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The Major Leadership Theories

The 8 Major Theories of Leadership

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Karen Cilli is a fact-checker for Verywell Mind. She has an extensive background in research, with 33 years of experience as a reference librarian and educator.

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin 

• "Great Man"

Contingency

• Situational
• Participative
• Relationship

What Kind of Leader Are You?

What is it that makes some people excel in leadership roles? Leadership theories seek to explain how and why certain people become leaders. Such theories often focus on the characteristics of leaders, but some attempt to identify the behaviors that people can adopt to improve their own leadership abilities in different situations.

Early debates on the psychology of leadership often suggested that such skills were simply abilities that people were born with. In other words, these theories proposed that certain people were simply "born leaders." Some more recent theories propose that possessing certain traits may help make people nature leaders, but that experience and situational variables also play a critical role.

A Closer Look at Leadership Theories

As interest in the psychology of leadership has increased over the last 100 years, a number of different leadership theories have been introduced to explain exactly how and why certain people become great leaders.

What exactly makes a great leader? Do certain personality traits make people better suited to leadership roles, or do characteristics of the situation make it more likely that certain people will take charge? When we look at the leaders around us—be it our employer or the President—we might find ourselves wondering exactly why these individuals excel in such positions.

People have long been interested in leadership throughout human history, but it has only been relatively recently that a number of formal leadership theories have emerged. Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century.

Early leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill levels. While many different leadership theories have emerged, most can be classified as one of eight major types.

"Great Man" Theories

Have you ever heard someone described as "born to lead?" According to this point of view, great leaders are simply born with the necessary internal characteristics such as charisma, confidence, intelligence, and social skills that make them natural-born leaders.

Great man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent—that great leaders are born, not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.

Such theories suggest that people cannot really learn how to become strong leaders. It's either something you are born with or born without. It is very much a nature ( as opposed to nurture ) approach to explaining leadership.

Trait Theories

Similar in some ways to Great Man theories, trait theories assume that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify a particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. For example, traits like extroversion , self-confidence, and courage are all traits that could potentially be linked to great leaders.

If particular traits are key features of leadership, then how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.

There are plenty of people who possess the personality traits associated with leadership, yet many of these people never seek out positions of leadership. There are also people who lack some of the key traits often associated with effective leadership yet still excel at leading groups.

Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation. According to this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations.

Leadership researchers White and Hodgson suggest that truly effective leadership is not just about the qualities of the leader, it is about striking the right balance between behaviors, needs, and context.

Good leaders are able to assess the needs of their followers, take stock of the situation, and then adjust their behaviors accordingly. Success depends on a number of variables including the leadership style, qualities of the followers, and aspects of the situation.

Situational Theories

Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variables. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making.

For example, in a situation where the leader is the most knowledgeable and experienced member of a group, an authoritarian style might be most appropriate. In other instances where group members are skilled experts, a democratic style would be more effective.

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born. Consider it the flip-side of the Great Man theories. Rooted in behaviorism , this leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation.

Participative Theories

Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others.

Management Theories

Management theories, also known as transactional theories , focus on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance. These theories base leadership on a system of rewards and punishments. Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded and when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.

Relationship Theories

Relationship theories, also known as transformational theories, focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers. Transformational leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task.

These leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want every person to fulfill their potential. Leaders with this style often have high ethical and moral standards.  

Try our fast and free quiz to find out your usual leadership style.

There are many different ways of thinking about leadership, ranging from focusing on the personality traits of great leadership to emphasizing aspects of the situation that help determine how people lead.

Like most things, leadership is a highly multi-faceted subject and it is a mixture of many factors that help determine why some people become great leaders. Learn more about some of the things that make people strong leaders is one way of potentially improving your own skills.

Benmira S, Agboola M. Evolution of leadership theory . BMJ Leader . Published online January 8, 2021:leader-2020-000296. doi:10.1136/leader-2020-000296

Malakyan PG. Followership in leadership studies: A case of leader-follower trade approach . Journal of Leadership Studies . 2014;7(4):6-22. doi:10.1002/jls.21306

Mango E. Rethinking leadership theories . Open Journal of Leadership . 2018;07(01):57-88. doi:10.4236/ojl.2018.71005

Grant AM, Gino F, Hofmann DA. Reversing the extraverted leadership advantage: The role of employee proactivity . Academy of Management Journal. 2011;54(3):528-550. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.61968043

Khan ZA, Nawaz A, Khan IU. Leadership theories and styles: A literature review . Journal of Resources Development and Management . 2016;16:1-7.

Hodgson P, White R.  Leadership, learning, ambiguity and uncertainty and their significance to dynamic organizations . In: Peterson R, Mannix E, eds.  Leading and Managing People in the Dynamic Organization.  Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 2003.

Cote R. A comparison of leadership theories in an organizational environment . International Journal of Business Administration . 2017;8(5):28. doi:10.5430/ijba.v8n5p28

Amanchukwu R, Stanley G, Ololube N. A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management . Management . 2015;5(1)(2162-8416):6-14. doi:10.5923/j.mm.20150501.02

Groves KS, LaRocca MA. An empirical study of leader ethical values, transformational and transactional leadership, and follower attitudes toward corporate social responsibility . J Bus Ethics. 2011;103: 511. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-0877-y

• Gill, R. (2011). Theory and practice of leadership. London: SAGE Publications.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Leadership Theories and Examples

Trait leadership, definition/characteristics.

The timeframe in which the theory was popular is between the 1880s and the middle of the 1940s. According to it, one can be born a leader; thus, no further efforts would contribute to the development of the needed skills (Nahavandi, 2015). Trait leadership theory takes into consideration only particular characteristics of people who have succeeded as leaders, without regard for context (such as whether those qualities were worked on and what environment contributed to those personality traits). According to Nahavandi (2015), the people of the time believed that “innate qualities shape human personality and behavior” (p. 50). Other factors that may influence one’s probability of becoming a leader were disregarded. One reason for such beliefs is the social and historical setting in which the majority of the population could not become a leader of an organization.

A variety of tests, similar to IQ testing was created to identify prospective leaders (Nahavandi, 2015). Although the researchers did establish that executives have common characteristics that contribute to their success, no universal trait would make one a good leader.

Due to the nature of the theory, it is impossible to point out a particular leader that would be an example of it. It is because the approach presents a point of view on the topic. Considering this, a good model that represents such beliefs is a monarchy. A typical outlook in this system is that a king or a queen who rules a country and is a good leader should have children who will be in their place once the monarch is diseased. Thus, the belief is that the children of a successful leader are born with the ability to rule a country. For instance, the monarchs of Great Britain still have a high social status and are considered leaders of the nation, although their actual political influence is limited. The same view can be applied to any other successful person. In the trait leadership theory, it is possible that a child of a leader would possess the same characteristics that the parent. However, social factors (such as good education provided by successful ancestors, or the ability to learn a specific skill from them) are not considered.

Behavioral Leadership

This theory was developed right after the trait leadership and was commonly applied until the early 1970s. The focus has shifted from personal characteristics to one’s behavior. The approach has changed from considering inherent qualities as a need for leaders in a military industry has become more evident (due to World War II). Thus, what a person was doing became more critical than what qualities he or she possessed. Therefore, the common belief was that a human who performs the same tasks that a successful leader does would be able to lead others as well. According to Nahavandi (2015), the behavioral theory offers several advantages to those who want to study successful leaders. Most importantly, behaviors can be examined, thus, making it possible to identify what a particular individual does in a specified setting. In addition, it is possible to apply techniques to measure the efficiency of one’s actions. Finally, the knowledge gained from these studies can be used to teach another person how to behave as a leader. Nahavandi (2015), states that the researchers identified “democratic, autocratic, and laissez-faire leadership” as part of the theory (p. 56). Therefore, behavioral leadership offered a more advanced outlook on the issue, while providing a method for becoming a leader.

As with trait leadership, the behavioral theory offers a point of view on how leaders become successful in their endeavors. Thus, an example that illustrates this leadership style would be someone who does not have personality traits that would assist him or her in becoming a good leader. However, the person is motivated and determined to learn from people that apply various approaches to manage people properly. Thus, this person identifies several leaders that are successful in the field of his or her work. Next, the behavior of these people is observed (such as the way they talk to others and how they make decisions). Additionally, the person can read books on the topic and practice the required skills. Eventually, he or she will acquire the knowledge necessary to manage people efficiently.

Contingency Leadership

The contingency theory is an advancement to previous outlooks on leadership, as it synthesizes the behavior of a person and a particular setting in which the situation is evolving. Thus, an effective leader would be someone who has a required set of skills and knowledge that can be applied in a particular situation (Nahavandi, 2015). The method implies that one individual can be an effective leader in some settings while in a different environment he or she will be unable to resolve issues and manage people. In addition, an important aspect in question is utilizing the resources to make a particular group’s work efficient (through knowledge and skills). According to Nahavandi (2015), one is motivated by two factors – maintaining a relationship with employees or accomplishing a task, which can be measured by the least-preferred coworker scale. A variety of other factors can contribute to a successful outcome, such as the perception that the followers have. One of the implications of the theory is that the particular style of leadership that a person applies cannot be modified, thus, if a person is not a suitable leader for a particular case, he or she would not succeed. This statement is the primary limitation of the theory, as no adaptation approach is offered. Therefore, the theory takes into account the motivation and the environment of a person.

An example of a contingency leader would be a military official, as the theory was developed by observing such individuals. According to the approach, the executive that should supervise a particular organization should possess a specific set of skills and knowledge that would help him or her successfully manage a team. Thus, the primary objective is to find a person who has suitable characteristics, as those are the determinants of success. In addition, the leader should identify whether the primary purpose is the relationship with the employees or achieving the set goal. In the case of a military worker, the primary objective would be to perform a task correctly.

Skills Leadership

According to this leadership model, successful executives utilize a particular set of skills in their everyday decision-making process that determines their efficiency. Similar to the behavior theory, the skills leadership approach implies that anyone can be a leader, as the needed characteristics can be acquired. Thus, through examining how executives apply various skills, one can advance in his or her endeavors. Schoemaker, Krupp, and Howland (2013) state that six essential skills ensure one can manage people and organizations properly. Although there have been a variety of studies on the topic with different results, the authors identify ” the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align, and learn” as crucial (para. 1). It can be argued that different industries and companies may require different knowledge and approaches; these skills present essential requirements for leaders. They imply that a person can analyze a particular setting, make proper decisions, and most importantly learn to adapt to different situations. The skill leadership model is useful as it states that anyone can be a leader and that skills that executives use can be determined and studied. However, the limitation of the method is that some people may be more inclined to possess or learn individual skills; thus, it may be difficult for some to acquire specific characteristics.

An illustration of a skills approach leader is someone who possesses an understanding that certain qualities can be acquired through training and studies. When such a person strives to become a leader of an organization, he or she may observe what essential skills are applied by the current executives. For example, they may utilize advanced communication to manage teams. Through the examination, a skill-oriented leader would try to develop those characteristics to improve the current capabilities. An observation of particular qualities would present an opportunity to identify specific approaches instead of copying the behavior of a successful manager. Thus, a skill-oriented individual would be able to become a leader with a personal style and possession of required skills that can be applied to manage people.

Situational Leadership

Situational leadership is similar to the contingency theory as both consider the environment of an organization that the leader is managing. However, the approach does not merely examine the effects of the situation on a leader; it states that one must adjust the skills and leadership style to carry out the tasks correctly. Thus, the followers should be able to have a leader who can adapt to their behavior, not vice versa. In addition, these changes can be continuous (even if the leader is in the same company), as the outside factors may be changing. According to McCleskey (2014), the ability to analyze a particular setting is the key to becoming an excellent situational leader. Such executives can be task-oriented or people-oriented, depending on their approach. The theory has similarities with both the behavioral and contingency model. McCleskey (2014) states that there are a variety of issues with the situational approach, including “three flaws with … dealing with its consistency, continuity, and conformity” (p. 118). Situational leadership synthesizes a variety of approaches while suggesting that flexibility is the essential quality of a good executive. Thus, anyone can be a leader in any situation if he or she conducts proper analysis and utilizes adequate approaches to manage people in a specific setting.

An example of a situational leader is someone who adapts to the environment. It is especially essential for modern-day executives as the contemporary world is continually changing (through technological advancements). Thus, such a leader would examine a particular organization to identify what structure it has, and how the employees are managed. In addition, he or she would study the outside environment to identify factors that influence the company. Finally, the leader would choose a specific approach that would be suitable for the case. In addition, he or she would utilize flexibility to adapt to changes in the internal or external environment of an organization.

McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 4(5), 117-130.

Nahavandi, A. (2015). The art and science of leadership (7th ed.). New Jersey, NY: Pearson.

Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., & Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential skills. Harvard Business Review. Web.

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Emerging Leadership Theories Essay

Introduction.

Leadership is a process whereby a person influences other persons in order to accomplish given objectives and give directions to an organization in a manner that is appealing and coherent with all. Leadership has a specific driving force that is aimed at achieving a common goal at the end of all undertakings of an organization.

In achieving a common goal, leaders make use of process leadership which is applicable to their knowledge and skills, and trait leadership, which influences actions that we take in life. Moreover, leadership has several theories that tend to elaborate much on what leadership entails. The main theories include servant, authentic, ethical and felt leadership theories, among others (Northouse, 2007).

Servant leadership and its characteristics

Servant leadership is a leadership style that puts emphasis on service provision by a leader. In addition, servant leadership is culminated from the desire to serve rather than to lead. In practicing servant leadership, a leader considers the need to serve in the first place, then the aspiration to lead follows. Servant leadership takes care of making sure that the needs of the people are the first and highest priority to any other priority.

Characteristics of servant leadership include listening to others. In order for a servant leader to help his people in identifying and clarifying their will, it is important that he/she listens to them receptively. Another characteristic of a servant leadership is exercising empathy whereby a servant leader strives to get to know people and empathize with them.

The next characteristic is awareness, thus, the leader should be aware of his/her general environment with special concern to self-awareness. Servant leadership also takes into account commitment to growth of others. Lastly, servant leadership emphasizes the concern of building a community and stewardship (Greenleaf, 2008).

Greenleaf’s perspective on servant leadership

According to Greenleaf, practicing servant leadership is applicable to two fronts, one of them is a natural feeling to serve others as a first priority, and then the conscious choice that brings the aspiration to lead. Moreover, he explains that the principal tenet of a leader in the servant leadership is to serve his followers.

In all this duty of serving others, the leader’s key role is to develop and support team members in achieving their potential to deliver their best. In addition, he considers servant leaders as humble stewards in developing their organization’s capabilities and resources (Greenleaf, 1977).

Authentic, ethical, and felt leadership theories

The other forms of leadership theories are authentic, ethical and felt leadership. Authentic leadership is a leadership style with a clear expression in which leaders strive to be true to themselves and are motivated by a larger purpose and ego. On the other hand, ethical leadership involves leading others with respect to their rights and dignities.

Ethical leadership revolves around leaders showing good character and having the right values. Felt leadership is a type of leadership that takes first interest in establishing the safety of people since it plays an integral part in the existence of an organization. In felt leadership, employees are aware of the effects that self-accountability has on their physical well-being (Nayab, 2010).

Intersection amongst these leadership theories

The main point where all these leadership theories intersect is that all the leadership styles have a genuine desire to serve others. The leaders tend to have pleasure in people’s empowerment and put organizational values in the first place. In addition, in all the leadership styles, leaders tend to lead from personal conviction at the expense of reward or status. Lastly, these leadership theories share the same similarity in that they pay much attention to developing people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses (Nayab, 2010).

Differences in perspective amongst the leadership theories

While all the leadership theories share most of the similarities, they are different in their approaches and styles of leadership. In a servant leadership, the leader tries to be right and serve to lead others. It is a form of normative style of leadership where the leaders are supposed to follow a set of laid characteristics.

On the other hand, authentic leaders strive to be real through influences of character rather than emulating set of characteristics. In ethical leadership, leaders tend to be people-oriented and employ the use of social power in serving the greater good of the people. Lastly, felt leadership focuses on establishing a safety culture, which is a core value before any other action is being taken (Northouse, 2007).

Inferences from the relationships amongst these leadership styles

The inferences that one can deduce from the relationships among these leadership styles are that in all the leadership styles the leaders have a genuine desire to help people. This is possible through serving, strengthening, and empowering people. Another inference is that all the leadership styles do not compromise on principles but are rather guided by values and qualities of compassion.

One attribute of servant leadership and its application

One attribute of servant leadership is conceptualization. This is the leader’s ability to think beyond day-to-day realities. An example of an organization where this attribute is applicable is a marketing organization. Its application is in terms of acquiring a good market niche; the organization needs to be at per with all daily occurrences. The impact of conceptualization on the marketing organization is that it enables the organization to have a wider scope of what the market requires (Greenleaf, 2008).

Servant leadership and theories of philosophy

Religions consider religious leaders to be people whose duties are to serve members of their religion. This fact is attributable to the context in the Bible where Jesus urges people to be messengers of the greater religion. In line with this, Jesus meant that his followers should be servants to the people that they lead.

On the other hand, philosophers view servant leadership as a value based on principle centered leadership. In addition, they view that a leader who has influence on values, manages by these values and visions and thus enhances economic performance through servant leadership. These approaches were vital in historical time when leaders faced scrutiny on their morals and values (Greenleaf, 2008).

Benefits and the limitations of existing theories of leadership

The benefits that are attributable to these leadership theories include improved performance and better decision making since there is a diversity of opinions. Other benefit is a customers’ satisfaction due to increased creativity in thoughts. There is an increased effectiveness as leaders shun old ways and self-confidence amongst the employees, as they feel engaged and feel free to share opinions.

On the other hand, limitation of these leadership styles is that leaders are humans hence cannot be given unrealistic expectations. Another limitation is the notion that leaders can do everything, thus making it a challenge on leaders to deliver to the expectations (Northouse, 2007).

In conclusion, it is worth noting that leadership theories are best applicable to management since they give a leeway of how to give the best output. In order for one to be a good leader, there are certain things he/she must know about people and organization that they are to lead. Good leaders engage themselves in continuous work and study in order to improve their skills.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.

Greenleaf, R. K. (2008). Center for Servant Leadership: What is Servant Leadership? . Web.

Nayab, N. (2010). Servant Leadership vs. Authentic Leadership: What are the Differences? Brighthub. Web.

Northouse, G. (2007). Leadership theory and practice. New Delhe, London: Sage Publications, Inc.

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• Servant Leadership or How Leaders Can Serve
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• Servant Leadership Characteristic Evaluation: Conceptualization
• Servant Leadership in School Administration
• Servitude in Servant Leadership and The Scriptures
• Authentic Leadership and Psychological Ownership
• Servant vs. Authentic Leadership Styles
• Servant Leadership and Effectiveness
• The Main Characteristics of Servant Leadership
• Servant Leadership: The Key Aspects
• Concepts and Styles of the Leadership
• Leadership Models and Theories: Management Process in Organization
• Situational Leadership Style
• Leadership Competency Model
• Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice

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• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1681-4706 Sihame Benmira 1 ,
• Moyosolu Agboola 2
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• Correspondence to Dr Sihame Benmira, Mayo Clinic Healthcare, London W1B 1PT, UK; sihame.benmira{at}doctors.org.uk

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Introduction

Leadership is one of the most complex and multidimensional phenomena. It has been studied extensively over the years and has taken on greater importance than ever before in today’s fast-paced and increasingly globalised world. Nonetheless, leadership continues to generate captivating and confusing debate due to the complexity of the subject. Bennis notes that ‘leadership is the most studied and least understood topic of any in the social sciences’ and ‘never have so many laboured so long to say so little’. 1

Effective leadership is recognised as key to the success of any organisation. In fact, there has been a shift towards acknowledging the importance of human capital and organisational management. 5 6 But what is the difference between leadership and management? Leaders are generally viewed as visionaries and strategist whereas managers monitor and control performance, maintaining order and stability in an organisation. 7 8 Some researchers argue that leaders and managers have distinct roles and responsibilities while others assert that leadership and management are complementary and it would be difficult to separate them in practice. 7

The present paper traces the historical evolution of the main leadership theories and reviews the progress that has been made over the years. It explores four main eras in leadership theory: trait, behavioural, situational and new leadership.

Trait era: Great Man theory (1840s) and trait theories (1930s–1940s)

In the 19th century, research on leadership was focused on the innate characteristics of a leader 9 10 and on identifying the personality traits and other qualities of effective leaders. 11

The core belief of the Great Man theory is that leaders are born, not made or trained. In other words only a few, very rare, individuals possess the unique characteristics to be effective leaders and attain greatness by divine design. Examples were often drawn from popular historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon Bonaparte. It was believed that these individuals were natural born leaders with innate characteristics of leadership, which enabled them to lead individuals while they shape the pages of history.

The Great Man theory then evolved into the trait theories. Trait theories argue that leaders can be born or made. 7 In other words, that the traits of successful leaders can be either inherited or acquired through training and practice. The aim was to identify the right combination of characteristics that make an effective leader and focus was on studying the mental, social and physical traits of leaders. However, a consistent set of traits was not produced and by 1950, it appeared that there was little advantage in continuing with this approach and hence it was abandoned. Today, psychometric tools are an example of trait theory principles in action and are often used in staff recruitment. These tools highlight key personality traits and are used for personal performance and team development.

Behavioural era: behavioural theory (1940s–1950s)

Behavioural theory evolved from trait theories and asserts that leaders are largely made, rather than born and that particular behaviours can be learnt to ensure effective leadership. 11 12 It puts emphasis on the actual behaviour of the leader and not on their traits or characteristics, but it largely ignores the situation and environment of the leader.

Research in this area resulted in different patterns of behaviour being grouped together and labelled as styles. 11 This became a prevalent approach within management training—perhaps the best known being Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid. 13 Today, this theory is exemplified in the numerous leadership-training programmes, which involve the development of leadership skills and behaviours, thus supporting the belief that leadership is largely learnt.

Situational era: contingent and situational theories (1960s)

It was later recognised that the environment plays a significant role in the leader-follower dynamic and this belief dominated the situational era. 14 As the name suggests, the situational era is focused on leadership in particular situations, rather than on the traits or behaviours of leaders. This implies that leaders must be able to assess the context in which they operate and then decide what style will ‘fit’ the situation best. Because the best style is dependent on the situation, this approach is known as the contingency theory of leadership.

Fred Fiedler developed one of the first contingency theories of leadership. 15 His theory focuses on the importance of context in effective leadership and supports the belief that there is no one best set of leadership traits or behaviours. However, Fiedler asserst that because a leader’s style is fixed, they should be put into situations that best match their style. In other words, effectiveness as a leader is determined by how well their leadership style matches a particular context.

New leadership era: transactional, transformational theories (1990s) and others (2000s)

For the first time, it was recognised that focusing on one aspect or dimension of leadership cannot address all the complexity of the phenomenon. 16 In a world that has become more complex and challenging, a need emerged for leadership theories that support circumstances of rapid change, disruptive technological innovation and increasing globalisation. This led to the new leadership era, moving away from the above-mentioned traditional theories of leadership, which define leadership as a unidirectional, top-down influencing process, drawing a distinct line between leaders and followers. Instead, the focus became on the complex interactions among the leader, the followers, the situation and the system as a whole, with particular attention dedicated to the latent leadership capacities of followers.

Transactional and transformational theories

The above-mentioned context encouraged the popularity and adoption of two leadership theories: transformational and transactional theories, 17 and also gave rise to approaches such as the Lean strategy 18 and agile methodology 19 to help deal with the fast pace of change and increasing complexity of the challenges faced. Transformational leadership is a theory in which leaders encourage, inspire and motivate followers. 20 This theory is used when an organisation needs to be revitalised, is undergoing significant change or requires a new direction. It is especially vital to today’s fast-paced technological industry where innovation and agility can make or break an organisation. Examples of transformational leaders include the likes of Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Transactional leadership, on the other hand, relies on authority to motivate employees. 20 The leader exchanges reward for follower effort and punishes any follower who fails to meet their goals. In this context, the follower’s perception concerning fairness and equity of the exchange with the leader is vital. 21 Transactional leadership works best in mature organisations that already have clearly defined structure and goals, to keep them on track, and reinforce the status quo. Examples of transactional leaders include managers, who tend to focus on supervision, processes and follower performance.

The continued shift in leadership concepts led to the development of shared, collective and collaborative leadership practices. 22 23 According to these, success in an organisation is more dependent on coordinative leadership practices distributed throughout the organisation rather than the actions of a few individuals at the top. Servant leadership became popular once again, emphasising the importance of followers. Servant leaders seek to support their team members and are most concerned with serving people first. 24 More recently, inclusive leadership also emerged, focusing on a person-centred approach. 25 It is based on the dynamic processes that occur between leaders and followers and focuses on empowering followers to becoming leaders. Finally, contemporary leadership theory also includes complexity leadership, which emerged as a means to deal with the complexity of our modern world. This theory takes a whole-system view, considering contextual interactions that occur across an entire social system. 26

Leadership theory is a dynamic phenomenon and continues to change over time. It has been studied extensively over the years and several theories have emerged ( table 1 ). Traditional leadership theories include the Great Man theory, which maintains that leaders are born to lead thus possessing certain inherent characteristics that destines them to lead. Trait theory evolved from the Great Man theory and specifies that leaders are can be born or made and that the combination of certain characteristics is needed to be an effective leader. Behavioural theory then followed, asserting that leaders are largely made with a focus on the actions of the leader as opposed to their personality traits. There was then recognition that certain environmental factors are important and contingency and situational theories were added to the mix. The modern era followed and involved a shift from focusing on the leaders and their attributes to considering the complex and continuous interactions and interrelationships among the leader, the followers and the situation. The resulting theories include shared, collective and collaborative leadership as well as inclusive leadership. Finally, complexity leadership also emerged, focusing on the whole system of an organisation.

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Summary of the main leadership theories

Examining the historical development of leadership theories provides some necessary perspective as well as context within which to appreciate the complexity of the subject. Each theory has its merits and drawbacks and seems to provide part of the answer to the leadership puzzle. In today’s complex, dynamic and globalised world, organisations are consistently dealing with change and uncertainty and no one theory has been able to address all the concerns regarding leadership. Many consider the traditional hierarchical views of leadership as less and less relevant given the complexity of our modern world. This led to a shift in focus from the characteristics and behaviours of leaders to a more systemic perspective, focusing on leadership as a collective social process resulting from the interactions of multiple factors. New leadership theories were consequently formulated in an attempt to deal with the new reality of organisations and business, resulting in newer and more relevant definitions of leader, follower and situation.

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The present paper explores the historical evolution of leadership theory, which includes four main eras: trait, behavioural, situational and new leadership. The focus was initially on natural born leaders and identifying the traits of the effective leader. Behavioural leadership then followed and focused on the actions of a leader. The situational and contingent theories in turn assert that the best leadership style is the one that best fits a given context. These traditional leadership theories offered part of the answer to the leadership puzzle but none had all the answer. These were then followed by the new leadership theories, which are inclusive of additional factors, generally adopt a more systemic approach to leadership and take into account the multifaceted and complex nature of our modern world and the importance of followership in effective leadership.

In practice

Hospital trusts in the UK are large, complex, and mature organisations within the National Health Service (NHS) with established structures and processes. Traditional leadership theory tells us that transactional leadership is ideal in this situation for keeping an established organisation on track, maintaining the status quo and ensuring the execution of plans. Transactional leadership is also known to be effective in guiding efficiency decisions, which are aimed at cutting costs and improving productivity. However, because the NHS is not only a mature organisation but also undergoing tremendous change, leaders may switch styles and adopt a transformational leadership approach to engage followers in implementing change and encouraging innovation.

Healthcare organisations may also benefit from the application of other more contemporary leadership theories such as collaborative, inclusive and shared leadership, which blur the distinction between leader and follower and adopt a person-centred approach that focuses on the empowerment and development of followers. Compassionate leadership is also relevant in the context of patient care. And complexity leadership theory can also help the NHS understand how to thrive in today’s uncertain and turbulent times using a process-orientated, contextual and interactive approach to infiltrate leadership at all levels. The challenge is for healthcare professionals to be able to recognise which leadership theory is most relevant to their clinical practice and know how to effectively apply these theories in the workplace.

• Stogdill RM
• Froiland JM
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Contributors SB conceived the idea for the article. SB and MA contributed to the design and wrote the article. SB submitted the article. Both SB and MA contributed to revising the article following reviewer feedback.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

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