The term leadership is mostly confused with “power,” but that is not the case, though both terms are related. Leadership is defined as the capability of an individuals or groups of individuals to guide, influence, and direct a group or multitudes of people. Individuals who portray this skill or character are referred to as leaders. Self-confidence, creativity, and innovativeness in thinking, possession of excellent management expertise and the ability to communicate effectively, as well as good response to disasters, are some of the characteristics associated with good leaders. The act of leadership entails decision making, establishing a clear vision, setting goals and objectives, and equipping the followers with the necessary tools and knowledge so as to succeed in meeting the target. Diverse cultures have different beliefs about aspects that define a leader. However, there are some theories from leadership studies that describe leaders based on traits, behaviour, situational interaction, IQ, and power, among others (Avolio, Fred and Todd 422). This paper will enumerate the most common theories on leadership and relate one of the theories with some of the world’s renowned leaders.
Great Man Theory
The Great Man Theory implies that leaders are those who are destined to be from birth and that leaders are not made. This theory was derived from a study that was done on people who were great leaders already. Also, this approach instills in people the idea that great men arise when there is a needy situation, and that he or she is best suited to handle. Individuals such as Churchill and Eisenhower make this theory to be believable. Also, Jesus and Moses who were of the ancient times can verify this theory (Avolio, Fred and Todd 428).
Trait Theory
This theory assumes that individuals who are leaders are made so because they were born with certain traits that are best suited to leadership. These traits, as the theory insinuates, could be acquired through inheritance and could be made as well. Examples of attributes and skills found in leaders that verify this theory include; self-confidence, assertiveness, cooperation, adaptability to situations, being clever, creativity, persuasiveness, and fluency in speaking, among many others (Avolio, Fred and Todd 435). The understanding of the Trait Theory is enabled through the analysis of mental, physical and social characteristics of individuals who are leaders.
Behavioral Theories
The behavioral theories suggest that leaders are made, and not born, contrary to the above two discussed theories. These theories base their argument on being a leader, by looking into behaviors that leaders portray rather than considering the inherent traits that leaders possess. According to (Avolio, Fred and Todd 438), behavioral theories on leadership make us believe that one can learn how to be a leader, a successful one for this matter if they are taught or coached. After that, it becomes easy to adopt the traits that are related to leadership. In behavioral theories, leaders were either categorized as those that had concern for people, or those that concentrated on tasks. Other theories associated with behavior include the managerial grid model/ leadership grid, and Role theory.
Contingency Theories
The contingency leadership theory forms the notion that there is no set or preferred style of leading and that the situational factor determines the ability of an individual to become a leader. This means that performance of different individuals, in the perspective of leadership, can be best in some places and poor when allocated at various areas that they are not comfortable with. This theory is similar to the trait theory in a way, because of the situational factor whereby leaders exercise their leadership roles (Carroll, Lester and David 369).
Transactional Leadership Theories
Transactional leadership theories assume that there exists a mutual relationship between leaders and their subordinates or followers. These theories are also known as exchange theories. They involve the leaders rewarding and punishing for the performance of a given task, as a way of motivating their followers. For instance, transactional leaders expect good performance after allocating work to a subordinate. The subordinate is, therefore, entirely responsible for meeting the expectations of his or her leader regardless of whether the resources of doing the work are available or not. If the subordinate fails, he or she is punished, but if successful, he or she is rewarded. This type of leadership is embraced by many managers in organizations (Hawkins 39).
Transformational Leadership
Transformational style of leadership is seen when leaders inspire their subordinates who bring about motivation, making organizations to achieve their goals remarkably. Researchers have found out that this type of leadership is usually very efficient compared to other forms of leadership, and that companies that practice it have shown high levels of performance and have come out very satisfied. The natures of being inspirational, influential, as well as the charisma of these leaders, make people want to identify with them quickly since they act as the role models to their followers (Carroll, Lester and David 365). It, therefore, becomes comfortable with all levels of management, for employees to develop trust and respect for their leader, which are a crucial aspect that helps people to emulate and internalize the visionary ideals of their leaders and work hard towards achieving them. Also, this type of leadership ensures that people interact with others to build a relationship with high trust percentage, which later increases the motivation, in both leaders and subordinates.
Transformational leaders according to transformational leadership theory usually have visions and passion for achieving great things and are always energetic and enthusiastic as well. If transformational leaders do not have a supportive team, their mission and visions are doomed to fail as it is impossible for them to work as an individual to meet company’s objectives. Hence, the urge to encourage and energize own followers comes into play. Lastly, transformational leadership is most convenient in environments that seek transformation and can become ineffective in organizations that do not need transforming (Hawkins 39). A transformational leader will likely face challenges when he works in a firm where people are contended with what they have and where they are, and he/ she will not meet self-realization since no change is required.
Examples of World’s Renown Transformational Leaders-Transformational Leadership
Nelson Mandela, also known as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is very famous across the world for his role in fighting for South African freedom and its liberation. He is one of the leaders who are classified as a transformational leader in the transformational leadership theory. As discussed above, transformational leaders, as the name suggests, bring changes along with them. Nelson Mandela made massive changes in South Africa including; opening the first law firm across all Africa in Johannesburg, the introduction of education among the Bantus, and he succeeded in the promotion of the Freedom Charter. Transformational leaders are also inspirational. In the case of Nelson Mandela, preached to people about the importance of ANC and he helped them understand his visions. His speeches that he made across South Africa are also inspiring and convincing as well. They have made the country to be more developed and stable regarding democracy (Muchie 259). Moreover, he was very determined to end colonialism in South Africa, which he finally achieved and became the first black President of that nation.
President Barack Obama’s style of leadership is inarguably transformational. He attracted many Americans as well as foreigners due to his charisma, before the elections which are why most likely he won the elections, despite coming from a community regarded as a minority. During his two terms of presidency, President Barack Obama made considerable changes in both domestic and foreign affairs, which were encompassed in his vision. An example of a significant difference that his governance made was the legalization of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual individuals’ marriages. Moreover, the history of his rise to the presidency has inspired a lot of people across the globe (Gliem, and James 40).
In conclusion, it is clear that the different theories of leadership explain the traits, characters, and behaviors that people who are identified as leaders possess. It is no doubt that people have diverse leadership opinions and leaders have different styles of leadership. Though there are good leaders and bad leaders, leaders can always learn skills and change into becoming good in their leadership styles. It is, however, crucial that leaders understand their subordinates for effective and smooth leadership.
Works Cited
Avolio, Bruce J., Fred O. Walumbwa, and Todd J. Weber. "Leadership: Current theories, research, and future directions." Annual review of psychology 60 (2009): 421-449.
Carroll, Brigid, Lester Levy, and David Richmond. "Leadership as practice: Challenging the competency paradigm." Leadership 4.4 (2008): 363-379.
Gliem, David E., and James A. Janack. "A portrait of a transformational leader: An analysis of text and image on Barack Obama. com." American Communication Journal 10.3 (2008): 33-64.
Hawkins, Cheryl. "Leadership theories-managing practices, challenges, suggestions." The Community College Enterprise15.2 (2009): 39.
Muchie, Mammo, et al. "Let Africa Lead: African Transformational Leadership for the 21st Century Business, Reuel j. Khoza (Ed.): book review." African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 1.2_3 (2009): 258-259.
