Leadership Theory Vs. Leadership

My leadership philosophy is consists of multiple leadership theories. Leadership theories can be leader-centered or follower-centered. Leadership theories focus on the leader’s personality and skill abilities. The psychodynamic approach is most similar to my leadership style because of its focus on personality. My leadership style is directive and task oriented. There are certain weaknesses in my leadership style which I know I can improve on. By incorporating the knowledge I have gained through this course I plan on applying the contingency theory to refine my leadership skills. The path-goal theory’s main emphases is on the relationship between the leader and follower which can help influence your subordinates. As a follower, I feel the relationship between the follower and the leader is tremendously important in the work environment in order to be able to complete tasks efficiently which is described in the leader-member exchange theory. In this essay I will describe my leadership philosophy which is comprised of the contingency theory, the path-goal theory, the leader-member exchange theory, and the psychodynamic approach theory and present a plan of action to improve my leadership and motivation skills.

Moreover Yukl (1990) proposed 13 different leadership behaviours and he provides factor analysis based work that required effective performances. However, the term leadership and management is confused by some people’s. Boyatzis (1993) described that mostly people assumed that leaders are those

The first section of this report will summarise three guest speakers’ presentations on leadership in terms of their leadership journey, leadership perspective and leadership approach. The guest speakers that will be examined include Peter Higgins, John Acklerley and Mumtaz Bashir. The aim of this section is to identify the individual’s personal viewpoint on leadership, by drawing out key themes and to determine how they apply their approach in the organisational world they inhibit.

Diverse methods of management and leadership along with the theories of management are discussed. More so, comparison of the soundness of the different type of leadership styles use in an organization are discussed. The way organizational theories explain management in practices and the way organizations applied the theory are discussed.

In today’s world, leaders are not defined by age, race or gender. They can be a high school basketball coach, the shift supervisor at the local coffee shop, or even the President of the United States of America. In as many ways that leaders can vary by appearance and responsibility, there is also a variance in the ways that they lead. This case study aims to compare three of the more popular theories of leadership. These leadership theories are situational leadership, trait theory and transformational leadership.

Different theories of leadership classify leadership in different ways. Based on the use of authority, leadership is classified into three types as autocratic, democratic and laissez faire leadership styles (Adeyemi, 2013). Having gone through my free flow journey has helped me explore my entire life as a process of learning and evolution of my own leadership. This mandatory part of my journal has given me the opportunity to reflect on my personal values as they are the primary influencer to my leadership development. Since our behaviours determines our values, this mandatory journaling is a powerful tool to identify which of the four waves of values (1st and 2nd Wave Values, 3rd and 4th Wave Values) influences my leadership practices.

Later, studies were focused on leader’s behaviours and not personal traits which led researchers to identify patterns of behaviour, or leadership styles that enabled leaders to effectively influence others, accordingly anybody who demonstrates the appropriate behaviour can be an effective leader. Leaders as a conclusion can be made and are not necessarily born. "Leadership is the behavior of an individual when he is directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal” (Hemphill & Coons, 1957).

Consequently, this study will research and study efficient and effective leadership by review three important theories and then discuss leadership and future development.

This paper will identify one leadership theory or style that best aligns with my own personal thoughts of what leadership means. This paper will provide information as it pertains to

In order to provide a hint of the leadership meaning, the report will demonstrate brief idea about some of the leadership theories which perceive the leadership skills form different view.

Leadership, in short, is an art. One needs to be highly skillful and crafty in their leadership styles in effectively influencing and steering a group of individuals towards a common set of goals. This is to suggest that 1) the type of leader, which also refers to the leader’s ‘personality’, characterized by traits and personal qualities, utilized to earn the trust of the people and lead them to undertake the major tasks, and 2) his style of leadership, which describes the competencies and skills that the leader ‘applies’ to guide, facilitate and support the people of the organization in their efforts to accomplish the task, are the determinant factors of an effective leader.

First of all, according to Matthew R. Fairholm, (Fairholm, 2004) there are two different approaches to studying leadership. First one and the most popular is a focus on the leader, suggesting that the best way to understand leadership is when we studying concrete individuals in concrete situation. In addition, supporters of this method mainly focus on the qualities, behaviours of those who state to be or are given the title of leader. (Fairholm, 2004). In other words,

In any organisation there are managers, they help deliver the company’s objectives and goals by managing the employees. Action Centred Leadership (Adair, 1973) suggests that to achieve maximum productivity and commitment to the organisation, leaders, not managers are required. There are eight major theories of leadership which include; the “Great Man” theory (About.com, 2014), in which leaders are born and not made, portrayed as heroic and destined to rise to leadership. Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey-Blanchard, 1969) state that focus should be given to environmental variables, determining the style of leadership best suited to a particular situation. Behavioural theories (Adair, 1973 & McGregor, 1960) state that leaders can be made and are not born, developing their skills through training and observation of others.

Leadership is the most broadly debated matter in our culture today. Many work establishments venture out for great leaders to strongly operate their organizations. In our culture on a daily basis people need inspiration, direction, and determination to complete numerous jobs favorably. Society need people who can establish and demonstrate to them matters in a correct aspect to produce the utmost productivity. Effective leaders engage in both professional leadership behaviors (e.g. setting a mission, creating a process for achieving goals, aligning processes and procedures) and personal leadership behaviors (Mastrangelo & Lorenzet, 2004).

Leadership is a very complex and important aspect of not only business but life. Leadership is an important skill that can come easy to some, but also can be a learned skill. Leadership has been around as long as human beings have walked this earth. Great leaders of the past include Alexander the Great, George Washington, Pope John Paul II, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership is a complicated subject and has had many studies done to help understand its elements and what it takes to become a great leader. There are five major leadership theory classifications include, trait, behavioral, contingency, integrative, and management to the leadership. According to Lussier and Achua, “A leadership paradigm is a shared mindset that represents a fundamental way of thinking about, perceiving, studying, researching, and understanding leadership.” (p. 19). This essay will list and define the leadership theory paradigms.