Understanding Leadership Theories and Styles

This assignment delves into the realm of leadership theories and styles. It examines established theories such as Adam's Equity Theory, Self-Determination Theory, and different leadership approaches like Situational, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership. The task requires students to critically analyze these theories, considering their applicability in diverse work environments and the impact on team motivation and performance. Contemporary perspectives on inclusive leadership and shared leadership are also explored.

Running head: LEADERSHIP 1
Leadership
Student’s name
Institution Affiliation
Date of Submission

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Introduction
Leadership is a broad term, and it can be defined as the act of leading a group of
individuals in a certain direction. Additionally, it can also be defined as a position or a state of
being a leader (McCleskey, 2014). Leadership entails developing a clear vision then sharing the
vision with other people in order for them to follow it willingly. It also involves giving the
information, skills, and ways to realize the provided vision as well as balancing and coordinating
the conflicting interests of individuals and all stakeholders (“Inclusive leadership,” 2017). This
paper seeks to review deeply my reflection on leadership studies and how I can apply it in my
organization from what I have learned in class.
As I was growing up, all I knew about leadership was that it is a state of being a leader
and it started with my family where I viewed my father as the leader of the house by the way he
used to give instructions. Notably, I associated everyone giving instructions and rules as a leader
including my teachers, prefects and being in this class has taught me that I was not wrong.
Additionally, I have learned that not everyone can become a leader since there are traits that
leaders should have in order to lead. Leaders can be defined as people who commands or leads
others in a country or an organization. Being in a leadership class has widened my thoughts, and
I have come to learn about leadership traits, theories as well as leadership styles. My leadership
definition has changed, and I can define leadership as a state of leading people using different
leadership traits and styles. Being in leadership class has helped me to learn about the
characteristics that leaders should have in order to serve people and lead them in the right
direction. Effective leaders should be emotional stable such that they have the ability to tolerate
frustrations as well as stress (Raes et al., 2013). They should be psychologically prepared that
anything can happen as they are leading and they should be mature enough to tackle these

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challenges. Additionally, leaders should express enthusiasm, and they should be expressive,
active and energetic in their work. They should be open to any changes that come their way and
be very optimistic to ideas. The leader should lead by example because everyone they lead tends
to follow what they do thus they should be self-disciplined (Hotez & Aksoy, 2017). Leaders
should be tough-minded such that they are logic, practical, and straight to the point. If a leader
does not like a particular aspect of a group, he or she should be open and straight to the point to
state it in order to prevent conflict. He should be confident and show a sense of self-assurance.
They should not try to prove anything to the group, and they should be free of guilt (M. H.
Anderson & Sun, 2017). I learned that leaders should be brave and creative such that they are
able to come up with new ideas and skill.
Additionally, I have learned about leadership styles in this class. There are different
leadership styles such as autocratic leadership where it is centered on the manager or the boss.
The leader does not consult anyone subordinate while making decisions, but instead, he does it
on his own. Such leaders make decisions and then communicate the decisions to their
subordinates and expect quick implementation (H. J. Anderson, Baur, Griffith, & Buckley,
2017). Democratic leadership is where the leader consults other members whenever they want to
make a particular decision in an organization. This style of leadership makes all members feel
that they are part of the organization and they appreciate it so much. Transformational leadership
is all about bringing change in the firm, oneself, groups, and others (Hoch, Pearce, & Welzel,
2010). These leaders motivate the subordinate to do a lot compared to what they can perform or
even think. They set more challenging goals for the organization, and they end up achieving
higher performance. Additionally, they tend to have committed as well as satisfied members
since they empower them to do they work in an extraordinary manner. Laissez-faire leadership

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provides authority to the members. People are permitted to work as they choose with little or no
interference (Prestia, 2017).
Learning these traits is of benefit to my organization because I can lead in the right way.
Additionally, I am able to correct where I make mistakes, and I can come up with new ideas in
the company which help the firm grow in a positive manner. I have learned that in order for an
organization to grow, the leadership style that a leader uses in the firm matters a lot. For me, I am
a transformational leader because I realized that this style of leadership makes employees work
harder than they do before and they are able to get out of their comfort zone in the workplace.
Additionally, I am able to come up with new goals which are challenging but not complicated,
and employees are able to achieve them at the right time. Being a transformational leader has
helped me maintain the same employees for a long time because I give them a chance to show
their skills and knowledge in different departments where each one of them works in and
therefore able to grow. Additionally, these employees have a chance to speak out their decision
about an aspect, and I also give them room to express their feelings whenever they feel
something is not right. Leading my employees using this style of leadership has helped my
organization develop and grow greatly since objectives are met at the right time and employees
always come to work without fail as they are motivated to work in my organization.
Leadership studies have a positive implication for my future in my organization because I
tend to learn something new and fresh in this class whenever I interact with my fellow students
and employees. Additionally, the implication is that leadership studies will help me become
more innovative and introduce more ideas which will help my organization grow. Additionally, I
will also be able to understand more ways in which I can determine a qualified employee in the
process of interviewing and hiring new workers. I need to learn more about how a leader can

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serve employees without favoring some of them. In other words, in my organization, some
employees complain that the manager has a habit of favoring employees who are obedient and
those who hit their goals at the right time. I understand that this habit can be dangerous and it can
affect employees in a great way and decide to perform their work in a slow way because they
might not feel motivated. According to equity theory of motivation which was developed by
Adams John, stated that people are always motivated to work whenever there is fairness in the
workplace (Chapman, 2001). If one worker realizes that the manager favors a certain group of
employees, they might feel demotivated to perform their task. The theory states that the boss
should treat employees equally with fairness. Again, the level of the hard work of the employees
should be equal to the way they are rewarded (Gagn?? & Deci, 2005). For instance, the employer
should give a reward which is equivalent to their input. At the same time, this behavior can
encourage those employees who are not hitting their targets at the right time to work harder so as
to impress the manager.
I will develop my leadership knowledge by teaching my other business partners and
leaders on how to lead in their organizations in the right way. I will also empower my employees
and teach them on how to be good leaders since my organization allows employees to start
something new on their own. Having realized that many organizations fail because of poor
leadership styles, I will teach people about this style of transformational leadership in order for
them to see whether their companies can have a change and grow positively. I will use my
knowledge to encourage them to portray good leadership traits and lead by example in their
firms. I will train them on how to be open-minded and introduce new ideas in their company in
order for their employees to be challenged to work while meeting challenging goals.

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Additionally, since most leaders do not know how to motivate their workers, I will teach them
how to motivate employees using rewards, promotions, and praises as I do in my organization.
My developmental opportunities are in my organization and other businesses which I
intend to start in future. I believe that I will be able to apply the knowledge gained in class
practically when I start my new business. Notably, I believe that since I have gained a lot of
knowledge in leadership studies, I can hold conferences and seminars to teach people about
leadership because the style of leadership mostly manners in an organization. Additionally, my
developmental opportunities are my employees, and therefore I should treat them in an
appropriate manner so that they can use their knowledge and skills to improve my firm. Also, I
believe in the power of rewards in an organization, and I hope to introduce more ways for
rewarding employees whenever they perform their work and hit the organization’s targets at the
right time. I trust that my organization has not reached where I have always wanted, and I look
forward to improving where it needs improvement by learning how to determine a qualified
employee during interviews. I have always fallen into the trap of hiring employees who as less
qualified my most of my interviews are question-answer interviews. My plan is to start
interviews which involve practical skills. Additionally, I will introduce new methods of
rewarding employees such as giving them free trips and bigger promotions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, learning new ideas can never stop since technology keeps on changing and
I believe that after college I will still learn how to be a good leader through the internet. I will
also be attending seminars which talks more about leadership in order to benefit my
organization. Since I have learned about leadership in my class, I will use my knowledge by

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teaching my other business partners and leaders on how to lead in their organizations in the right
way. I will also empower my employees and teach them on how to be good leaders since my
organization allows employees to start something new on their own. My leadership definition has
changed, and I can define leadership as a state of leading people using different leadership traits
and styles. Being in leadership class has helped me to learn about the characteristics that leaders
should have in order to serve people and lead them in the right direction.

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References
Anderson, H. J., Baur, J. E., Griffith, J. A., & Buckley, M. R. (2017). What works for you may
not work for (Gen)Me: Limitations of present leadership theories for the new generation.
Leadership Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.08.001
Anderson, M. H., & Sun, P. Y. T. (2017). Reviewing Leadership Styles: Overlaps and the Need
for a New “Full-Range” Theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 76–
96. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12082
Chapman, A. (2001). adams equity theory - workplace motivational theory - how individuals
measure inputs and outcomes in relation to market norms and “referents.” Retrieved from
http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm
Gagn??, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331–362. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.322
Hoch, J. E., Pearce, C. L., & Welzel, L. (2010). Is the Most Effective Team Leadership Shared?
The Impact of Shared Leadership, Age Diversity, and Coordination on Team Performance.
Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9(3), 105–116.
https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000020
Hotez, P. J., & Aksoy, S. (2017). Will a new 2017 global leadership commit to NTDs? PLoS
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Inclusive leadership. (2017). Nursing Management. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.24.3.12.s12
McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership and
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http://ezproxy.leedsmet.ac.uk/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edb&AN=96783710&site=eds-live&scope=site
Prestia, A. S. (2017). The art of leadership diplomacy. Nursing Management, 48(4), 52–55.
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000514068.76314.4d
Raes, E., Decuyper, S., Lismont, B., van den Bossche, P., Kyndt, E., Demeyere, S., & Dochy, F.
(2013). Facilitating team learning through transformational leadership. Instructional
Science, 41(2), 287–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-012-9228-3