FN ISI Export Format VR 1.0 PT J TI Leadership Is In The Eye of The Beholder: Cognitive Construction and Recognition of Leadership AF Van Quaquebeke, Niels Eckloff, Tilman Zenker, Sebastian Giessner, Steffen R. AU Van Quaquebeke, N Eckloff, T Zenker, S Giessner, SR SO Personalführung BP 34 EP 41 PY 2009 AB In an effort to explain leadership effectiveness, contemporary theories of leadership take subordinates’ expectations and beliefs about leaders and the leadership process more and more into account. This paper provides an overview on the fairly new, so called “follower-centric” research. We explain the cognitive information processing mechanisms that have been revealed in the scientific literature, discuss the general paradigm shift with respect to leadership effectiveness in light of a Constructionist and System Theory perspective, and illustrate the potentials but also the pitfalls of these insights for business practice. ER