Leadership Concepts and Theories

Understanding Leadership

• Leaders can influence, motivate, and enable others to achieve goals.
• Influence can be formal (position) or personal (charisma, vision).

Personal Attributes of Effective Leaders

• Personality: Extroversion and conscientiousness, among other Big Five traits.
• Self-Concept: Clear self-view as a leader, high self-esteem and efficacy.
• Leadership Motivation: Strong need to lead and socialized power.
• Drive: Initiative, ambition, energy, and a need for achievement.
• Integrity: Strong moral principles and ethical conduct.
• Knowledge: Understanding of internal and external business environments.
• Cognitive Intelligence: Ability to analyze choices and solve problems.
• Emotional Intelligence: Ability to recognize and regulate emotions.

Leadership Perspectives and Theories

• Types of Leadership:
  • Shared Leadership
  • Transformational Leadership
  • Charismatic Leadership
  • Task-oriented and People-oriented Leadership
  • Servant Leadership
  • Authentic Leadership
  • Path-goal Theory

Shared Leadership

• Leadership is a set of roles, not a single position.
• Flourishes with delegation, collaboration, and employee empowerment.

Transformational Leadership

• Leaders as change agents who inspire through vision.
• Elements: communication of vision, modeling the vision, encouraging experimentation, building commitment.

Charismatic Leadership

• Personal charm inspires commitment; fosters emotional connections.
• Risk of narcissism and blind followership.

Task vs. People-Oriented Leadership

• Task-Oriented: Assigns tasks, sets deadlines, provides feedback.
• People-Oriented: Recognizes employee needs, listens, and creates a pleasant work environment.

Servant Leadership

• Focus on serving followers' needs and personal growth.
• Characteristics: nurturing, humble, ethical.

Authentic Leadership

• Self-aware leaders aligned with their values and self-concept.
• Emphasizes self-reflection and feedback.

Path-Goal Theory

• Leaders clarify the link between behaviors and outcomes.
• Four styles:
  • Directive: Guidance and clear expectations.
  • Supportive: Friendly, provides psychological support.
  • Participative: Involves employees in decision-making.
  • Achievement-Oriented: Sets challenging goals.

Path-Goal Contingencies

• Skills/Experience: High skills call for participative/achievement styles; low skills need supportive/directive styles.
• Locus of Control: Internals favor participative; externals prefer directive.
• Task Structure: Directive for non-routine inexperienced tasks; participative for experienced.
• Team Dynamics: Cohesive teams need less supportive leadership; low cohesion may require it.