Introduction to Leadership Theories 2 / 10

Leaders can think creatively in non-routine situations & influence the actions, beliefs and feelings of others

In this sense being a leader is personal.

It comes from a person's qualities and actions.

However, it is also often linked to some other role such as manager or expert.

Here there can be a lot of confusion. Not all managers, for example, are leaders; and not all leaders are managers.

4 main generations of Leadership theory

It is important to recognize that none of the four ‘generations’ is mutually exclusive or totally time-bound.

  1. Trait theories

  2. Behavioural theories

  3. Contingency theories

  4. Transformational theories

The next few sections we will look at these in more detail..