10 Major Leadership Theories Every Manager Should Master in 2023

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What is a Leadership Theory?

A leadership theory describes how and why certain individuals become leaders. The focus is on the characteristics and behaviors that people can adopt to enhance their leadership ability. According to leaders, strong ethics and high moral standards are?essential qualities of a good leader .

10 Major Leadership Theories You Need to Know About

1. The Transactional Theory or Management Theory

Well during Industrial Revolution, this transactional theory was developed to boost company?productivity. ?It is a leadership approach that emphasizes the value of hierarchy for enhancing organizational effectiveness. These managers place high importance on structure and utilize their authority to enforce rules to inspire staff to perform at their best. In accordance with this philosophy, workers are rewarded for achieving their given objectives. The concept also presupposes that workers must comply with managerial directives.

Managers who practice transactional leadership keep an eye on their staff, making sure they are rewarded for reaching milestones and disciplined when they fall short. These executives, however, do not serve as a trigger for a company's expansion. Instead, they concentrate on upholding the organization's policies and standards to ensure that everything goes as planned.

2. Theory of Transformation

The relationship between leaders and staff can help the organization, according to the?transformational theory ?of management. This leadership theory contends that effective leaders inspire workers to go above and beyond what they are capable of. Leaders develop a vision for their team members and motivate them to realize it.

Employee morale is raised and inspired by transformational leaders, which helps them perform better at work. These managers encourage staff members by their deeds rather than their words because they specialize in setting an example.

3. The Theory of Contingencies

According to the contingency hypothesis, there is no one right way to run an organization. Determining the optimal strategy for leading an organization to achieve depends on both internal and external considerations. The right candidate should fit the correct scenario, according to the contingency theory.

4. The Theory of Situations

Similar to the contingency theory, this idea emphasizes the significance of context and holds that a leader should adjust to the shifting context to achieve objectives and make judgments. The level of competence and dedication of the team members can influence how these leaders choose to lead.

5. The Great Man Theory

One of the first theories on leadership makes the assumption that these qualities are inherent, which indicates that leaders are born, not created, and cannot be learned. This hypothesis asserts that a leader has certain innate human characteristics.

In addition, the idea holds that these leadership qualities are constant over time and apply to all organizations, regardless of the setting in which these leaders are employed. The idea that exceptional leaders emerge when they are required is another tenet of this leadership ideology.

Bottom Line

As you can see, leadership theories are based on different ways of thinking. Some focus on traits and qualities, while some touch upon the importance of situational aspects that influence how leaders behave. Like many other behavioral concepts, leadership is highly multi-dimensional, and there are numerous factors that go into filling the shoes of a leader. Because the human side of the business is one of the most — if not the most — important elements that determine the success and failure of an organization, leadership will always remain the most prized skill in the business world.?

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Thanks,

Robert