Leadership Theories: Universalist and Behaviouralist

Traditional and Modern Theories of Leadership

• Universalist theories of leadership focus on personal qualities shared by great leaders, such as charisma and interpersonal skills.
• The 'Great Person Theory' by Woods (1913) argues that great leaders are born, not made, and that their qualities inspire and lead others.

Behaviouralist Theories

• Behaviouralist theories look at specific behaviours shown by leaders, rather than their personal qualities.
• Stogdill & Coons from Ohio State University identified two distinct categories of leadership behaviours.

Adaptive Leadership

• Adaptive Leadership is the art of mobilising people to tackle tough issues, adapt, and thrive in complex organisations.
• Heifitz et al. (2009) conceptualised adaptive leadership, which involves 6 key principles.
• Adaptive Leadership involves inspiring people to explore their biases and consider different perspectives, as seen in the '12 Angry Men' movie.

The 3 Ps of Leadership

• James Scouller's (2011) 3 Ps of Leadership model includes Public leadership, Private leadership, and Personal leadership.
• Personal leadership involves leadership skills, beliefs, emotions, and subconscious behaviour, and is seen as the most powerful level.

Evaluations: Nature vs. Nurture

• Individual vs. Situational theories have been applied to real-life organisations, producing positive effects.

Leadership Style

• Fiedler's (1967) Theory of Leadership Effectiveness focuses on the interaction between leadership style and situation.
• The Theory proposes that different leadership styles are effective in different situations and organisations.
• The LPC (Least Preferred Co-worker) scale measures leadership effectiveness, with low scores indicating task-orientation and high scores indicating relationship-orientation.

The Situational Theory of Leadership

• Hersey & Blanchard's (1988) Situational Theory of Leadership proposes that there is no single effective leadership style.
• An effective leader must adapt their leadership style to suit the situation and group maturity.
• The theory identifies 4 types of leader behaviour, dependent on the group's maturity level.
• Maturity is the capacity to set high but attainable goals and take responsibility for tasks.