Leadership Theories: A Critical Literature Review 2019

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LEADERSHIP – A CRITICAL
LITERATURE REVIEW
2019

Table of Contents
Leadership Theories.................................................................................................................3
The Great Man Theory.............................................................................................................4
The Trait Theory....................................................................................................................... 5
Contingency Theory................................................................................................................. 6
Behavioural Theories................................................................................................................9
Transactional Theory..............................................................................................................11
Transformational Leadership theory......................................................................................13
Effective leadership practices.................................................................................................15
Reference List.........................................................................................................................19
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Leadership Theories
Leadership is a much-discussed topic among scholars. There is a variety of literature
available that concern the leadership and its aspects. According to Offermann and Coats
(2018), leadership is considered to be a complex area of study due to lack of consensus
among the scholars regarding various aspects of the leadership. The leadership and its
definition in the organisational context have been a point of contention among the scholar
but they agree on the non-deniability of the existence of leadership in different
organisations at various levels (Offermann and Coats, 2018). The primary focus of study has
been the leadership traits, their emergence, and the impact and importance of leadership
on the organisations and their practices. According to Day et al (2014), the leadership can be
described as the behaviour where a leader acts as a role model and inspires the team
through their actions and directs the team towards the fulfilment of their designated goals
and objectives (Day et al., 2014).
Malik (2014) explains that in an organisational context, the successful leaders are those that
fulfil their team obligations and expectations while achieving the organisational goals. They
would be able to keep their team motivated and focused while helping them perform
effectively (Malik, 2014).
Source: Leadership Theories
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According to Day et al (2014), the absence of a definite and universally accepted definition
of leadership and leader makes its correct description an issue. This also creates the
problem of parameters that a leader can work upon to be successful in their leadership roles
during the various situations that appear while executing their work. The ongoing research
on the concept of leadership has resulted in the formulation of a number of leadership
theories that are concerned with different aspects of organisational leadership. These
theories act as the basis of further research on the topic of leadership while providing the
leaders with the basis on which they can formulate their own leadership approach suitable
to their way of working and their local business environment (Day et al., 2014). As the topic
of the current critical analysis of available literature on leadership, the available literature
on different leadership theories is considered and discussed. The leadership theories
literature being considered includes the literature on the Great man theory, Contingency,
Transformational, Transactional, Behavioural and Trait leadership theories.
The Great Man Theory
According to Dinh et al (2014), the emergence of leadership traits is a big point of
contention among researchers and scholars (Dinh et al., 2014). According to Wong et al
(2019), the researchers supporting the Great Man Theory argue that the leadership traits
are inherent and successful leaders are born with these traits. It suggests that the
personality, intelligence and characteristics are present by birth in people that become
successful leader irrespective of their area of work (Wong et al., 2019). Srivastava et al
(2016) explain that the Great Man Theory was proposed by Thomas Carlyle in the year 1841.
He suggested that great man are people born with the behavioural aspects, personality
traits and intelligence to acquire and comprehend knowledge that makes them great
leaders through the exploitation of these inborn traits and intelligence (Srivastava et al.,
2016).
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Source: Great Man Theory
According to Harter and Heuvel (2018), the focus of this study was successful leaders and
the character, emotional, and behavioural traits exhibited by them. Although, the great man
theory is considered to be an outdated theory by many researchers, there are still its
follower and supporter in the research community. The researchers and scholar contending
the Great Man Theory argue that many personal traits exhibited by leaders are actually the
result of experience rather than birth. They suggest that circumstances and experiences
mould a great leader (Harter and Heuvel, 2018).
The Trait Theory
According to Nichols (2016), trait theory focuses on the traits that differentiate a successful
and effective leader from others. The researchers supporting the trait theory explains that
an effective leader possesses and exhibits the traits that can be found in potential leaders as
well. In other words, there are certain traits that can be found in an effective and successful
leader. The traits can be defined as characteristics inherent in effective leaders such as self-
confidence, vision, knowledge, ideas, intelligence etc. (Nichols, 2016). Dinh et al (2014)
surmise that initially, the Trait Theory was not a popular theory and was usually ignored but
the changing scenarios made the research of traits of effective leaders and comparison
between the traits of different successful and effective leaders possible. This led to an
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increase in popularity and supporting researches that support the outcomes of the trait
theory (Dinh et al., 2014).
Source: The Trait Theory of Leadership
Wyatt and Silvester (2018) further explain that the new researches focused on identifying
more leadership traits such as social and physical to determine the traits affecting the
leadership style and effectiveness. Certain researchers were also able to pinpoint traits that
can result in adverse results due to their in-applicability on a number of circumstances. The
outcome of these researches suggests a need for flexibility in the leader to remain effective
in changing scenarios. The researcher also argues about the traits that are more important
in making a leader effective, this has become a major discussion due to the identification of
over 100 traits in effective leaders. Another limitation of the theory stems from its complex
nature (Wyatt and Silvester, 2018).
Contingency Theory
According to Dinh et al (2014), the contingency theory was proposed by Fred Fiedler in 1958
and it suggests that there is no single way of leading, rather an effective leader remains
flexible in its choice of leadership approach and practice and chooses the best suitable one
as per the prevailing situation and environment. In other words, the situation rather than
the leader decides the leadership approach and successful and effective leaders are aware
of this and act accordingly. This theory correctly interprets that the internal and external
environment of every organisation will be different and there cannot be a single leadership
style that will suit every organisation. A management or leadership style can only be
effective when it fulfils the specific requirements of a particular organisation (Dinh et al.,
2014).
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Source: Contingency Leadership Theory
According to Gozukara (2016), Situational theory and the Path-Goal theory are two
contingency theories that are favoured by scholars (Gozukara, 2016). According to Uhl-Bien
et al (2014), the Path-Goal theory suggests that the fulfilment of the employee expectation
is critical to enhancing their motivation, commitment and performance so; leaders need to
align their leadership behaviour with the employee expectations. It also proposes that the
use of reward as an acknowledgement of efforts and performance can be a major element
for enhancing the organisational commitment of the employees (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014).
According to Gozukara (2016), the situational theory suggests that the leaders need to
identify a suitable leadership style according to the circumstances and the ability of the
employees and incorporate it. The situational theory expects leaders to employ different
leadership styles that are suitable for different circumstances while considering the abilities
of their subordinate employees. The basic concept behind the situational theory is the
premise that effective leadership styles change from situation to situation (Gozukara, 2016).
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Source: Path-Goal theory
Gozukara (2016) explains that the Situational Leadership theory by Hersey and Blanchard
identifies four leadership approaches that are Telling, Selling, Participating and Delegating.
The telling approach is authoritative and Directive that involves decision making by the
leaders and directing the employees accordingly. Selling approach involves persuading the
subordinates about the decisions taken by the leaders. The participating approach involves
collective decision making and the role of leaders as a supporter. This approach is
democratic in nature and favoured by many a researcher. Delegating approach involves
delegation of decision making to the team while monitoring and overseeing the work
(Gozukara, 2016).
According to Gozukara (2016), the four maturity levels of subordinates are also described in
this situational theory of leadership and these are levels M1, M2, M3, and M4. M1 indicates
low competency and commitment, M2 indicates high commitment but low competency, M3
indicates lower commitment with higher competency level, and M4 indicates high levels of
competency, commitment, and confidence. The theory suggests matching the correct
leadership style with maturity levels of subordinates (Gozukara, 2016).
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Source: Leadership Style according to the Employee Maturity Levels
According to Dinh et al (2014), another Situational Theory for Leadership is proposed by
Goleman and it’s known as Goleman’s Model of Situational Leadership. Goleman developed
the concept of emotional intelligence and this concept is utilised to define six situational
leadership categories. These categories and leadership styles are Pacesetting, Affiliative,
Authoritative, Coaching, Coercive and Democratic (Dinh et al., 2014).
Behavioural Theories
According to Amundsen and Martinsen (2014), the behavioural theories propose that any
person can become a successful leader by identifying the leadership styles suitable for their
behavioural categories. The theory suggests that the leaders can be effective while
incorporating behaviours that are suitable for the scenario in question. The name
associated with this theory is due to their inclination towards leader behaviour as a tool for
being successful and effective leaders (Amundsen and Martinsen, 2014). According to
Mango (2018), the scholars supporting the behavioural theories of leadership the behaviour
of the leader is the basis of their effectiveness and success. The behavioural theories
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contradict the various leadership theories by indicating that leaders can be trained to
exhibit behaviours according to the situation that will make them effective and successful
(Mango, 2018). Mango (2018) further states that it's contradictory to the great man
leadership theory that suggests that leaders are born with leadership traits and traits theory
that proposes that the potential for leadership can be measured in terms of personality and
physical traits present in a leader (Mango, 2018).
Source: Behavioural theories
According to Boies et al (2015), a popular choice of scholars is the behavioural leadership
model suggested by Blake and Mouton in 1964. The leadership grid model was endorsed by
many scholars due to its efficiency in measuring the leader's performance and its use as a
tool for self-analysis by leaders. It's been used widely in organisations due to its efficiency
and popularity (Boies et al., 2015). Uzohue et al (2018) explain that the researches that
argue against the leadership grid point out its deficiencies. They indicate the lack of
empirical data that can substantiate the efficiency of this leadership model and the failure of
considering the internal and external variables. They also argue that the self-assessment
using the leadership model is flawed and the work environment was not considered to be a
factor in the leadership grid (Uzohue et al., 2018).
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Source: Leadership Grid
According to Svensson et al (2015), the leadership grid considers (9,9) or the team
management to be the most effective leadership style due to collective knowledge sharing
and efforts will result in faster task completion and effective goal achievement. When the
leadership is concerned more about employee welfare than organisational productivity, the
leadership style is known to be the country club management or (1, 9) (Svensson et al.,
2015). According to Olutade et al (2015), (5, 5) or Middle of the road management considers
organisational productivity as well as employee welfare. The worst leadership style is
considered to be (1, 1) or Impoverished management that involves a complete disregard of
leadership towards organisational productivity as well as employee welfare (Olutade et al.,
2015).
Transactional Theory
According to Antonakis and House (2014), Transactional leadership theory suggests the
existence of a mutual obligation between the leaders and followers. The followers are
obliged to remain fully committed towards effective execution of the tasks as per the
leader's guidance or instructions while the leaders are obliged to recognise the efforts put in
by the followers and provide them with rewards on effective task execution. Transaction
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leadership theory involves a transaction between the leaders and followers as is clearly
evident in the name of the leadership theory (Antonakis and House, 2014).
Source: Transactional Leadership
Dalluay and Jalagat (2016) explain that the theory suggests that the recognition of their
efforts and subsequent rewards act as a major motivator for employees for effective
execution of their task and their commitment towards the leader and the organisation.
Although in today's business environment, the driver for employee performance seems to
be self-motivation and willingness of employees to develop themselves through new
challenges as a tool of personal and professional development (Dalluay and Jalagat, 2016).
Dalluay and Jalagat (2016) further explain that there are two inherent scenarios in the
transactional leadership theory. One is the contingent rewards that can be due to the
mutual agreement between the followers and the leaders as a reward being the objective of
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