10 Types of Leadership Theories Every Leader Should Know
According to Maurice Flanagan, “Some are born leaders, some achieve leadership and some have leadership thrust upon them, which of these are you, or would you rather not bother?“
Leadership is a topic of great interest and for decades now, theories on leadership have been of major interest and the source of numerous studies. In reality, many have tried to define what allows genuine and patriotic leaders to stand out from the masses based on what they exhibit individually, hence, there as many theories on leadership as a result of works done by various philosophers, researchers and professors. Below are the ten theories every leader should know:
1. The Great Man Theory
This theory postulated
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The Leader-Member Exchange Theory
This theory says that effective leadership occurs when there is a fair exchange between the leader and those being led. Both sides benefit from the exchange that takes place according to this theory.
10. The Servant Leadership Theory
The theory believes that a leader is a servant to those he or she leads. And that a leader should focus on serving others rather than being served. The servant leader creates an environment of trust and cooperation, which results in reciprocal service and ultimately higher performance. Much of Jesus’ approach to leadership used this model.
Other Theories
• Behavioural Theories (1940’s – 1950’s)
The behavioural theories came in reaction to the trait leadership theory. These theories are offering a new perspective which focuses on the behaviours of the leaders as opposed to their mental, physical or social characteristics. Thus, with the evolutions in psychometrics, notably the factor analysis, researchers were able to measure the cause and effects relationship of specific human behaviours from leaders. From this point forward anyone with the right conditioning could have access to the once before elite club of naturally gifted leaders. In other words, it believes that leaders are made and not
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Those that were concerned with the tasks and those concerned with the people. Throughout the literatures, these are referred to as different names, but the essence are identical.
Associated Theories
• The Managerial Grid Model / Leadership Grid
• Role Theory
Contingency Theories (1960 's)
The Contingency Leadership theory argues that there is no single way of leading and that every leadership style should be based on certain situations, which signifies that there are certain people who perform at the maximum level in certain places; but at minimal performance when taken out of their element.
And to a certain extent contingency leadership theories are an extension of the trait theory, in the sense that human traits are related to the situation in which the leaders exercise their leadership. It is generally accepted within the contingency theories that leader are more likely to express their leadership when they feel that their followers will be responsive.
Associated Theories
• Fiedler 's contingency theory
• Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory
• Path-goal theory
• Vroom-Yetton-Jago decision-making model of leadership
• Cognitive Resource Theory
• Strategic Contingencies
The basic premise behind trait theory was that are leaders born or made. Leaders trait research examined the physical, social as well as mental aspect of a individual. In general these studies simply look for significant associations between individual traits and measure of leadership effectiveness. The initial result was that leader trait was that there were no universal traits that consistently separate effective leaders from other individual but in final result explain that that early research considered the impact of situation variables that might moderate the relationship between leader trait and measure of leader effectiveness. Therefore due to lack of consistent findings l individual traits to leadership effectiveness, studies of leader traits were largely abandoned in 1950. Contingency approach is also an important approach in leader subject, this approach was first to specify how situational factor interact with leader traits and behavioral which influence leadership quality and its effectiveness of a person. According to theory leader should make contact with subordinates goal attainment, strengthen subordinates ' expectancies that improved performance will lead to valued rewards, and provide coaching to make the path to payoffs easier for subordinates. Path-goal theory suggests that the leader behavior that will accomplish these tasks depends upon the subordinate and environmental contingency factors. But this approach has not been successful as it has been criticize on both theatrically and method approach However, it remains one of the better-known theories of leadership and offers important in stories of the interaction between subordinate and
My impression of leadership is the ability to motivate, inspire, set a visualization, connect, and lead by example. To become a successful leader you have to be able to convince your followers that you are trustworthy of being followed. During this semester, we have learned many, if not all of the major leadership theories and how they play a role in our everyday lives. But personally, a few of these leadership models caught me and intrigued me the whole semester so much that this paper is going to predominately be referenced about them. For example, the proposed framework that organizes leadership theories based on each theory 's focus and approach. Focus is referred to as whether or not leadership is viewed as a set of traits or actions.
In the contingency theory of leadership, the success of the leader is a function of various contingencies in the form of subordinates, task, and group variables. Fred Fielder advanced the first theory using the contingency theory of effectiveness. The main idea of the theory is that leadership effectiveness in terms of group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style effectiveness and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control. Fiedler created the least preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire to identify the style by measuring whether a person is task or relationship oriented. Where an individual with a favorable description, would have a high LPC score, suggesting a r...
The leadership is a result of a combination of traits, with special emphasis on the personal qualities of the leader, which he should possess certain personality traits that would be special facilitators in leadership performance. This theory shows that leaders are born as such, there is no likelihood of 'making' them later with personal development techniques.
In this theory leadership style changes as needed to ensure that the goal is achieved (Huber, 2014). Each situation may need to be addressed differently, which requires flexibility by all involved, especially leadership. Managers need to evaluate every individual to understand what they are capable of and how they fit the needs of the institution and or situation (Nash, 2015). As a nurse I think this is a very important trait for a leader to have because of how quickly things change and how we must work within our environment. For example, in healthcare we sometimes have to allow others to take control of a situation on to ensure the best possible outcome for each patient. In addition, the manager needs to ensure that each person works within the scope of their practice, functions at the highest level allowed and completes their tasks. To be a successful leader in healthcare and achieve desired outcomes requires a high level of flexibility by leadership. I would also say that the contingency theory would also fit into my leadership style. The basis premise of this theory is that each situation is different and leadership needs to take that into account when managing a situation (Huber, 2014). At times a leader needs to look at the bigger picture and incorporate that in their decision making process. When looking at a specific situation taking input from all parties involved can lead to a more effective solution. We can learn a lot form those around us and need to take that in account to be an effective
Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent (Clark, 1997). Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Bass' (1989 & 1990) theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders. These theories are; some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory; a crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory; people can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to the organization. This is the Transformational Leadership Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory today and the premise on which this assignment is based.
Leadership is vital in any endeavor that involves a team. This paper will evaluate theories of leadership and their pertinence to management. It will assess primary theories as they emerged including trait and skills, behavioral and style, contingency and situational, and, managerial and relationship. As a result values of a great leader are found in different people. People from all ethnicities and parts of the world have proven to have extraordinary leadership characteristics so studying leadership became a need. In studying leadership, there were many different approaches developed. It has been found to believe that there are strengths and weaknesses in the trait approach concerning studying leadership.
A lot of different kinds of leadership theories have been introduced to explain why and how certain people come to great leaders and what is the secret behind their success. According to the studies which are related to leadership theories, certain personality traits make and help people better suited to leadership roles and the ability to take the sound decision of the situation make a good leader. It’s a fact that people have long been desired in leadership throughout human history, at the same time, it has only been relatively recently that a lot of formal leadership theories have popped up. In the early part of the twentieth century, interest in leadership increased. When we dig into the deep of early leadership theories, those are focused on what qualities eminent between leaders and followers, meanwhile subsequent theories focused on other variables such as skill levels and situational factors. Let’s look at the theories which are recognized as the major ones and explore some concepts and practices of those
Leadership theories spread throughout history. these thoeries are varied from one another by which aspect is beleived to understand the leader fully. US academic environments defines leadership as “a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task" By referencing this assignment the reader will get a sound knowledge about leadership theories, leadership styles as well as leadership trends of the millennial.
The primary leadership theory I believe in comes from John Maxwell and speaks to the dual nature of leadership: leaders are both born and made. I believe that some individuals are born with innate leadership qualities and that those characteristics, though infantile, if cultivated, evolve through lifelong experiences, training and development. Maxwell asserts that born leaders require cultivation: “Leadership is developed, not discovered. The truly “born leader” will always emerge; but to stay on top, natural leadership characteristics must be developed”(Maxwell, 1993 p. viii). Maxwell indicates that individuals who want to become leaders fit into one of four categories: the leading leader, the learned leader, the latent leader or the limited leader.
In the field of leadership, there have been many theories that explain different types of leadership
We can divide the theories that deal with leadership in 3 chronological groups. First were the trait theories. Until the 1940's, research in the field of leadership was dominated by these theories. Second came the behavioral theories which were very influent until the late 1960's. Finally, contingency theories are the most modern theories about leadership.
There are many different types of theories on leadership. There is Fiedler’s contingency theory, situational theories of leadership and House’s path-goal theory. These theories are used to make an individual or manager a more effective leader. They can be used as a guide for individuals and help them achieve whatever goal is set out by their organization or group.
The trait theory gives constructive information about leadership. It can be applied by people at all levels in all types of organizations. Managers can utilize the information from the theory to evaluate their position in the organization and to assess how their position can be made stronger in the organization. They can get an in-depth understanding of their identity and the way they will affect others in the organization. This theory makes the manager aware of their strengths and weaknesses and thus they get an understanding of how they can develop their leadership qualities.
According to Wart (2013), this theory states that leaders can succeed in instituting changes in structure, procedure, ethos, technology, or production (557-558). From this, we can gather that some people are better at being leaders during a transitional part of a company. When a company is going through changes either through infrastructure, how they operate or adapting to technological changes, there has to be someone in charge in order to keep order and structure during these times. This might be a chaotic time period for the company and without a strong leader at the helm, it can go bad really quickly. An example of this could be when the internet was starting to take off in the United States. During this change in technology companies had to quickly adapt and change how they operated. No longer would they just be local or get the word of mouth about their products through the news or word of mouth. Now they had new venues to spread the word and sell their products. Several studies have been done over the past few years on leaders under this theory and the results show that they share some characteristics that are not often found under other theories. Some of these theories include according to Wart(2013), energy, determination, vision, and risk taking (558). This is interesting because our world is constantly changing and people need to adapt or risk being irrelevant. Also without having the energy or drive a company can falter and lose customers. It is why leaders should always strive and continue to try new things, reach new heights, and never being satisfied with their current