LEADERSHIP THEORIES
LEADER AND LEADERSHIP
John Quincy Adams, the 6th U.S. President once quoted his views of who a Leader is:
Every organization relies upon basic functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, leading, and controlling for the attainment of its goals. In an organization, the ‘leading’ function comprises the leadership process by which team members are influenced to achieve organizational goals and influencer is the Leader of the team.
Though leading is a management function, still the leadership is different from management in its working style.
MANAGER VS LEADER
Management revolves more around managing and controlling activities wherein Leadership main aim is to influence and to motivate.
A leader plays an important role in the success of any team. A manager or a boss delegates duties to the team and instructs to fulfill them but a leader moves along with the team to fulfil their duties and extends support wherever it’s required.
CAPTAIN (LEADER) AND TEAM
Take an example of the cricket team which has the best players and a captain to lead the team. The captain of the team acts as a leader who not only plans strategies for the game but also motivates and influences the team. A captain also keeps the morale of the team-high in tough situations and encourages his team to win the game.
After getting insights into what a leader is, the next things come in the mind are:
- Has a leader all qualities of leadership by birth or these develop gradually?
- What is the reason that not everyone is a leader?
- What attribute is required to become a successful leader?
To address the above, different theories of leadership have been developed so far. As different theories of management guide managers, similarly, different leadership theories authenticate leadership management function.
LEADERSHIP THEORIES
Leadership theories mostly emphasize on characteristics and behavior of leaders. Also, those behavioral aspects that can enhance their leadership traits while handling different matters.
Early theories of leadership state that these leadership traits are present in a leader by birth. In other words, these theories proposed that certain people are simply ‘born leaders.’ However, recent studies demonstrate that leadership traits can be developed over a while and also much depend on situations and experience acquired by handling the different situations.
Mainly 8 types of Leadership theories are there which also consists of associated theories.
LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND ASSOCIATED THEORIES
Leadership theories are developed over a period under different theoretical approaches. Let’s study these approaches along with their associated leadership theories in detail.
A) TRAIT APPROACH (the 1840s, 1930s, and 1940s):
The Trait approach of leadership theories was defined in the 19th century. Lots of scientific research was undertaken in the development of leadership theories and the Trait approach is the foundation or initial stage research that defined both GREAT MAN THEORY and TRAIT THEORY.
Different leadership studies held under the Trait approach concluded that effective leaders have basic traits of leadership by birth. So they are born only and cannot be made. This concept generated the base for the ‘Great Man’ theory.
Also, this approach suggested that there are different traits in Leader by birth that makes him an effective leader. These traits are observed as different characteristics of person i.e. physical, social, and mental traits. These theories suggest that different physical traits like height, metal traits like intelligence and social traits like personality, etc. contribute to effective leadership. This concept is defined as the ‘Trait Theory’ of leadership which is an upgraded version of Great Man theory.
The Trait Theoretical approach has certain limitations in terms of situation and behavior aspects. So, further researches on leadership theories were conducted and initiated the other two approaches i.e. Behavioral and Situational.
THEORIES UNDER TRAIT APPROACH
There are two main theories under the Trait Approach:
1. Great Man Theory 2. Trait theory
Let’s discuss these two theories in detail.
1. GREAT MAN THEORY
As discussed above that Great Man theory is focus on born leaders. It suggests that leaders have all traits of leadership by birth i.e. Intelligence, confidence, communication skills, charisma, etc. The concept of this theory was given by a writer Thomas Carlyle, who stated that the leadership qualities are inherent and effective leaders cannot be developed, they have leadership traits by birth. As leadership abilities were demonstrated only by men at that time so it is named as Great Man Theory.
Though with time, it was considered as the great person theory due to the existence of great women leaders later like Queen Elizabeth.
Leaders in this theory are depicted as Heroes, meant to rise as a leader when the need arises. It simply says that one cannot be trained for strong leadership even he possess certain traits and abilities to become a leader.
Leadership traits are only god gifted to few. This theory also supported certain myths like effective leaders will come into existence as per situation or need arises. Few great leaders of history had certain unique qualities that made them a successful leader in their respective areas such as Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Alexander, Napoleon, etc. These have some natural leadership qualities that distinguished them from others.
We’ve thoroughly explained this theory in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/great-man-leadership-theory/
2.TRAIT THEORY
Trait Theory is an extension of the Great Man Theory. It states that individuals inherit certain qualities and abilities which make them a great leader. According to Trait theory, those individuals born with special characteristics become successful leaders. It helps in identifying different personalities and behavioral characteristics that transform an individual into a great leader. These could be self-confidence, courage, communication skills, etc. It also clears the abilities, personality characteristics of both successful and unsuccessful leaders so that the effectiveness of leadership can be identified.
Once different traits or characteristics are identified, they are used to compare the traits of potential leaders to determine their success or failure possibilities. This theory also believes that leaders having such natural traits can be boosted further to be an effective and great leader. This theory helped in identifying the main characteristics of a leader i.e. charisma, initiative, confidence, honesty, creativity, intelligence, accountability, etc.
We’ve thoroughly explained this theory in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/trait-theory-of-leadership/
B) BEHAVIORAL AND PARTICIPATIVE APPROACH (The late 1940s, 1950s, 1960s):
Though the Trait approach of leadership laid down the foundation of leadership theories and suggested key attributes or characteristics of an effective and successful leader; but it was failed in other aspects i.e. behavioral aspects of a leader. So due to the dissatisfactory results of the Trait theories, different scholars shifted their research area on leadership from characteristics of a leader to the behavior of leaders in the 1950s.
The philosophy behind this research was that behavior demonstrated by leaders has much impact on effective leadership rather than of different traits like physical, psychological, or mental. It also states that by demonstrating appropriate behaviors, anyone can become a leader. So it is not right to say that leaders are born by birth only. Lots of studies held to support the behavioral approach, out of which two most famous studies were done by the Ohio State University in the late 1940s and by the University of Michigan in the 1950s.
- Ohio State University studies revealed common leadership behaviors. People of this University designed the LBDQ (Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire) that was used to examine common leadership behaviors among college students, private companies, etc. This study identified the two types of leaders i.e. Task-oriented and people-oriented.
Task-Oriented approach (left) and People-Oriented Approach (right)
The behavior of task-oriented leaders revolves around handling management functions i.e. planning, organizing, coordinating, etc. The people-oriented leader’s behavior is much based on the motivational, human aspect i.e. boosting morale, coaching, supporting, listening to the staff.
THEORIES UNDER BEHAVIOR APPROACH
There are two main theories under the Behavior Approach:
1. Role Theory 2. Management Grid Theory
Let’s these two theories in detail.
1. ROLE THEORY
Role Theory is an outlook of social psychology (related to human behavior and other’s influence impact on them). This theory states that the behavior of a human is mostly influenced by the expectations of other humans. These expectations are sought in different roles of humans that they play in their lives daily. Like a human plays different roles in life i.e. a friend, a professional, a student, etc.
This theory assumes that people act or behave as anticipated as well as their behavior is based on social factors and their particular role.
Take an example of an actor or a hero who plays different roles based on the requirement of script and expectations of the audience, similarly, an individual’s social role is based on the expectations of his/her society, his rights, responsibilities, behavior aspects, etc. From an organizational point of view, role theory specifies defining different roles of leaders and subordinates by themselves and others, the expectations of others in performing their roles and their actual performance in their roles.
2. MANAGEMENT GRID THEORY
The next theory is the Management Grid theory based on a behavioral leadership approach. Dr Robert R. Blake and Dr Jane Srygley Mouton were the founders of this theory. The concept was given in 1964. Management Grid theory is based on two aspects i.e. person and performance or production. It defines co-relation between these two
According to this theory, the leadership quality is evaluated on concern for people and concern for performance basis. It states five different types of leadership styles named ‘impoverished management’, ‘country club’, ‘Middle-of-the-road’, ‘Team management’ and ‘ Task-oriented’.
These leadership styles are based on the demonstration of a leader’s different behavior up to what extent related to people and results or production.
- Impoverished management (Very less focus on both people and results by a leader)
- Country club (More concern for people and less on results or performance)
- Middle-of-the-road (Equal or balanced concern of both people and performance)
- Team-Management (Both concerns i.e. people and performance are considered high by a leader)
- Task-oriented (More concern on results or performance and less on people)
Out of the above five leadership styles of a leader, the Team-management style was declared as the best style in this theory. So a strong leader is the one who is committed to achieving better results or output as well as keeps the team committed, motivated by creating a healthy environment of trust, respect, and employee empowerment.
- The study of the University of Michigan introduced a Participative leadership Approach and this study was undergone by a psychologist Dr Rensis Likert. Participative leadership Approach indicates that a good leader is the one who ensures maximum participation or involvement of the team in process and strategy development tasks to achieve common goals so that they can contribute at their max in organizational success.
This story strongly believes that an effective and strong leader motivates the team and acts as part of a team rather than just instructing the team to get the work done. Giving commands or just orders to the team can demotivate them by lowering down their morale which hinders their performance. So the participative approach is one of the most important approaches in leadership and also fits well in today’s competitive environment.
This approach is very beneficial in making the best decisions as participative leaders allow team members to show their skills and share their creative ideas to reach the best possible solutions. It is just like that one mind can put good ideas but different minds can come up with the best ideas due to a variety of solutions and thus problems can be viewed from a different perspective.
THEORIES UNDER PARTICIPATIVE APPROACH
There are two main theories of Participative approach:
1. Lewin’s Leadership Style Theory 2. Likert’s Leadership Style Theory
Let’s study these two theories in detail.
1. LEWIN’S LEADERSHIP STYLE THEORY
This leadership theory was developed by Kurt Lewin in 1939 who is known as the father of social psychology.
Different leadership types were identified by a few researchers in close guidance of Kurt Lewin. This study generated very impressive results and discovered 3 types of leadership styles. It also laid down the foundation for better leadership theories.
In this study, there were three groups of leaders or researchers of different leadership styles i.e. authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire. Leaders handed over the assignment of a project to and observed their behavior based on the responsiveness of different leadership styles. This invented the above 3 leadership styles. Researchers also concluded that the democratic leadership style is the most influencing one as it encourages team members to perform well.
The Authoritarian (Autocratic) leaders don’t consult with team members before taking any decision. Leaders closely control and monitor the tasks of the team. They provide clear instructions and guidance to the team.
Democratic leaders invite the participation of the team in decision-making.
Laissez-faire or delegative leaders don’t provide any guidance to the team and have very low control.
2. LIKERT’S LEADERSHIP THEORY
Likert’s leadership style, also known as Likert’s management system was developed by Rensis Likert. Different styles and patterns were examined by Likert and his team at Michigan University, USA.
A questionnaire was prepared for managers in more than 200 organizations. Based on this study and extensive research, Likert developed four management systems of leadership i.e. Exploitive authoritative, Benevolent authoritative, Consultative leadership, and Participative leadership.
Likert also compared the above four leadership styles with each other on different organization factors i.e. motivational factors, decision-making, defining goals, communication system, monitoring system, and leadership process, etc. Likert also recommended the Participative leadership style in organizations for improving team performance, motivation, high productivity, and profits.
Exploitive authoritative leadership is based on tight control, fear, and threats. Minimal or no participation of the team in decision-making.
Benevolent authoritative leadership is based on the reward system for subordinates. There is a patronizing attitude of leaders towards staff.
Consultative leadership consists of having somewhat discussion of subordinates with leaders regarding their job profiles. Still confidence level of leaders is low in subordinates.
The Participative leadership style allows subordinates to participate in the decision-making process and subordinates are given enough responsibilities and authority to do their tasks.
C) SITUATIONAL AND CONTINGENCY APPROACH (The 1960s, 1970s):
Limitations of both Trait and Behavioural approaches resulted in more research on leadership styles by researchers. The Situational and Contingency approach is based on the situational analysis in leadership styles. Both approaches indicate that there are certain situational factors on which leadership works. The behavior of leaders is affected by a particular situation that determines leadership style or pattern also.
The situational approach was developed in the 1970s by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. The contingency approach was formulated in the 1960s by Fred Fiedler.
Though both Situational and Contingency approaches are situation based, yet these slightly differ. The situational approach states that a good leader should mold himself/ herself according to the situation at hand. Contingency theory is based on phenomena that there should be a match in the right situation and right leader. The right leader should be appointed in the right situation.
Different situational factors decide leadership style in leadership:
Leader’s traits: Consists of different relevant personal attributes or traits, skills, and abilities of a leader for handling leadership tasks. These traits can be confidence in self and team, values and beliefs of a leader.
Traits of subordinates: The leadership style of a leader is also affected by different traits of team members like their skills, knowledge, and attitude, sense of responsibility and accountability, their needs, the structure of the group, etc.
Other situational factors: Different other internal situational factors like the complexity of activities and use of technology, inter-connected activities, organizational structure, goals, and values of the organization, rewards policies, etc also play an important role in leadership functioning. Apart from these, there are external situations also like trade unions, government policies, etc. also influence leadership style.
THEORIES UNDER SITUATIONAL APPROACH
Three main theories were introduced that support situational approach:
1. Hersey and Blanchard’s Leadership Theory 2. Vroom-Yetton-Jago Theory 3. House’s Path-Goal Theory
Let’s discuss these three theories in detail.
1. HERSEY AND BLANCHARD’S LEADERSHIP THEORY
Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard adventured this situational theory in the 1970s. This theory specifies that leadership style depends on different situations and an effective leader aligns his/her leadership activities to the organizational goals. This theory combines both leadership style and maturity level of followers to define leadership.
According to Hersey and Blanchard, the leadership styles derived from four basic behaviors i.e. Tell, Participate, Delegate, and Sell. Certain maturity levels of subordinates also play an important role in shaping leadership-style.
Four behaviors of leadership styles are:
Tell: Flaw of information from a leader to subordinates. It’s a series of instructions i.e. what to do, when, how, why, where, and by whom.
Sell: In this leader convince staff by assuring social and emotional support to them. Though two-way communication is there still the leader is the one who leads.
Participate: This behavior includes democratic leadership. Decision-making is shared with subordinates for their inputs.
Delegate: Its simply handing over tasks to subordinates and focus on monitoring them.
Maturity levels of subordinates include:
1. Unwillingness to do the task or not competent
2. Incompetence but willingness is there
3. Competent but not confident that can do tasks
4. Everything i.e.willingness, ability and readiness are there in staff to do tasks.
2. VROOM-YETTON-JAGO LEADERSHIP THEORY
This leadership style was first developed by Victor Vroom and Philip Yetton in 1973 and later on, in 1988, Arthur Jago added his contribution to it. This leadership style demonstrates how leaders can make the best decision in different situations and what management style is best suited in these.
It clears the decision-making ability of different managers in different situations.
This theory identified three basic factors that together create an impact on decisions. These are quality, time limit, and collaboration.
Quality: It is related to the quality of decisions i.e. the future impact of decisions to be taken and deciding upon the best decision to be taken.
Time limit: To choose the leadership style according to the time frame allotted for each decision to be taken.
Collaboration: Need of team members to be part of the decision-making process i.e. more or less.
This theory also incorporated five different decision-making styles i.e.
Autocratic(I)Decision made by a leader only. No team involvement.
Autocratic(II): A leader only consults team members to collect information. Again no team involvement in decision-making.
Consultative(I): A leader involves a team for their opinion in problems and decision-making. But the final decision is made by the leader.
Consultative(II): A leader initiative involvement of team members twice. At first individual opinion is taken on any situation, next through a group meeting of the whole team. Again decision-making authority is still a leader.
Collaborative: A leader involves the team in decision-making and supports them.
3. HOUSE’S PATH-GOAL THEORY
House’s Path-Goal Theory was developed by Robert House in collaboration with T R Mitchell in 1971. This theory of leadership states that the effectiveness of leadership depends on a leader’s role in motivating the team of subordinates. A leader’s major role is to provide clarity of the path to achieve desired goals and clarity on benefits to the team on achieving them.
This theory identified four types of behavior of leaders based on four different situations. These situations or circumstances are based on workplace traits and workforce traits.
The workplace traits include different situations at the workplace like the nature and complexity of the job, Authority level of leader, etc. and the workforce traits belong to situations like motivation level of the team, their abilities, and skills, etc.
The four types of behavior leadership styles are Directive, Supportive, Participative, and Achievement-oriented.
Supportive leadership- Open and friendly environment for staff at work, taking care of their needs and welfare to boost morale.
Directive leadership- Providing directions and instructions to subordinates related to work to be done. Also clarifying the work, schedule for a specific amount of task.
Participative leadership- Allowing the team to participate in a group for the decision-making process.
Achievement-oriented- Defining challenging goals and keeping faith in the skills of the team to achieve them.
THEORIES UNDER CONTINGENCY LEADERSHIP APPROACH
There are three theories under contingency leadership approach:
1. Fielder’s LPC Theory 2. Strategic Contingency Theory 3. Cognitive Resource Theory
Let’s discuss these three theories in detail.
1. FIEDLER’S LPC THEORY
Fred Fiedler, a scientist provided the LPC theory of leadership. According to this theory, no one best leadership style can suit all situations. How leaders lead the team much depends on situations that suit their leadership style in the best way. It suggests that the right leader match with the right situation. Leadership styles cannot be changed as per the situation.
This theory is based on the two most important factors i.e. Leadership style and situation favorableness.
Leadership Style: This theory is based on the LPC model i.e. Least preferred coworker and defines a leader as Relationship-oriented and Task-oriented leader based on this model. This model consists of a rating scale to know the leadership style of a leader. For this, a leader needs to provide rating to his/her co-worker with whom he/she least prefers to work.
Favorableness: This includes identifying the favorable situations and their tendency i.e. the degree of control of a leader over situations. The situational factors are task structure, position power, and leader-subordinate relations.
2. STRATEGIC CONTINGENCY THEORY
The author of the Strategic contingency theory is D.J. Hickson and he wrote the theory in 1971. Hickson defined organizations having multiple departments and their alignment at the time of uncertainty. The term contingency is defined as a group of tasks required by a subunit which is affected by tasks of another subunit. If a subunit has control of more activities or contingencies than its power increases in the organization and considered as a strategic contingency.
According to the theory, subunit power is based on three factors:
Problem-solving skills and to cope up with uncertainty: Subunit having exceptional skills to sort out complex problems and to handle uncertain situations are in power.
Centrality: If the subunit is located at the center of workflow then its activities are very important.
Substitutability: If subunit is having required skills and expertise that is difficult to substitute then it is in a position of power.
We’ve thoroughly explained this theory in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/strategic-contingency-theory/
3. COGNITIVE RESOURCE THEORY
The Cognitive resource theory is a reinvention of Fiedler contingency theory and concept was given by Fred Fiedler and Joe Garcia in 1987.
This theory relates to a leader’s intelligence and experience with his/her reaction to stressful situations. Like in a more stressful situation one can react without thinking logically. It clears how a leader’s intelligence and experience influence the way he/she may react to stress.
There are different factors of the theory i.e. Stress affects both high and low-level stress, Directive approach and team support.
Stress effects on leadership style:
High-level stress: Requires more work experience level and less intelligence or IQ level of a leader.
Low-level stress: Requires more intelligence level and less experience.
Directive approach and team support: A leader needs to be directive in a stressful situation as intelligence doesn’t work in stress. Also, a leader’s decision-making effectiveness in a stressful situation depends on his/her relationship with the support system i.e. team members. In the absence of healthy relations with the team, a leader’s decision-making quality may not be good.
We’ve thoroughly explained this theory in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/cognitive-resource-theory/
D) TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP APPROACH (The late 1970s, 1980s):
The transactional leadership approach was discovered first by Max Weber and additions were made further in the early 1980s by Bernard M.Bass.
Transactional leadership is based on managerial functioning style, emphasis on supervision, organization, and team performance. Leaders are more task-oriented in this approach and utilize rewards and punishments for the motivation of subordinates.
The transactional leadership approach assumes that the performance of the team is based on the chain of command. If a clear and definite chain of command then better performance results can be expected. It further believes that the motivation factors of employees are rewards and punishments. Also, the subordinator’ main goal is to obey their leader’s orders and directions. To ensure desired results, there must be tight monitoring over the performance of subordinates. Employees are rewarded in an organization if they meet the expectations and they are punished if they are not able to meet.
A leader and subordinate relationship are like give and take. That means if subordinates will perform well then they will get the reward and if poor performance then punishment.
The mandatory elements of this leadership approach are rules and regulations, process and procedures. A leader closely monitors subordinates to abide by them with rules and regulations. This type of leadership approach is suitable in less complex situations or problems and crises when completing a task is the priority. This style is effective in cost-cutting and productivity improvement decision-making. Leaders are more task-oriented and not relationship-oriented.
THEORY UNDER TRANSACTIONAL APPROACH
It includes only one theory:
1. Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory
Let’s discuss this theory in detail.
1. LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE (LMX) THEORY
The leader-member exchange theory, also known as dyadic (one-to-one) or vertical dyad relationship theory was conceptualized by George B. Graen and Mary Uhl-Bien.
Though this theory accepts the ‘give and take’ model of the transactional approach, still, it includes the relationship aspect between a leader and subordinates.
So, the LMX theory somewhat supports the transactional leadership approach. The main focus of this theory is relationship building between leaders and subordinates. The way both interact with each other determines the healthy work environment.
This theory explains that motivation or demotivation of subordinates also depends on this relationship factor.
The three relationship phases of LMX theory are Role taking, Role making, and Routinization.
Roke-taking: Skills and abilities of new joiners are accessed by a leader at the time of their joining in an organization.
Role-making: Further judgment of new joiners once they start working in assigned roles. New members are categorized into two different groups i.e. IN-Group or the OUT-group. IN-Group members are close to the leader in terms of more trust, better opportunities for development. OUT-group members receive fewer development opportunities and less trust factor by a leader.
Routinization: Related to assigning routine tasks, procedures and processes to both leader and subordinates and also instructions on how to proceed with these.
E) TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP APPROACH(The 1970s, 1980s):
The transformational leadership approach was introduced by James V. Downton in 1973 first, then expended by MacGregor Burns in 1978 and further Bernard M. Bass did additions to this in 1985. This theory works on change factor both in people and social systems.
It aimed at developing positive change in subordinates and their development as future leaders. This theory increases the motivation level, performance, and morale of subordinates. A leader can achieve above by doing strength, weakness analysis of subordinates, encouraging them to have a great sense of responsibility and accountability of their work by setting an example of self, etc.
It is different from a Transactional approach as it is based on the personality of a leader, characteristics and abilities to set an example by creating a great impact on subordinates. Leaders under this approach don’t believe in micro-management and develop a trustful environment for the staff so that they can take accountability for their decisions in jobs assigned to them.
This style of management allows staff to be creative and produce innovative ideas to sort issues or problems. Training is also provided to potential leaders.
Organizations seeking to introduce new and advance technology in an organization to increase the efficiency of staff and processes, minimize cost and time, increase productivity and profits; look for a transformational leadership approach. New technology transformation demands leaders to be employee-oriented in terms of providing motivation, training and boosting their morale to adopt new technology.
THEORIES UNDER TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP APPROACH
There are three theories under the Transformational Leadership Approach:
1. Bass Leadership theory 2. Burns Leadership Theory 3. Kouzes and Posner Leadership Model Theory
Let’s discuss these three theories in detail.
1. BASS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY
This theory was formulated by Bernard M. Bass in 1985. This theory specifies how a leader influences his/her subordinates. According to the theory, leaders can influence their subordinated by expanding their understandings of the importance of tasks, making them realize to keep organizational and team goals above than individual interest, incorporating their development needs.
Bass leadership is based on four components.
These components are:
Idealized influence: Leaders influence subordinates to develop themselves as a leader by playing the role of a charismatic or ideal leader.
Inspirational Motivation: A leader’s capability to inspire subordinates i.e. motivation and confidence level. A leader also clears the purpose of work.
Intellectual stimulation: A leader allows subordinates to participate in problem-solving, decision-making by asking questions and providing ideas for solutions. This way leaders can stimulate and initiate creativity in subordinates.
Individualized consideration: This is based on a leader’s ability to focus on an individual’s need and self-development. It demands to coach or monitors the traits of a leader.
We’ve thoroughly explained this theory in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/bass-transformational-leadership-theory/
2. BURNS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY
James Macgregor Burns had given the concept of Burns’s transformational leadership theory. He is also known as the father of Transformational theories. This theory states that the leadership process is based on the mutual help of the leader and subordinates to each other for motivation and to increase their morale. This theory is based on an ethical and moral value system.
Different themes of this theory are:
Power and purpose: As per the theory, power and purpose are essential elements. Power needs to be controlled or restricted because of human purpose.
Leadership as a mutual purpose: Leadership is the use of power for a specific purpose and requires the needs, values, and motives of both leaders and subordinates.
Leadership as a moral attempt: Leadership is not misusing and overuse of power but to support and develop subordinates as a moral attempt.
We’ve thoroughly explained this theory in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/burns-transformational-leadership-theory/
3. KOUZES AND POSNER LEADERSHIP PARTICIPATION INVENTORY
James M. Kouzes and Barry Posner discovered the Leadership participation inventory model as a part of the transformational theory in 1987. The research was conducted from different leaders about their experiences in successful leadership. Based on the research, five leadership practices for successful leadership are derived as a leadership participation inventory model.
This model also states that leadership is based on the behavior aspect rather than the personality of a leader.
The five leadership practices are:
Model the way: Leaders should act as role-model by presenting themselves as others should be and act as expected others to perform.
Inspire a shared vision: Leaders make strategies for an organization by visualizing the future and by inspiring subordinates to be part of it with a clear goal to achieve. Leaders make them believe that their actions are result-oriented and directive towards achieving some pre-defined purpose or objective.
Challenge the process: Leaders experiment with new procedures and process to facilitate change. Creativity and innovation are the key characteristics of a good leader. Experimenting comes with certain risks and failures also. So a leader has to cope up with these and to consider failures as learning.
Enable others to act: Creating an environment of trust and motivation for subordinates to urge their full support.
Encourage the heart: Leader has to initiate a reward and recognition system for performers and performing team to boost their morale.
We’ve thoroughly explained this in a separate article here ➡️ https://studiousguy.com/kouzes-and-posner-leadership-participation-inventory-model-in-transformational-leadership/
SUMMARY:
Leadership can be defined in different ways. It can be the personality traits of a leader or situational factors or behavior patterns. It is based on multiple factors that are useful in understanding the reasons for people becoming great leaders. These theories have practical implications as well for the success of the leadership role.