StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Leadership Theories - Article Example

Cite this document
Summary
Factors influencing leaders include task structure, position power, and leader-member relations. Leadership consultants Kenneth H…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.2% of users find it useful
Leadership Theories
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Leadership Theories"

Leadership Theories Situational leadership implies that leadership depends on a range of situational factors including employee motivation and leadership styles. Factors influencing leaders include task structure, position power, and leader-member relations. Leadership consultants Kenneth H. Blanchard and Paul Hersey suggest four styles of leadership depending upon the characteristics of employees (Basu, 2014). These styles include directing leadership style that suits unmotivated and unskilled employees, coaching leadership style for unskilled but motivated employees, supporting leadership style for employees that are unmotivated but skilled, and observing leadership style for employees that are skilled as well as motivated.

Wharton Professor Robert House developed the path-goal theory of leadership (Basu, 2014). According to this leadership theory, leadership style impacts employees’ performance and job satisfaction. Successful leaders establish goals and lay out clear path in front of employees so that they may be able to achieve their goals. Leaders also play a role in clearing obstacles and providing employees with incentives for milestone achievement. Leaders should support employees to improve their confidence, instruct them on ambiguous tasks, and demand from them when they look unmotivated.

This requires constant and frequent interaction between the leader and followers so that employees may be included in the decision-making process also. The fundamental concept on which the path-goal theory is based is the way rewards are used by the leaders to motivate the workforce. It is the situation that depicts the type of rewards which would suit.The situational model of leadership is more elaborative in offering suggestions regarding the ways in which leaders should change their style as per the demands of the different situations.

In order to be effective as leaders, leaders should first prioritize their tasks, then they should evaluate the motivation and skill of employees, and then the leaders should decide which style of leadership to adopt on the basis of the information collected in the first two steps. Leaders might also need to use different styles in combination to deal with the different organizational personnel. On the other hand, the path-goal theory suggests leaders to identify the skills of employees before assigning them responsibilities, and convince them that they are capable enough to perform the assigned tasks successfully.

Successful employees should be rewarded for their good performance. There are several common elements between the two theories. Both situational leadership theory and path-goal theory of leadership incorporate three major leadership focuses, including the leader, the situation, and the follower (PennState, 2014). The situation is of huge significance in both theories of leadership. The leader plays a variety of roles considering the needs of the followers. Leaders’ behaviors in the path-goal theory are adaptable.

Overall, the situational leadership model is more effective and results-oriented because in this model, the leader changes his/her style as per the individualistic requirements of the followers. There are some workers who just need instructions, there are others who also need constant guidance, and there are yet others who are too creative and intelligent to need any guidance. All a leader needs to do is understand which employees fall in which category and then address their needs accordingly.

References:Basu, C. (2014). Difference Between Situational Leadership & Path Leadership Theories. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-situational-leadership-path-leadership-theories-33446.html. PennState. (2014). The Path-Goal Theory and Leadership Behaviors. Retrieved from http://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2013/02/14/the-path-goal-theory-and-leadership-behaviors/.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Leadership Theories Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Leadership Theories Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/business/1634119-leadership-theories
(Leadership Theories Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Leadership Theories Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/business/1634119-leadership-theories.
“Leadership Theories Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/business/1634119-leadership-theories.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Leadership Theories

The Major Leadership Theories - Their Pluses and Minuses

The paper provides an overview of leadership and describes the theories, their pluses, and minuses.... There are a lot of theories created in order to explain the peculiarities of each leadership style.... leadership is one of the topics, which are being widely discussed in the modern scientific literature.... hellip; The modern organizational environment is characterized by significant changes in the comprehension of leadership....
9 Pages (2250 words) Literature review

Emerging leadership theories

Servant leadership is the soul of an organization.... Conscious is the basis for the leadership style and that conscious often leads to the understanding that we all have an inward sense of what is right and wrong, it is often the question of whether that voice is heard.... hellip; Leaders who understand the Servant style are more concerned with the need for leadership and the needs of their employees rather than their own ego.... This paper will discuss Servant leadership in comparison to other leadership style. Organizations are changing so rapidly in this day and age that one can barely go to work and not expect some change....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Leadership theories in a changing context

Everyone has a different style of leadership and different skills they have develop which enables them to be a leader.... For my line of work, the way in… Listening is also an integral part of my work in that I have to listen to my colleagues for critique and advice in order to be a more effective leader Dorfman's statement, ‘If we think of leadership research as flowing as a stream, it flows in a meandering, intertwining and constantly shifting manner', creates the perfect example of how leadership works and in particular the hybrid nature of leadership styles which borrow from each other....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Leadership Theories, Approaches, and Models

There are many types of leadership approaches my leadership revolves mostly around; situational leadership, action centered leadership and the transformational leadership.... I am team leader in a residential home of people with a learning disability, at my work place I employ the… This paper focuses on my leadership styles and how I deploy various types of leadership approaches and why the approaches are crucial in such situations. Situational A principled leader should have the ability to change their leadership style as conditions change....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Leadership Theories, Methods, and Tools

Reward power involves the ability of organization to influence workers to improve performance by use of rewards or incentives.... The rewards may include incentives like promotion, salary increase, bonuses and… According to the scenario, employee 1 has worked for corporation A for 12 years and during those years the company has been issuing large bonuses for employees who This requires that an employee has to work hard in the organization and create more hours especially in the evening or during weekends to improve his work rating and increase the chance of earning bonuses....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Leadership Theories and Areas of their Application

The paper "Leadership Theories and Areas of their Application" focuses on the critical analysis of the major Leadership Theories and areas of their application.... The situational life cycle leadership approach is the most important in the field of social work.... hellip; The concept of the Situational life cycle leadership approach was first introduced by Blanchard & Hersey in 1996, as the 'life cycle theory of leadership'....
10 Pages (2500 words) Research Paper

My Reflections on Leadership Theories and My Leadership Development

The author of "My Reflections on Leadership Theories and My Leadership Development" paper realizes that in order to be a transformational leader, he/she will have to examine his/her own inner values systems and have enough self-confidence and self-awareness to inspire others.... Therefore good leadership calls for the ability to anticipate, coupled with visionary leadership geared towards imparting a competitive advantage to an organization.... nbsp; Bacal (2000) points out that it is during a time of implementation of change that the levels of uncertainty are highest and that is the time when effective leadership is all the more important....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

X-Y-Z Leadership Theories to Manage People Effectively

This research paper examines popular theories of organizational leadership.... Douglas McGregor invented theories X, Y - two contrasting sets of leadership beliefs to manage people effectively.... Theory X assumes that employees are unmotivated and dislike working, making organizational leadership to intervene through an authoritarian style of management.... Secondly, the theory assumes that organizational leadership must direct employee's efforts, motivate, control their actions, and modify their behaviors in order to go along with the goals of the company....
11 Pages (2750 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us