Leadership Theories

Overview of Some Key Leadership Theories

Great Man Theory

What makes an individual rise above others to assume the mantle of leadership?
Why are some more drawn to the burdens of the job than others?
What set history’s great leaders apart from their contemporaries and enabled them to navigate often tumultuous waters, defying the odds to achieve their goals on behalf of themselves and their people?

Some theorists have argued that these questions are answered by the great man theory.

According to the great man theory (which should perhaps be called the great person theory), leaders are born with just the right traits, attributes, and abilities necessary for leading.
These individuals come into the world possessing certain characteristics and traits not found in all people.
These abilities enable them to lead while shaping the very pages of history.

Under this theory, prominent leaders throughout the course of history were born to lead and deserved to do so as a result of their natural abilities and talents.

These leaders have the traits, attributes, and abilities (e.g., charisma, intellect, confidence, communication skills, and social skills) necessary to set them apart from those around them and enable them to assume roles of authority and powerOpens in new window.

Great leaders are heroes who are valiant, mythic, and ordained to rise to leadership when the situation arises, and they accomplish great feats against the odds on behalf of followers.

Again, because the ability to lead is inherent — that the best leaders are born, not mated—those in power deserve to lead because of the traits they have been endowed with. The term great man was adopted at the time because leadership was reserved for males, particularly in military leadership.

Trait Theories

The trait theories are very similar to the great man theory. It was founded on the characteristics of different leaders—both the successful and unsuccessful ones.

Thus, trait theories argue that effective leaders share a number of common personality characteristics, or “traits” and qualities (e.g., integrity, empathy, assertiveness, good decision-making skills, and likability) that are helpful when leading others.

Trait theories are used to predict effective leadership. Usually, the identified characteristics are compared to those of potential leaders to determine their likelihood of leading effectively.

Early trait theories said that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you do or don’t have. Over the years, the focus has moved on from this idea, as we have learned more about what can be done to develop leadership qualities.

While trait theories help us identify traits and qualities, none of these traits, nor any specific combination of them, will guarantee success as a leader.

One groundbreaking review in the late 1940s concluded that no consistent list of leadership traits could be distilled from previous research. This conclusion was revised a decade later, suggesting that a few traits are associated with effective leaders.

Because traits are external behaviors that emerge from the things going on within our minds—it is these internal beliefs and processes that are important for effective leadership. These non-significant findings caused many scholars to give up their search for the personal characteristics of effective leaders at the time.

Important Leadership Skills and Attributes

Over the past two decades, leadership experts have returned to the notion that effective leaders possess specific personal attributes. The more recent interest in trait theories and more specifically personal attributes has focused on trying to identify leadership characteristics from different perspectives.

Initially, the focus was primarily on the physiological attributes such as appearance, weight, and height; demographics such as age, education, and familial background; and intelligence, which encompasses decisiveness, judgment, and knowledge. More recent studies have consistently identified several skills and attributes identified with effective leadership or leader emergence.

Four Basic Skills All Leaders Need

Knowledge and skills are extremely important for all leaders. According to researchers there are four basic skills leaders need (see Table X-1).

Table X-1 Four Basic Skills for Leaders
What Leaders Need	And Why
Cognitive abilities to identify problems and their causes in rapidly changing situations.	Leaders must sometimes devise effective solutions in short time spans with limited information.
Interpersonal skills to influence and persuade others.	Leaders need to work well with divers people.
Business skills to maximize the use of organizational assets.	Leaders increasingly need business skills as they advance up through the organization.
Strategic skills to draft an organization’s mission, vision, strategies, and implementation plans.	Strategic skills matter most for individuals in the top ranks in an organization.

Leadership Attributes

Eight important leadership attributes (not in any particular order) that leaders need have also been identified: personality, self-concept, leadership motivation, drive, integrity, knowledge of business, cognitive and practical intelligence, and emotional intelligence (see Table X-2). There is every indication that the search for personal attributes that identify the characteristics of effective leaders will continue.

Table X-2 Personal Attributes of Effective Leaders
Leadership Attribute	Description
Personality	Effective leaders have higher extraversion (outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive) and conscientiousness (careful, dependable, and self-disciplined).
Self-concept	Effective leaders have strong self-beliefs and a positive self-evaluation about their own leadership skills and ability to achieve objectives.
Leadership Motivation	Effective leaders have a need for socialized power (not personalized power) to accomplish team or organizational goals.
Drive	Effective leaders have an inner motivation to pursue goals.
Integrity	Effective leaders have strong moral principles, which are demonstrated through truthfulness and consistence of words with deeds.
Knowledge of the Business	Effective leaders have tacit and explicit knowledge about the organization’s environment, enabling them to make more intuitive decisions.
Cognitive and Practical Intelligence	Effective leaders have above-average cognitive ability to process information (cognitive intelligence) and ability to solve real-world problems by adapting to, shaping, or selecting appropriate environments (practical intelligence).
Emotional Intelligence	Effective leaders have the ability to recognize and regulate their own emotions and the emotions of others.

Contingency Theories

The realization that there is no one correct type of leader led to theories that the best leadership style depends on the situation. These theories try to predict which style is best in which circumstance.

Therefore, contingency theories emphasize different variables in a specific setting that determine the style of leadership best suited for the said situation.

It was founded on the principle that no one leadership style is applicable to all situations and that the best form of leadership is one that finds the perfect balance between behaviors, need, and context.

According to contingency theories, for example, whether or not a leader is an effective leader is the result of the interplay among what the leader is like, what he or she does, and the situation in which leadership takes place.

Given the wide variety of situations in which leadership occurs, what makes an effective leader in one situation (i.e., certain traits or behaviors) is not necessarily what that leader needs to be equally effective in a different situation.

The traits or behaviors that may contribute to a leader being an effective leader in one situation might actually result in the same leader being an ineffective leader in another situation.

Good leaders not only possess the right qualities but they are also able to evaluate the needs of their followers and the situation at hand.

In summary, contingency theories suggest that effective leadership is a combination of many key variables and is always contingent on the situation or context.

Situational Theories

Situational theories are similar to contingency theories as they also propose that no one leadership style supersedes others.

As the name suggests, the theories imply that leadership depends on the situation at hand. That is, effective leadership behavior depends on the situation at hand.

Put simply, leaders should always correspond their leadership to the respective situation by assessing certain variables such as the type of task, nature of followers, and more. In sum, as situations change, different leadership styles become appropriate.

As proposed by several scholars, their situational theory blends two key elements: the leadership and the followers’ maturity levels. Maturity is classified into four different degrees:

M1:	Team members do not possess the motivation or tactical skills to complete necessary jobs.
M2:	Team members are willing and ambitious to achieve something, but they lack the necessary ability.
M3:	Team members possess the skills and capacity to accomplish tasks, but they are not willing to take accountability.
M4:	Team members possess all the right talents and are motivated to complete projects.

According to situational theory, a leader exercises a particular form of leadership based on the maturity level of their teamOpens in new window. When a situation is favorable for leading, it is relatively easy for a leader to influence direct reports so they perform at a high level and contribute to organizational efficiency and effectiveness. If a situation unfavorable for leading, it is much more difficult for a leader to exert influence.

Leaders should understand that applying situational leadership theory is not easy. In any leadership role, leaders will encounter many different situations, and there is no one best style for managing all of them. In addition, leaders all tend to rely on behaviors that have worked for them in the past even if the situation they face suggest they should change.

Again, leaders tend to justify their actions by reasoning that they are doing what they are good at, but in fact, leaders are vulnerable to their own biases about what they think works and what doesn’t.

Although further research is needed on this, there are several important implications for leaders.

Use more than one leadership style. Effective leaders possess and use more than one style of leadership. Thus, leaders should learn as much as they can about different leadership styles so they can try new leader behaviors when a situation calls for them.
Help employees achieve their goals. Leaders should guide and coach employees in achieving their goals by clarifying the path and removing obstacles to accomplishing them. Effective coachingOpens in new window was found to increase employees’ performance.
Leaders need to alter their leadership behavior for each situation. A small set of employee characteristics (ability, experience, and need for independence) and environmental factors (task characteristics of autonomy, variety and significance) are relevant contingency factors, and leaders should modify their leadership style to fit them.
Provide what employees and teams need to succeed. Leaders should view their role as providing others with whatever they need to achieve their goals. For some it could be encouragement, and for others it could be direction and coachingOpens in new window.

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave, rather than their traits or characteristics. That is, these approaches try to determine unique behaviors displayed by effective leaders.

For instance, do leaders dictate what needs to be done and expect cooperation? Or do they involve their teams in decision-making to encourage acceptance and support?

In a framework based on a leader’s behavior it argues that there are three types of leaders:

Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This style of leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there’s no need for input, and when team agreement isn’t necessary for a successful outcome.
Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team agreements matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas.

Laissez-faire leaders don’t interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. This works well when the team is highly capable, is motivated, and doesn’t need close supervision. However, this behavior can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted; and this is where this style of leadership can fail.

Behavioral theories suggest that effective leadership is the result of many learned skills. Thus, leaders need three primary skills to lead their followers—technical, human, and conceptual skills.

Technical skills refer to a leader’s knowledge of the process or technique.
Human skills mean that one is able to interact with other individuals.
Conceptual skills enable the leader to come up with ideas for running the organization or society smoothly.

Clearly, how leaders behave affects their performance. Researchers have realized, though, that many of these leadership behaviors are appropriate at different times. The best leaders are those who can use many different behavioral styles, and choose the right style for each situation.

Two key conclusions that leaders can take away from the behavioral approaches are the following:

A leader’s behavior is more important than their traits.
There is no type of leader behavior that is best suited for all situations. Effective leaders learn how to match their behavior to the situation at hand.

So, in concluding this literature, “Why are some leaders successful while others fail?” The truth is that there is no “magical combination” of characteristics that makes a leader successful, and different characteristics matter in different circumstances.

This doesn’t mean, however, that leaders can’t learn to be an effective leader. They just need to understand the various approaches to leadership, so that they can use the right approach for their own situations.

One way to do this is to be familiar with leadership theories discussed above (while also recognizing that there are many others) that provide the backbone of our current understanding of leadership.

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