Theories of Leadership
Over the years, various ideas about leadership have been formulated by different theories. The following are some of them.
Theories About Leaders
These theories propose ideas on how leaders become leaders.
Great Man Theory
This theory was proposed in the 19th century by Thomas Carlyle. He proposed that leaders are born as great men, and the traits that made them leaders are innate and cannot be learned by ordinary people. A core idea of the theory is that leaders are rare individuals in society who possess natural abilities and talents that enable them to shape human history.
A major criticism of the theory is the specific use of the term “great man.” This was used because, during that time, leadership was thought primarily in terms of military command and that it was a masculine task.
Trait Theory
The theory suggests that leaders are people who are born with specific qualities or characteristics that make them leaders.
While this sounds similar to the previous theory, it is actually an extension of the work of Carlyle by Francis Galton. If the name sounds familiar, that is because he is a common figure in criminology due to his involvement in the fields of psychology, specifically differential psychology, and personal identification, specifically fingerprints.
In the Great Man Theory, the focus is on the entire person. In this trait theory, the focus is on the traits that leaders posses.
Behavioral Theory
This theory stands in opposition to the previous two. While the previous state that leaders are born and not made, the behavioral theory states that people can be made into leaders by having them observe and imitate the behaviors and attitudes of actual leaders.
The imitation is not necessarily direct. This can be done through trainings and workshops where people can learn leadership best practices which they can then apply at their own organizations.
Theories on Leadership
These theories suggest ideas on how leaders execute on leadership.
Situational Leadership Theory
There are various styles of leadership that various leaders can utilize. According to this theory, there is no one single perfect model of leadership. Instead, leaders should govern their teams according to what works best for the situation at hand.
Contingency Leadership Theory
This theory sits in opposition with the previous theory. It suggests that leaders cannot change their leadership style nor adjust to situations accordingly. As such, a leader’s effectiveness is contingent upon how their style matches the situation. For each type of situation, an entirely different person is required to handle that situation.