Originally referred to as the “vertical dyad linkage theory,” Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) has been the subject of much research (and an upgraded name). LMX focuses on the interactions between leaders and an individual follower. The leaders relationship to the follower unit as a whole is viewed a series of these individual relationships. These relationships are [...]
Path-goal theory is half leadership, half motivational theory. It was developed to explain how leaders motivate their followers toward a determined end. It is derived from expectancy theory, which argued that employees will be motivated if they believe that a) putting in more effort will yield better job performance b) better job performance will lead [...]
If you haven’t noticed it yet, most leadership theories build on the previous one. In the same manner, situational leadership theory builds upon contingency theory. Where contingency theory asserts that certain leaders work best in certain environments because of their leadership style, situational leadership theory argues that any leader can work best in any environment [...]
Maybe leadership isn’t about who you are, what skills you have or how you act. Maybe what defines effective leadership is about more than just you. This inquisitive contemplation brought forth the idea of Contingency theory, and moved the field of leadership theory forward by another drastic step.
Developed by Fielder, Contingency theory examines the leader [...]
Style theory differs drastically from trait or skill theories. Instead of focusing on who leaders are, style theories considers what leaders do. At the core of all style theories is the idea that leaders engage in two distinct types of behavior: task behaviors and relationship behaviors. How leaders combine these two behaviors determines their leadership [...]
The skills theory grew from the obvious flaw in the trait approach; traits are relatively fixed. This meant that trait theory was not particularly useful for developing new leaders who lack those traits. Skills theorists sought to discover the skills and abilities that made leaders effective. Similar to trait theory, skills theories are leader-centric, focused [...]
The search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has existed for centuries. History’s greatest philosophical writings from Plato’s Republic to Plutarch’s Lives have explored the question of “What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?” Underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted [...]
Two Actually: useful lies.
All theories are useful lies. Theories are attempts to simplify what is happening in a set of observations. They are attempts to describe reality that typically fall short (otherwise they wouldn’t be so simple). Consider the opposing theories of the earth’s shape: flat or round. At first, mankind thought the earth of [...]
During WWII, Allied bomber losses were high, so high that the British Air Ministry undertook a rigorous analysis in hopes of finding a solution. Their engineers set out to eyeball every bomber they could, gathering data on each bullet hole. After analyzing the results, engineers decided to reinforce the areas that had the highest concentrations [...]
Airport bookstores are crowded with books on leadership, and each one seems to promote a “leadership lack.” They’ll each begin with phrases like “The most pressing issue in organizations is that leaders lack integrity…or empathy…or strategy…or even humor. These books continue by laying out the authors’ simple framework for developing the perfect leader. On and [...]
About
David Burkus is the editor of LeaderLab, a community of resources dedicated to promoting the practice of leadership theory. He is an executive coach, a sought-after speaker and an adjunct professor at Oral Roberts University’s School of Business.