(EXTRACTION
FROM LEADERSHIP SKILLS at http://www.mindtools.com)
CORE
LEADERSHIP THEORIES
There
is no "magic combination" of characteristics that makes a leader
successful, and different characteristics matter in different circumstances.
THE FOUR CORE THEORY GROUPS
|
|
Trait Theories
(What Type of Person Makes a Good Leader?)
|
Trait theories argue that effective leaders share
a number of common personality characteristics, or "traits."
·
The theories help us identify traits and
qualities (for example, integrity, empathy, assertiveness, good
decision-making skills, and likability) that are helpful when leading others.
·
Traits are external behaviours that emerge from
the things going on within our minds – and it's these internal beliefs and
processes that are important for effective leadership.
|
Behavioral Theories (What
Does a Good Leader Do?)
|
Behavioural
theories focus on how leaders behave.
In
the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader's behaviour. He
argued that there are three types of leaders:
·
Autocratic leaders make
decisions without consulting their teams.
o
appropriate when decisions need to be made
quickly,
o
when there's no need for input, and
o
when team agreement isn't necessary for a
successful outcome.
o
Helps manage your priorities, time, and resources
to get there.
·
Democratic leaders allow the
team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input
can vary from leader to leader.
o
This style is important when team agreement
matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different
perspectives and ideas.
·
Laissez-faire leaders don't
interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions.
o
This works well when the team is highly capable,
is motivated, and doesn't need close supervision.
o
This behaviour can arise because the leader is
lazy or distracted.
How
leaders behave affects their performance.
The best leaders are those who can use many different behavioural
styles, and choose the right style for each situation.
|
Contingency Theories
(How Does the Situation Influence
Good Leadership?)
|
These
theories try to predict which style is best in which circumstance realizing
that there is no one correct type of leader.
|
Power and Influence Theories
(What is the Source of the Leader's Power?)
|
Power
and influence theories of leadership are based on the different ways that
leaders use power and influence to get things done.
·
The most well-known of these theories is French and Raven's Five Forms of Power.
o
three types of positional power – legitimate, reward, and coercive
o
and two sources of personal power – expert and referent (your personal appeal and
charm)
o
work on building expert power (the power that comes with being a real expert in
the job) because this is the most legitimate source of personal power.
·
Another leadership style is transactional
leadership.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment