**

*Top challenges confronting leaders in the travel and tourism industry in Africa.*

*Framework for study of managerial leadership. Source: Mullins (2018).*

operations and environmental degradation from Thailand perspective [12]. Although tourism businesses in Africa are not isolated from developed and developing communities, there is interdependence of the different sectors, individuals and groups involved in tourism [4]. Hence, there is a school of thought on various contingency or situational leadership, where the behaviour of the leader is explored by looking at the situation at hand or the context. For example, the environment in which the tourism sector operates is increasingly complex and competitive, leaving organisations to structure themselves in order to get quick, flexible and innovative responses. There has been a rise within the number of tourism organisations experiencing changes due to increasing tough financial climates, competitive advertising conditions and continuous technological changes over the final few decades. This ever-changing global landscape has led to a number of challenges as well as opportunities that organisations, its leaders and employees can embrace. Numerous tourism organisations that have had to re-assess their working models. The tourism sector continues to develop whilst the tourists' preferences are changing as the tourism consumers are more mindful of the significance of their free time and are more specific in their choice. Pechlaner, Kozak, Volgger & Volgger [13, 39] refer to the contingency theory by Fiedler, the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory by Graen and Uhl-Bien and transactional/transformational theory by Bass, Avolio [40] and Spencer et al. as successful theories in describing and explaining effective leadership in firms and other organisations. Consequently, leading and managing in the tourism sector is of great importance, particularly in the 21st century. Therefore, creative thinking enables leaders to contribute novel insights that can open up new opportunities or design mutually beneficial effective work groups.

In the 16th century, the focus of organisations was on management and improving productivity (refer to **Figure 1**). According to Iszatt-White*, et al.*, in the 1880s and 1890s the core ideas of 'scientific management' were developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor and first published in 1903; they were later expanded to the principles of scientific management [41]. Among Tylor's co-workers was Henry Laurence Gantt who left legacies to production management by coming up with the 'task and bonus' system that is linked to the bonus paid to managers to how well they taught their employees to improve performance [41]. Among Gantt's contribution is a Gantt chart commonly used in project management (which is also used in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors) [42]; it is one of the most popular and useful ways of showing activities (tasks or events) displayed against time. Research into travel, tourism and hospitality has an established tradition of investigating leadership issues (although not always appearing under the label of "leadership") [39]. In this chapter, Gantt's contribution is highlighted because of its use on tracking project schedules (an essential component in effective leadership in the tourism sector). Gantt chart shows additional information about the various tasks or phases of the project; for example, how the tasks relate to each other, how far each task has progressed, what resources are being used for each task and so on.

We live in the world where dynamism of the markets and the current business scenarios require companies to have effective leaders that will be able to manage several projects simultaneously. Projects in the tourism industry are not new, the projects in a corporate context take about 50% of the organisational budget; hence, the nature of leadership and the characteristics of great leaders are debated intensely.

In the 20th century, the trait theories were developed where attributes or characteristics of 'great men' were examined. These theories presumed that leaders are born and that successful leaders have similar traits. The trait theory is concerned with the characteristics or traits that a person brings to the field in which leadership is

**197**

*Effective Leadership in the 21st Century: Lessons for the Tourism Sector in the African Continent*

worked out. Authors cite leadership traits to include, intelligence, assertiveness, good vocabulary, attractiveness, self-confidence and other attributes [22, 43]. Behavioural theories sought to measure the observable characteristics that leaders demonstrate, while theorists researched leadership as a set of behaviours. Pioneering studies are those from the University of Ohio State in the 1950's that identified two behavioural dimensions, consideration and initiating structure; and from the University of Michigan which found two categories of leadership behaviour (employee orientation and production orientation). Another Behavioural approach to leadership is the Managerial Grid from early leadership studies developed in the early 1960s by management theorists Robert Blake and Jane Mouton as the basis for developing a two-dimensional grid for appraising leadership styles. It used the two behavioural dimensions "concern for people" and "concern for production" and evaluated a leader's use of these behaviours, ranking them on a scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high). The 21st century present new approaches or leadership paradigms that "share a number of common themes relating to the emotional or symbolic aspects of leadership" [41], [112, 113]. The 21st century refers to an era where characteristics of the new competitive landscape are driven by the continuing technological revolution and the increasing globalisation of business and economic activity [26]. In this era, leadership is often of a transactional nature in complex, competitive, tough financial climates and continuous technological changes. Andersen states that the managers and leaders have the responsibility to carry out risk analysis to reveal threats to ensure successful strategic execution [44]. The tourism industry is interlinked and prone to rapid developmental trends. Therefore, looking at the leadership approaches in **Figure 1**, one may argue that there are many skills required from the

The characteristics of a leader range from personal management and the ability to motivate a team [45]. Leaders are famous for being proactive and positive, they communicate well and are good listeners, and they have integrity. They are approachable and are role models. They tend to focus on strengths and have respect and trust for the employees (which is part of servant leadership; it is an effective leadership approach that enhances work engagement). They observe the 'golden rule' and are sensitive to others. These characteristic are essential for a travel and tourism leader as they apply structured methods to allocate resources effectively. In other words, travel and tourism leaders are expected to be proactive (lead by an example in case there is a need for problem prevention), reactive (constant presents of there is a problem) and inactive at some point (trusting the group of stakeholders or a team will achieve common goal). Since there are numerous definitions of

Leadership has been extensively studies for centuries. The concept is famous for being defined from individuals' perspectives and the aspects that interests them most. Emanating from a historical and impactful leadership definition by Stodgill, "leadership is the initiation and maintenance of structure in expectation and

interaction" [14]. The study by Masango on leadership in the African context reveals that, "leadership is a group phenomenon', meaning that, there "are no leaders without followers" [14], [708]. In other words, a definition of leadership in the African context must consider the collective aspect. He further stated that "leaders use influence to guide groups of people through a certain course of actions or towards the achievement of certain goals", leadership is therefore, goal directed, and plays a

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93844*

travel and tourism managers or leaders.

**5. Leadership definition**

leadership, perhaps capturing few definitions is prudent.

significant part in the life of a group, tribe or community" [14].

#### *Effective Leadership in the 21st Century: Lessons for the Tourism Sector in the African Continent DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93844*

worked out. Authors cite leadership traits to include, intelligence, assertiveness, good vocabulary, attractiveness, self-confidence and other attributes [22, 43]. Behavioural theories sought to measure the observable characteristics that leaders demonstrate, while theorists researched leadership as a set of behaviours. Pioneering studies are those from the University of Ohio State in the 1950's that identified two behavioural dimensions, consideration and initiating structure; and from the University of Michigan which found two categories of leadership behaviour (employee orientation and production orientation). Another Behavioural approach to leadership is the Managerial Grid from early leadership studies developed in the early 1960s by management theorists Robert Blake and Jane Mouton as the basis for developing a two-dimensional grid for appraising leadership styles. It used the two behavioural dimensions "concern for people" and "concern for production" and evaluated a leader's use of these behaviours, ranking them on a scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high).

The 21st century present new approaches or leadership paradigms that "share a number of common themes relating to the emotional or symbolic aspects of leadership" [41], [112, 113]. The 21st century refers to an era where characteristics of the new competitive landscape are driven by the continuing technological revolution and the increasing globalisation of business and economic activity [26]. In this era, leadership is often of a transactional nature in complex, competitive, tough financial climates and continuous technological changes. Andersen states that the managers and leaders have the responsibility to carry out risk analysis to reveal threats to ensure successful strategic execution [44]. The tourism industry is interlinked and prone to rapid developmental trends. Therefore, looking at the leadership approaches in **Figure 1**, one may argue that there are many skills required from the travel and tourism managers or leaders.

The characteristics of a leader range from personal management and the ability to motivate a team [45]. Leaders are famous for being proactive and positive, they communicate well and are good listeners, and they have integrity. They are approachable and are role models. They tend to focus on strengths and have respect and trust for the employees (which is part of servant leadership; it is an effective leadership approach that enhances work engagement). They observe the 'golden rule' and are sensitive to others. These characteristic are essential for a travel and tourism leader as they apply structured methods to allocate resources effectively. In other words, travel and tourism leaders are expected to be proactive (lead by an example in case there is a need for problem prevention), reactive (constant presents of there is a problem) and inactive at some point (trusting the group of stakeholders or a team will achieve common goal). Since there are numerous definitions of leadership, perhaps capturing few definitions is prudent.
