Overview and analysis of Leadership theories

Overview and analysis of drawing cards theories create force score history and non the other way around. In periods where in that respect is no draws, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leading seize the fortune to change things for the better Harry S. Truman.Leadership has been defined in some(prenominal) ways. In its simplest form, leading has been described by Susan Ward as the prowess of motivating a group of tidy sum to act towards achieving a leafy vegetable goal. Leadership, however, is a very complex subject, and encompasses such wide ranging disciplines like merciful psychology, man management, management of resources, communication skills, technical knowledge etc. A leader, therefore, is a person who has these skills and knows how to use them to motivate, guide and inspire the team to fulfill his mass.For centuries, leading has traditionally been associated with the military. In recent times, however, the importance of business lead has become much and more unpatterned. As a consequence of this epitome shift, the old theories of leadership switch given way to new ones, more aligned towards the business environment.Overview of Leadership TheoriesThe concept of leadership has witnessed a lingering change from individual leadership to organisational leadership. A study of the evolution of leadership theories through the ages cl ahead of time highlights this point.The earliest studies on leadership were ground more often than not on existing leaders, giving rise to the theory that leaders were born, not made. The dominance of the male gender, particularly in military leadership, gave rise to the large Man theory, which suggested that born leaders would arise when the spot called for them. It is quite evident that in the current sociological environment, this theory can be considered to be ir pertinent.An offshoot of the Great Man theory was the Trait theory, which suggested that some pot had certain inborn traits that qualified them to be good leaders. This theory suffers from standardised drawbacks as the Great Man theory. Moreover, both these theories be applicable to individual, quite than organisational leadership.A quantum jump from the earlier theories came with the concept of the Behavioural theory of leadership. With this, the center on shifted to learning, rather than inheriting the art of leadership. The Participative Leadership theory evolved on the assumption that better decisions could be made if the march involved several people instead of one person alone. On the other hand, according to the Situational Leadership theory, the leadership expression would depend on situational factors.In the study of leadership in the context of modern business, the two most popular theories that capture emerged are the Transactional theory and the Transformational theory. The transactional leaders work through a process of clear structures, and a system of rewards and puni shments forms an integral part of the process. The Transformational theory is based on the leaders vision and his ability to get his subordinates to follow that vision by personally inspiring them and transforming them by enlarging their vision, motivating and providing intellectual teaching. writings ReviewStudies on leadership make up been carried disclose since time immemorial. In circa 500 BC, Sun Tzu described the five traits of a successful leader (Gagliardi, 1999). It is believed that his thoughts on leadership closely approximate the Situational Leadership theory of modern times. In 16th century AD, Niccolo Machiavelli put forth theories on how a prince should acquire and maintain his state. Other strategists of their times such as Lao Tzu and Confucius of China and Chanakya of India also taught leadership principles some of which are still relevant today.Since the turn of the twentieth century, when the action shifted from the battlefield to the boardroom, new leadership theories have been presented, existing ones have been revised, reviewed and reframed, and new leadership gurus have become habitation names.The Trait Theory. The Trait theory has been in existence since the early twentieth Century. Various studies carried break by different researchers (Stogdill, 1948, 1974 Mann, 1959 Lord, DeVader and Allinger, 1986 Locke and Kirkpatrick, 1991) are in stipulation that specific traits exist that distinguish leaders from non-leaders, alone differences exist in the traits identified by them. However, it is evident that mere possession of these traits does not sham a leader as a combination of personality and situation would determine the leadership qualities at any point of time. Moreover, the identifications of traits is a internal issue, and their validity would remain debatable.The Behavioural or Style Approach. In the early fifties, the focus of leadership theories shifted from traits to behaviors as many scholars felt that leader behavio ur was more important than mental, physical or emotional traits. Two studies carried out by Ohio State University and the University of Michigan in the late 1940s and 1950s set out to validate this theory. Using a questionnaire on a sample population, the Ohio study concluded that there were two distinct aspects of leadership initiating structure or task oriented behaviour and consideration, or demonstrate concern for subordinates. The Michigan study concluded that leadership behaviour could be either employee oriented, or production oriented. Both these studies indicate that there are certain universally applicable leadership behaviours, but there is no proper empirical evidence to support these. Moreover, these studies have not taken the effects of variable situations into consideration.Situational Leadership Theory. Based on Reddins 3-D charge Style theory and developed by Blanchard and Hersey (1969), this is one of the most widely utilise theories that has bring widespread use in training and employee development and works on the premise that the situation will dictate the lawsuit of leadership. Depending upon the situation, the leadership style could either be directive or supportive. The leader will have to modify his style along with the variance in employee morale and skills. The figure below represents the correlation between the leadership style and the situationThe Situational leadership model clothes the onus of employee development on the leader. Because of its chasteness and ease of implementation, this is in wide use for training of leaders. It call for to be borne in mind that as the development of subordinates progresses, the leader himself also ask to develop and to adapt to the changing situation.Transformational Leadership.The term transformational leadership was first used by Downton (1973) but the concept was brought into prominence by James MacGregor fire (1978). According to this theory, transformational leaders provide inspi ration and motivate their subordinates to work towards a common objective. Burns divided leaders into two categories the Transactional leaders who work on a system of rewards and punishments for the work done and the Transformational leaders who make a connection with the followers to work towards the common goal. This theory was advance developed by Bernard Bass (1985), who put forth the view that transformational leaders make their followers aware of the importance of the task and of their own needs for personal growth, while at the same time motivating them to place the organisational interests before their own. Further research has been carried out by Bass Avolio, 1990 Kunhert, 1994 and Avolio, 1999.Studies have demonstrated that transactional leaders had generally performed up to the expected standards, while transformational leaders have exceeded expectations (http//www.abolrous.com/hazem/leadershiptheories.pdf). Transformational leadership has been widely accepted by many o rganisations, but although they make an important contribution to the literature, but they should not be herald as a revolutionary approach that makes all the earlier theories obsolete. (Yukl, 1999). coetaneous studies of various leaders and organisations indicate that for the successful implementation of organisational goals, there is a requirement of a mix of transformational leadership (at the top management level) and transactional leadership (at the implementation level).Notable amongst the research on this theory are the ones carried out by Bennis Nanus (1985) and Trichy DeVanna (1986, 1990), using similar methodologies of interviewing a large quash of CEOs. Bennis Nanus came to the conclusion that the traits of transformational leaders can be described by four IsIdealized Influence (leader becomes a role model)Inspirational motivating (team spirit, motivate, and provide meaning and challenge).Intellectual Stimulation (creativity innovation)Individual Consideration (me ntoring)Trichy DeVanna found that leaders bring about change by way of a three step processRecognise the fact that there is a need for changeCreate a vision and design a plan based on this visionInstitutionalize the change.http//sbinfocanada.about.com/od/leadership/g/leadership.htm Ward, Susan Leadershiphttp//changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/leadership_theories.htm Leadership TheoriesBass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership larn to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, (Winter) 19-31.Gagliardi, G., (2001) Sun Tzus art of war plus its awe-inspiring secrets The keys to strategy. Clearbridge publishing. Seattle, WA.http//www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/leadership_situational.html Situational LeadershipLeadership Theory and Practice, Peter G. Northouse, Third Edition heed of Organizational Behavior, Paul Hersey, Seventh Editionhttp//www.abolrous.com/hazem/leadershiptheories.pdf Leadership SummaryEuropean Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1999, 8 (1), 33-48 An Evaluative Essay on Current Conceptions of Effective Leadership, Gary Yuklhttp//business.nmsu.edu/dboje/teaching/338/transformational_leadership.htm Transformational Leadership David M. Boje (2000)http//psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/transformational.htm TransformationalLeadership Kendra Cherry