In the early 20th century, interest in leadership has increased. Early theories focused on distinctions between leaders and followers from the perspective of their qualities. Subsequent theories, for their part have interested in other variables, such as situational factors and skill. It is important to note that leadership theories are not necessarily incompatible, although several theoretical approaches have been developed, most of them have been classified into different categories (Coutts, 2011). In this study of taxonomy of leadership theories, I will focus only on four theories: the theory of personality traits, the theories of situational contingencies, the theory of transformational approach and the theory of behavior.
Traditionally, Taxonomy is the science of classifying living organisms (Joelly, 1968). Termiol, (1979) provides a wider definition of the concept as being the classification of elements; a suite of elements forming a sequence of the list which relates to a field, a science. In this study, the term taxonomy will be heard as being the classification of different factors explaining each leadership theory. The main questions to which I will try to answer are: What are the different elements or characteristics that must possess a leader to be effective and what behavior should he possess to be effective? However, the concept of leadership does not define ideal behavior or characteristics. There has-been a bewildering proliferation of taxonomies on leadership behavior (Bass, 1990; Yukl, 2002). Indeed, what constitutes an element of the taxonomy for an author is not necessarily perceived the same way by another author. Several taxonomies exist based on research and the authors, but in this paper in this paper, ...
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...of the personality of transformational leadership:
- Vision and Communication,
- Personal Risks,
- Good knowledge of the environment,
- Perception of followers’ needs and,
- Unconventional behavior.
In summary, transformational leadership starts with creating a vision that motivates and convert potential followers. The next step is to make a constant promotion. This requires commitment and energy. Indeed, people don’t readily accept a radical vision, and it takes longer to be adopted. The transformational leader will do what is needed and he will take every opportunity to convince others to support his idea. To convince followers, the leader of transformational leadership should seek to establish a trust relationship with others; Moreover, integrity is an essential part of its mission. Indeed, the leader, if he tries to sell his vision, he must also sell itself.
This model has been used over decades in research to chime in on the importance of knowing the behavior of leader’s and their effect on those who work for them. According to Brymer and Gray (2006), effective transformational leadership ensures a supportive culture and does not require boundaries and guidance. The concept of transformational leadership was created to bring together leaders and those who work for them, which in turn impact those in whom they serve because their personality is viewed in a positive
“..the transformational leader articulates the vision in a clear and appealing manner, explains how to attain the vision, acts confidently and optimistically, expresses confidence in the followers, emphasizes values with symbolic actions, leads by example, and empowers followers to achieve the vision (Yukl, 2002)
Transformational leadership describes a leader moving followers beyond immediate self-interests through idealized influence (charisma), inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, or individualized consideration. Transformational leaders are change agents. They influence the mission and objectives to make way for a brighter future for the organization. Followers are motivated to do more than is originally expected because of their feelings of trust and respect for the leader.
This is where transformational leaders excel in their roles as motivators and change agents; however, one characteristic that resonates most with followers is the leader’s ability to define vision and mission. Ballou (2015) used the analogy of an orchestra conductor possessing the musical score that provides the details for every participant in the ensemble. The ability of the leader to bring clarity to the vision enables followers to understand the ‘why’ of their hard work. While seemingly autocratic, followers accept direction from transformational leaders because they demonstrate selflessness and are most interested in the team’s success, not their own. These highly regarded traits can alleviate tension in diverse groups by focusing on the vision, not individual differences. While there are similarities between the servant and transformational leader, there are important differences as well. In the book, The Leadership Challenge (2002, p. 153), the authors suggested that transformational leadership affects not only the followers, but the leader as well, by raising each other to achieve the higher purposes of motivation and morality. Another vital component of transformational leadership is the fostering of participation when making decisions. It is never the intention of the leader to inject his or her opinion, especially at the onset of the process. This ability allows followers to arrive at consensus by encouraging team participation, which invites involvement and buy-in of the vision, while decreasing the likelihood of inter-team conflict. The true transformational leader inspires the team because they have achieved a high level of self-actualization, which allows them to encourage and recognize the achievements of others without feeling threatened. When followers are fortunate enough to be led by a transformational
Before you can summarize the concepts related to leadership theory, you have to define what leadership is. Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task or goals. The fundamental concept of leadership is indirection. In any organization, the leader indirectly impacts the performance of the organization through the performance of individual team members. To make that impact, the leader takes on the role of the coach, and the inspiratory. As the coach, the leader improves the performer's skills. As the inspiratory, the leader inspires the passion required for optimal performance. A good leader can make decisions with a clear mind and will listen to theirs but can run through every consequence and possibility in their head. They take every angle and come out with the best answer for the majority of the people or situations it effects. And will not let their emotions be shut off but will have feeling where it is needed.
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.
According to Yoder-Wise (2015), a leader can be defined as, “an individual who works with others to develop a clear vision of the preferred future and to make that vision happen” (p 35). As employees, we often have our own ideal of a good leader, which may be influenced by experiences and perception of workplace norms. While one’s opinion of an effective leader may vary, there are several recognized leadership theories. The following will focus on the transformational leadership approach.
Leadership can be defined as the method in which one influences a group of individuals for a common goal. There have many great leaders in the world but these leaders are not born leaders. One must have willpower and the desire to become an effective leader. These leaders become dependent upon based upon their abilities and their success. A leader is looked upon for guidance and the inspiration to know what the right thing to do is. The theoretical foundations of the research of leadership are firmly supported. To better understand the foundations and understand the focus of leadership, it is essential to have knowledge of the history of leadership, the meaning and concept of leadership, types of leaders and leadership styles, and issues in leadership such as issues with culture and gender. According to Antonakis (2004), “leadership researchers have struggled for most of the last century to put together an integrated, theoretically cohesive view of the nature of leadership, invariably leading to disappointment in those who studied it” (p.4). An overview of the history of leadership is necessary to understand the concept of leadership because it also provides a framework for other areas of leadership. In any conventional group, individuals fill different role and one of those roles must the leader which is essential for the group to achieve it purposes.
Transformational leadership is one of the most popular leadership styles. According to Kendrick (2011), “Transformational leadership involves four factors: 1. idealized influence, 2. inspirational motivation, 3. intellectual stimulation, and 4. individual consideration.” These four factors make transformational leadership have an impact on followers. The goal of transformational leadership is to cause a positive change in individuals, help motivate them, and develop a leader within each individual.
In this time of transition and uncertainty, research suggests that transformational leadership is highly effective (Straight, 2006). Leadership research has drifted from emphasis on the competence of leaders to “manage change” to the ability to “transform” organizations. Transformational leaders have attributes and behaviors needed to successfully motivate and empower employees. According to Bernard Bass (1990), transformational leadership occurs when a leader transforms, or changes, his or her followers in three important ways that together result in followers trusting the leader, performing behaviors that contribute to the achievement of organizational goals, and being motivated to perform at a high level. Transformational leaders can achieve greater performance by stimulating innovative ways of thinking and transforming follower’s beliefs and aspirations. Maxwell (Maxwell, 2007) articulates that most of the time, influence is more important than formal power or authority. I agree with him. Influence is very important in organizational and co...
From around the mid-19th century, social scientists have been engaged in understanding and developing the nature of leadership in social evolution. This has led to the development of various theories and approaches to leadership. The early approach to leadership began with the Great man theories and has gradually led to the formation of the ‘New Leadership Approach’ (Bryman 1992) which included ‘visionary’ (Sashkin 1998) , ‘charismatic’ (Conger 1989; Conger and Kanungo,1988; House 1977) or ‘Transformational models’ (Bass 1985; Tichy & Devanna,1986). While the early approaches to leadership focused on the traits of the leader the subsequent approaches gave more importance to additional variables such as skill level and the situational factors ( google- dads link)
Most definitions of leadership involve four elements including process – a transaction between leader and followers, context – usually a group with a common purpose, influence – affect on group, and goal attainment – direction of influence (Northouse, 2004). Dr. Bernard Bass has published over 400 articles and written and edited nine books, all concentrating on leadership. Bass has developed a set of theories of how people become leaders. His trait theory says that some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. The great events theory, on the other hand, says that a crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion and brings our extraordinary leadership qualities. Finally, the transformational leadership theory says that people can choose to become leaders and learn leadership skills (Bass & Bass, 2008).
Stroup, J. (2004). Managing leadership: toward a new and usable understanding of what leadership is and how to manage it. Lincoln, NE. iUniverse, Inc. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://managingleadership.com/blog/2008/09/04/great-man-theory/
There are different leadership theories developed throughout the history. Most popular ones are trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories, and leader-member exchange (LMX) theory. The author of the post will briefly discuss two theories, Fiedler contingency theory and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), and compare and contrast their strengths and weakness.
Trait theories are theories that consider personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders." Early results aimed at confirming this theory were inconclusive. Many research studies were conducted and each identified key traits supposed to differentiate leaders from nonleaders. The problem is that they didn't get the same results, thus failing to discover common traits, which should have shown in each research study. When applying the Big Five Personality framework (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience) to the study and research of leadership traits, results were more encouraging. They showed that the most important trait for leaders was extraversion. Still, this founding sh...