Four Core Leadership Theory

The Four Core Leadership Theory Groups

Why are some leaders successful, while others fail? The truth is that there is no "magic combination" of characteristics that makes a leader successful, and different characteristics matter in different circumstances. This doesn 't mean, however, that you can 't learn to be an effective leader. You just need to understand the various approaches to leadership, so that you can use the right approach for your own situation. One way of doing this is to learn about the core leadership theories that provide the backbone of our current understanding of leadership.

Let 's look at each of the four core groups of theory, and explore some of the tools and models that apply with each. (Keep in mind that there are

However, none of these traits, nor any specific combination of them, will guarantee success as a leader.

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.

2. Behavioural Theories – What Does a Good Leader Do?

Behavioural theories focus on how leaders behave. For instance, do leaders dictate what needs to be done and expect cooperation? Or do they involve their teams in decision-making to encourage acceptance and support?

In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader 's behaviour. He argued that there are three types of leaders:

1. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This style of leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there 's no need for input, and when team agreement isn 't necessary for a successful outcome.

2. Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives

Popular contingency-based models include House 's Path-Goal Theory and Fiedler 's Contingency Model.

4. Power and Influence Theories – What is the Source of the Leader 's Power?

Power and influence theories of leadership take an entirely different approach – these are based on the different ways that leaders use power and influence to get things done, and they look at the leadership styles that emerge as a result.

Perhaps the best-known of these theories is French and Raven 's Five Forms of Power. This model highlights three types of positional power – legitimate, reward, and coercive – and two sources of personal power – expert and referent (your personal appeal and charm). The model suggests that using personal power is the better alternative, and that you should 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 that uses power and influence is transactional leadership. This approach assumes that people do things for reward and for no other reason. Therefore, it focuses on designing tasks and reward structures. While this may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships and developing a