Leadership Theories

LEADERSHIP THEORIES 1
Leadership Theories
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Leadership Theories
Why do some people become leaders? This is what leadership theories seek to
explain. They usually focus on a leader's characteristics, while others focus on behaviors that
can be adopted to improve one's leadership abilities in certain situations. Earlier debates
that focused on the psychology of leadership suggested that some individuals were born
leaders, while recent theories propose that processing some traits make some people
natural leaders. Over the last 100 years, people have increased their interest in the
psychology of leadership, hence introducing different leadership theories that try to explain
why and how some people come to be great leaders. Leadership theories of the past
attempted to investigate the qualities that differentiated followers from leaders while, on
the other hand, the subsequent theories focused on skill levels and situational factors. Since

LEADERSHIP THEORIES 2
many theories of leadership have emerged, this except shall concentrate on the eight major
ones.
Great Man Theories
According to this theory, great leaders are born with such internal characteristics like
intelligence, charisma, social skills, and confidence that make them be regarded as
naturalborn leaders. This theory believes that great leaders are not made but born; this is
why they believe that leadership capacity is inherent. Great Man Theories usually portray
great leaders as mythic, destined for greatness and capacity to rise to leadership whenever
needed. They are also viewed as heroes. This theory was named Great Man because, during
this period, leadership was primarily believed to be a male quality, especially the leadership
in the military. In this case, it suggests that strong leadership cannot be learned; it is either
one is born with it or without it.
Trait Theories
In some ways, this theory is similar to Great Man theories; it assumes that for
someone to be a great leader, they must inherit some traits and qualities. It identifies
particular behavioral characteristics or personalities that are shared by leaders. For
instance,
Great leaders can be linked with such attributes as courage, extroversion, and self-
confidence. This theory has been criticized because many people out there possess such
traits, but they are not leaders. Some have these qualities, but they never seek any
leadership positions. You may also find others who lack the critical effective leadership
traits, but they end up becoming successful in leading groups.
Contingency Theories
In contingency leadership theories, they focus on particular environment-related
variables that may be determinant of the leadership style used in a specific situation. This
theory believes that there is no specific leadership style that can be applied in all cases.