Fuzzy Sets and Systems 7 (1982) 19-33 North-Holland Publishing Company i9 A DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP: DEVELOPMENT OF A FUZZY MEASUREMENT PROCEDURE Bonnie SPILLMAN Department of Communication, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, U.S.A. Richard SPILLMAN Boeing Aerospace Company, Seattle, WA, U.S.A. James BEZDEK Department of Mathematics, Utah State University, Logan, UT, U.S.A. Received April 1980 Revised July 1980 This study reports preliminary findings concerning the utility and validity of a new fuzzy matrix procedure for the measurement and identification of leader emergence and the hierar- chical structure of leadership in small groups. The instrument is designed to reflect the interactive, perceptual and shared nature of leadership. Several leadership identification tech- niques are reviewed, but they are found to be both conceptually and methodologically deficient. Results from this pilot test demonstrate the utility of the fuzzy measurement procedure. Several advantages are explored for this new measurement technique including an examination of the dynamic process of leader formation. Keywords: Fuzzy models, Small group leadership, Fuzzy relations, Fuzzy hierarchy. Introduction The question of what makes a leader has been addressed by rhetoricians, sociologists, psychologists, communication theorists and by researchers of several interrelated disciplines. Conceptually, most present researchers view leadership as an interactive phenomenon which emerges as a result of a growing relationship among members of a social system. Methodologically, leadership has been meas- ured in terms of perceptions, behaviors, and qualities. A consensus on the exact nature of leadership emergence and leadership identification has not yet been achieved despite the wide varieties of studies. The purpose of this paper is to explore the utility of a new method of leadership identification based on the fuzzy set theory of mathematics [12, 13]. The first section of this paper will explore some current conceptual and measurement issues related to leadership. The second section will describe the 0165-0114/82/0000-0000/$02.75 © 1982 North-Holland