Leadership Theories
The
various leadership theories are
1 Great Man Theory:
Assumptions
• Leaders are born and not made.
• Great leaders will arise when there is a great
need.
Description
Gender issues
were not on the table when the 'Great Man' theory was proposed. Most leaders
were male and the thought of a Great Woman was generally in areas other than
leadership. Most researchers were also male, and concerns about androcentric
bias were a long way from being realized.
2 Trait Theory:
Assumptions
• People are born with inherited traits.
• Some traits are particularly
suited to leadership.
• People who make good leaders have the right (or
sufficient) combination of traits.
Description
Early
research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the day, which
was of people having inherited characteristics or traits. Attention was thus
put on discovering these traits, often by studying successful leaders, but with
the underlying assumption that if other people could also be found with these
traits, then they, too, could also become great leaders. McCall and Lombardo
(1983) researched both success and failure identified four primary traits by
which leaders could succeed or 'derail': Emotional stability and composure:
Calm, confident and predictable, particularly when under stress.
3 Behavioral Theory:
Assumptions
• Leaders can be made, rather than are born.
• Successful leadership is based in definable,
learnable behavior.
Description
Behavioral
theories of leadership do not seek inborn traits or capabilities. Rather, they
look at what leaders actually do. If success can be defined in terms of
describable actions, then it should be relatively easy for other people to act
in the same way. This is easier to teach and learn then to adopt the more
ephemeral 'traits' or 'capabilities'.
4 Participative Leadership:
Assumptions
• Involvement in decision-making
improves the understanding of the issues involved by those who must carry out the decisions.
• People are more committed to actions where they
have involved in the relevant decision making.
Description
A
Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, seeks to involve
other people in the process, possibly including subordinates, peers, superiors
and other stakeholders. Often, however, as it is within the managers' whim to
give or deny control to his or her subordinates, most participative activity is
within the immediate team. The question of how much influence others are given
thus may vary on the manager's preferences and beliefs, and a whole spectrum of
participation is possible.
5 Situational Leadership:
Assumptions
• The best action of the leader depends on a range
of situational factors.
Description
When a
decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single
preferred style. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple.Factors
that affect situational decisions include motivation and capability of
followers. This, inturn, is affected by factors within the particular
situation. The relationship between followers and the leader may be another
factor that affects leader behaviour as much as it does follower behaviour. The
leaders' perception of the follower and the situation will affect what they do
rather than the truth of the situation. The leader's perception of themselves
and other factors such as stress and mood will also modify the leaders'
behaviour.
6 Contingency Theory:
Assumptions
• The leader's ability to lead is contingent upon
various situational factors, including the leader's preferred style, the
capabilities and behaviours of followers and also various other situational
factors.
Description
Contingency
theories are a class of behavioural theory that contend that there is no one
best way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some
situations may not be successful in others. An effect of this is that leaders
who are very effective at one place and time may become unsuccessful either
when transplanted to another situation or when the factors around them change.
Contingency
theory is similar to situational theory in that there is an assumption of no
simple one right way. The main difference is that situational theory tends to
focus more on the behaviours that the leader should adopt, given situational
factors (often about follower behaviour), whereas contingency theory takes a
broader view that includes contingent factors about leader capability and other
variables within the situation.
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