So the question is -- What are the key leadership theories?
The answer to this question could fill a very thick book (and in fact, has – for a good long read, perhaps longer than a Hugo novel, see Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and Research, R.M. Stogdill and Bernard M. Bass (editor). This is truly a great read – seriously – but not at one sitting!
But here goes –
Trait Theory – leaders have certain natural, inborn characteristics that make them effective. This was frequently called the Great Man Theory - only great men could be leaders. Key to most of these viewpoints was the idea that if you did not have the inborn characteristics, you could not learn them. This is the leadership theory that those who are not well-versed in leadership will use in describing leadership.
Style Theory - This theory considers your behavior and how you act and what you do. The most popular of these theories are those that divide leadership into task behaviors and relationship behaviors. Studies at Ohio State suggested that style behaviors were either focused on “initiating structure” or “giving consideration.” Initiating structure relates to how we organize and structure work. Consideration relates to our relationships and the trust friendship with our workers. The famous Blake and Mouton grid presented concern for production and concern for people.
Situational or Contingency Theory – (It is probably not appropriate to lump these two together but I do). : Situational leadership simply states that different situations require different styles of leadership – and that should be a big “duh” to all of us.
In essence, we match the best leader to the appropriate situation, or match a leadership style to a situation. Most articulations of these theories divide activity between being focused on the need for giving directives (task orientation) or giving support (people orientation. The conclusion of them all is -- One specific leadership style is not the best or most effective leader in every situation.
This situational or contingency approach is the one I favor the most. It is also well described in the great article, Leadership That Gets Results by Dan Goleman in the Harvard Business Review, March/April 2000 --
The research (described in the article) found six distinct leadership styles, each springing from different components of emotional intelligence. The styles, taken individually, appear to have a direct and unique impact on the working atmosphere of a company, division, or team, and in turn, on its financial performance. And perhaps most important, the research indicates that leaders with the best results do not rely on only one leadership style; they use most of them in a given week—seamlessly and in different measure—depending on the business situation.
Servant Leadership – Aw, Robert Greenleaf -- people produce their best when their leaders take care of them by meeting their needs in the workplace.
Transformational Leadership – probably too complex to be considered; this grew from James MacGregor Burns and Bass and suggests that transformational leadership motivates followers to do more than expected by raising followers’ levels of consciousness regarding goals, getting followers to transcend their own self-interest, and moving followers to address higher level needs. I am not really sure how it works quite frankly.
Yes, there are many more theories but these are key ones. Consider these as you weave your way around your leadership world the next few months.