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Leadership: Theory and Practice

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Adopted at more than 1,000 colleges and universities worldwide, this market-leading text owes its success to the unique way in which it combines an academically robust account of the major theories and models of leadership with an accessible style and practical exercises that help students apply what they learn. Each chapter follows a consistent format, allowing students to contrast the various theories. Case studies in each chapter provide practical examples of the theories discussed.

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Peter G. Northouse for writing an excellent text. Special thanks are also due to Isolde Anderson of Hope College, Lisa Burgoon of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Renee Kosiarek of North Central College for developing the ancillaries on this site.

Leadership: Theory and Practice

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Adopted at more than 1,000 colleges and universities worldwide, the market-leading text owes its success to the unique way in which it combines an academically robust account of the major theories and models of leadership with an accessible style and practical exercises that help students apply what they learn. Each chapter of Peter Northouse's Leadership: Theory and Practice follows a consistent format, allowing students to contrast the various theories, and three case studies in each chapter provide practical examples of each theory or trait discussed. The Sixth Edition adds an important new chapter on Servant Leadership.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Peter G. Northouse for writing an excellent text and for his involvement in reviewing the assets on this site. Special thanks to the following people, who updated and created the resources on this site. Isolde Anderson, Hope College; Andrea Markowitz, Write for Your Business; Lizz Mathews, Western Michigan University; Mary Mathews, Western Michigan University; Rebecca G. McBride, Old Dominion University; Trey Patrick Mitchell, Western Michigan University; Lisa J. Northouse, Western Michigan University, and Anita Pankake, University of Texas–Pan American.

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Transformational University Leadership

ISBN : 978-1-83982-121-9 , eISBN : 978-1-83982-118-9

Publication date: 26 April 2022

Coulson, H.L. , Zou, Y. and Fernandez, F. (2022), "Leadership Theories and Case Study Approach", Transformational University Leadership ( Great Debates in Higher Education ), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-118-920221003

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"[Second Thoughts on Capitalism and the State is a] profoundly reflective book shows a pathway forward for academics and activists alike who are stymied by the disconnect between deep critical scholarship and emancipatory social change, yet who will still not give up the good fight."

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Leadership Theories and Case Studies: An Epidemiological Perspective

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Effective leadership does not occur by chance. Leaders must be trained and groomed for the daunting responsibility of leading organizations. Research shows that half of the people currently in leadership positions will fail. Why they fail and what can be done to prevent failure are the main subjects of this book. It shows that effective leadership is possible and illustrates why and how, based on research and case studies from an epidemiological perspective. The epidemiological word “determinant” is used frequently, and is a word that no other book on leadership uses. Epidemiologists work from two basic principles: namely, that all diseases have determinants and that diseases do not occur randomly. In other words, there are always causes for diseases and patterns that describe how diseases spread. Effective and ineffective leadership always have determinants that are not randomly distributed; the impacts are uniformly and deeply spread throughout an organization. Like the epidemiologists, this book not only identifies leadership determinants, but also provides research-based “antidotes” at the end of each chapter, along with a summary of the most salient points in the chapter. This book offers examples of leadership and governance from the non-profit sector, businesses, public and private education, higher education, and other organizations, highlighting over 50 case studies to illustrate concepts about leadership.

Dr Garry Wade McGiboney has several years of experience in public education, having served in school level, district level, and state level positions. He has a PhD in School Psychology and Administration from Georgia State University, and is a certified psychologist and mediator. He is a member of several professional organizations, and was recently appointed by the Governor of Georgia to serve on the Joint Study Committee on Mental Health Access. He also serves by appointment on the Georgia Supreme Court’s Justice for Children Committee. Dr McGiboney has over 30 publications on several youth-related issues to his credit, and he is the author of seven books, including The Private Side of Public Education, Student Relations and Discipline, Lessons for Leaders and Governing Boards, and The Psychology of School Climate. He has been interviewed by CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC and NPR, and has been quoted in Time, the Wall Street Journal and many other international publications, including Le Devoir, Listin Diario, Japan Press, and Mato Grosso. Dr McGiboney is the recipient of several awards, including NAACP Educator of the Year; the National Association of School Psychologists National Friend of Children Award; School Counselors Advocate of the Year Award; Association of School Nurses Hero Award; and Mental Health America Board Member of the Year Award, among others. Recently, he was inducted into the Georgia Board of Regents Alumni Hall of Fame for his career-long efforts on behalf of children.

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• Volume 5, Issue 1
• Evolution of leadership theory
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• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1681-4706 Sihame Benmira 1 ,
• Moyosolu Agboola 2
• 1 Mayo Clinic Healthcare , London , UK
• 2 Virgin Care , Reading , UK
• Correspondence to Dr Sihame Benmira, Mayo Clinic Healthcare, London W1B 1PT, UK; sihame.benmira{at}doctors.org.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2020-000296

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• medical leadership
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Introduction

Leadership is one of the most complex and multidimensional phenomena. It has been studied extensively over the years and has taken on greater importance than ever before in today’s fast-paced and increasingly globalised world. Nonetheless, leadership continues to generate captivating and confusing debate due to the complexity of the subject. Bennis notes that ‘leadership is the most studied and least understood topic of any in the social sciences’ and ‘never have so many laboured so long to say so little’. 1

Effective leadership is recognised as key to the success of any organisation. In fact, there has been a shift towards acknowledging the importance of human capital and organisational management. 5 6 But what is the difference between leadership and management? Leaders are generally viewed as visionaries and strategist whereas managers monitor and control performance, maintaining order and stability in an organisation. 7 8 Some researchers argue that leaders and managers have distinct roles and responsibilities while others assert that leadership and management are complementary and it would be difficult to separate them in practice. 7

The present paper traces the historical evolution of the main leadership theories and reviews the progress that has been made over the years. It explores four main eras in leadership theory: trait, behavioural, situational and new leadership.

Trait era: Great Man theory (1840s) and trait theories (1930s–1940s)

In the 19th century, research on leadership was focused on the innate characteristics of a leader 9 10 and on identifying the personality traits and other qualities of effective leaders. 11

The core belief of the Great Man theory is that leaders are born, not made or trained. In other words only a few, very rare, individuals possess the unique characteristics to be effective leaders and attain greatness by divine design. Examples were often drawn from popular historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon Bonaparte. It was believed that these individuals were natural born leaders with innate characteristics of leadership, which enabled them to lead individuals while they shape the pages of history.

The Great Man theory then evolved into the trait theories. Trait theories argue that leaders can be born or made. 7 In other words, that the traits of successful leaders can be either inherited or acquired through training and practice. The aim was to identify the right combination of characteristics that make an effective leader and focus was on studying the mental, social and physical traits of leaders. However, a consistent set of traits was not produced and by 1950, it appeared that there was little advantage in continuing with this approach and hence it was abandoned. Today, psychometric tools are an example of trait theory principles in action and are often used in staff recruitment. These tools highlight key personality traits and are used for personal performance and team development.

Behavioural era: behavioural theory (1940s–1950s)

Behavioural theory evolved from trait theories and asserts that leaders are largely made, rather than born and that particular behaviours can be learnt to ensure effective leadership. 11 12 It puts emphasis on the actual behaviour of the leader and not on their traits or characteristics, but it largely ignores the situation and environment of the leader.

Research in this area resulted in different patterns of behaviour being grouped together and labelled as styles. 11 This became a prevalent approach within management training—perhaps the best known being Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid. 13 Today, this theory is exemplified in the numerous leadership-training programmes, which involve the development of leadership skills and behaviours, thus supporting the belief that leadership is largely learnt.

Situational era: contingent and situational theories (1960s)

It was later recognised that the environment plays a significant role in the leader-follower dynamic and this belief dominated the situational era. 14 As the name suggests, the situational era is focused on leadership in particular situations, rather than on the traits or behaviours of leaders. This implies that leaders must be able to assess the context in which they operate and then decide what style will ‘fit’ the situation best. Because the best style is dependent on the situation, this approach is known as the contingency theory of leadership.

Fred Fiedler developed one of the first contingency theories of leadership. 15 His theory focuses on the importance of context in effective leadership and supports the belief that there is no one best set of leadership traits or behaviours. However, Fiedler asserst that because a leader’s style is fixed, they should be put into situations that best match their style. In other words, effectiveness as a leader is determined by how well their leadership style matches a particular context.

New leadership era: transactional, transformational theories (1990s) and others (2000s)

For the first time, it was recognised that focusing on one aspect or dimension of leadership cannot address all the complexity of the phenomenon. 16 In a world that has become more complex and challenging, a need emerged for leadership theories that support circumstances of rapid change, disruptive technological innovation and increasing globalisation. This led to the new leadership era, moving away from the above-mentioned traditional theories of leadership, which define leadership as a unidirectional, top-down influencing process, drawing a distinct line between leaders and followers. Instead, the focus became on the complex interactions among the leader, the followers, the situation and the system as a whole, with particular attention dedicated to the latent leadership capacities of followers.

Transactional and transformational theories

The above-mentioned context encouraged the popularity and adoption of two leadership theories: transformational and transactional theories, 17 and also gave rise to approaches such as the Lean strategy 18 and agile methodology 19 to help deal with the fast pace of change and increasing complexity of the challenges faced. Transformational leadership is a theory in which leaders encourage, inspire and motivate followers. 20 This theory is used when an organisation needs to be revitalised, is undergoing significant change or requires a new direction. It is especially vital to today’s fast-paced technological industry where innovation and agility can make or break an organisation. Examples of transformational leaders include the likes of Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Transactional leadership, on the other hand, relies on authority to motivate employees. 20 The leader exchanges reward for follower effort and punishes any follower who fails to meet their goals. In this context, the follower’s perception concerning fairness and equity of the exchange with the leader is vital. 21 Transactional leadership works best in mature organisations that already have clearly defined structure and goals, to keep them on track, and reinforce the status quo. Examples of transactional leaders include managers, who tend to focus on supervision, processes and follower performance.

The continued shift in leadership concepts led to the development of shared, collective and collaborative leadership practices. 22 23 According to these, success in an organisation is more dependent on coordinative leadership practices distributed throughout the organisation rather than the actions of a few individuals at the top. Servant leadership became popular once again, emphasising the importance of followers. Servant leaders seek to support their team members and are most concerned with serving people first. 24 More recently, inclusive leadership also emerged, focusing on a person-centred approach. 25 It is based on the dynamic processes that occur between leaders and followers and focuses on empowering followers to becoming leaders. Finally, contemporary leadership theory also includes complexity leadership, which emerged as a means to deal with the complexity of our modern world. This theory takes a whole-system view, considering contextual interactions that occur across an entire social system. 26

Leadership theory is a dynamic phenomenon and continues to change over time. It has been studied extensively over the years and several theories have emerged ( table 1 ). Traditional leadership theories include the Great Man theory, which maintains that leaders are born to lead thus possessing certain inherent characteristics that destines them to lead. Trait theory evolved from the Great Man theory and specifies that leaders are can be born or made and that the combination of certain characteristics is needed to be an effective leader. Behavioural theory then followed, asserting that leaders are largely made with a focus on the actions of the leader as opposed to their personality traits. There was then recognition that certain environmental factors are important and contingency and situational theories were added to the mix. The modern era followed and involved a shift from focusing on the leaders and their attributes to considering the complex and continuous interactions and interrelationships among the leader, the followers and the situation. The resulting theories include shared, collective and collaborative leadership as well as inclusive leadership. Finally, complexity leadership also emerged, focusing on the whole system of an organisation.

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Summary of the main leadership theories

Examining the historical development of leadership theories provides some necessary perspective as well as context within which to appreciate the complexity of the subject. Each theory has its merits and drawbacks and seems to provide part of the answer to the leadership puzzle. In today’s complex, dynamic and globalised world, organisations are consistently dealing with change and uncertainty and no one theory has been able to address all the concerns regarding leadership. Many consider the traditional hierarchical views of leadership as less and less relevant given the complexity of our modern world. This led to a shift in focus from the characteristics and behaviours of leaders to a more systemic perspective, focusing on leadership as a collective social process resulting from the interactions of multiple factors. New leadership theories were consequently formulated in an attempt to deal with the new reality of organisations and business, resulting in newer and more relevant definitions of leader, follower and situation.

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The present paper explores the historical evolution of leadership theory, which includes four main eras: trait, behavioural, situational and new leadership. The focus was initially on natural born leaders and identifying the traits of the effective leader. Behavioural leadership then followed and focused on the actions of a leader. The situational and contingent theories in turn assert that the best leadership style is the one that best fits a given context. These traditional leadership theories offered part of the answer to the leadership puzzle but none had all the answer. These were then followed by the new leadership theories, which are inclusive of additional factors, generally adopt a more systemic approach to leadership and take into account the multifaceted and complex nature of our modern world and the importance of followership in effective leadership.

In practice

Hospital trusts in the UK are large, complex, and mature organisations within the National Health Service (NHS) with established structures and processes. Traditional leadership theory tells us that transactional leadership is ideal in this situation for keeping an established organisation on track, maintaining the status quo and ensuring the execution of plans. Transactional leadership is also known to be effective in guiding efficiency decisions, which are aimed at cutting costs and improving productivity. However, because the NHS is not only a mature organisation but also undergoing tremendous change, leaders may switch styles and adopt a transformational leadership approach to engage followers in implementing change and encouraging innovation.

Healthcare organisations may also benefit from the application of other more contemporary leadership theories such as collaborative, inclusive and shared leadership, which blur the distinction between leader and follower and adopt a person-centred approach that focuses on the empowerment and development of followers. Compassionate leadership is also relevant in the context of patient care. And complexity leadership theory can also help the NHS understand how to thrive in today’s uncertain and turbulent times using a process-orientated, contextual and interactive approach to infiltrate leadership at all levels. The challenge is for healthcare professionals to be able to recognise which leadership theory is most relevant to their clinical practice and know how to effectively apply these theories in the workplace.

• Stogdill RM
• Froiland JM
• Bhattacharyya SS
• Buchanan DA ,
• Huczynski A
• Denison DR ,
• Hooijberg R ,
• Fiedler F ,
• Van Seters DA ,
• Codington-Lacerte C
• Hollander EP ,
• Offermann LR
• Kukenberger MR ,
• D'Innocenzo L
• Lee-Davies L
• Thompson H ,
• Rosenhead J ,
• Franco LA ,
• Grint K , et al

Contributors SB conceived the idea for the article. SB and MA contributed to the design and wrote the article. SB submitted the article. Both SB and MA contributed to revising the article following reviewer feedback.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

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Extension of Theory in Leadership and Management Studies Using the Multiple-Case Study Design

2020, International Leadership Journal

Extension of theory using a multiple-case study design can contribute value to a particular theoretical perspective and further define the boundaries of the original theory. Most organizations today operate in volatile economic and social environments. Qualitative research plays an essential role in the investigation of leadership and management problems, given that they remain complex social enigmas. The multiple-case study design is a valuable qualitative research tool in studying the links between the personal, social, behavioral, psychological, organizational, cultural, and environmental factors that guide managerial and leadership development. Multiple-case studies can be used by both novice and experienced qualitative researchers to contribute original qualitative data to extant theory. Multiple-case study research is particularly suitable for responding to questions of how and why and what Eisenhardt (1989, 2020) terms "big picture" research questions that remain unanswered in the extant leadership and management literature.

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An organization constitute of a diverse group of individuals, working together towards a specified common goal. A robust organizational framework is based upon specified values, believes and positive culture accompanied by effective leaders and managers that are expected to understand their roles and responsibilities towards both the employees and the management of the organization. Culture is recognized as "the glue" that binds a group of people together (Martin and Meyerson, 1988). Therefore, organizational culture entails intelligent and great leaders who value and believe in nurturing employees and appreciate their active participation in the progression of the company (Balain & Sparrow 2009). With that said, management is also one of the crucial organisational activities that is necessary to ensure the coordination of individual efforts as well as the organization's resources and activities. Lastly, leadership in itself is a vital bond that connects effective management and splendid organizational culture. However, for a long time, there has been a disconnect and inconsistency on what entails leadership and management. We identify with scholars who questioned the overlying issues regarding the significant concepts of leadership and management (Schedlitzki & Edwards,2014). It is therefore paramount to understand how leadership and management play critical roles in shaping up contemporary organizations, fundamentally appreciating the applicability that arises with the various leadership styles and management theories while apprehending their link to organization culture.

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Leadership and management are closely related yet distinct concepts widely studied and theorised over the years. More recent theories seek to account for new developments not covered in the former and become more relevant to practice in contemporary organisations. Still, the gap between theory and practice remains. In evaluating the development of leadership and management theories and their relevance in modern organisations, this study evaluates the transformational and contingency management theories. It concludes that the transformational leadership and contingency management theories apply to contemporary organisations facing a changing world. However, the model of transformational leadership theory implemented is contingent on the situational factors at play. At Apple Inc., we see that given the dynamic and virgin nature of the technology industry, Steve Jobs combined an autocratic leadership style with the tenets of the transformational leadership theory to produce effective results. Still, future attempts to theorise these concepts should involve a greater level of engagement between industry and academia to increase the potential for the resulting theory to fit with practice. Finally, this essay recognises that situational factors differ and that what is proper for one organisation may be improper for the next. Hence, these findings may be unique to Apple Inc. and possibly other contemporary organisations in the technology industry, implications for future research.

Neil D . Walshe

The three topics of this volume—leadership, change, and organization development (OD)—can be viewed as three separate and distinct organizational topics or they can be understood as three distinct lenses viewing a common psycho-organizational process. We begin the volume with a comprehensive treatment of leadership primarily because we view leadership as the fulcrum or crucible for any significant change in human behavior at the individual, team, or organizational level. Leaders must apply their understanding of how to effect change at behavioral, procedural, and structural levels in enacting leadership efforts. In many cases, these efforts are quite purposeful, planned, and conscious. In others, leadership behavior may stem from less-conscious understandings and forces. The chapters in Part I: Leadership provide a comprehensive view of what we know and what we don’t know about leadership. Alimo-Metcalfe (Chapter 2) provides a comprehensive view of theories and measures of leadershi...

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Systems leadership case study: workplanning using systems thinking.

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Thomas Lim is the Vice-Dean of Centre for Systems Leadership at SIM Academy. He is an AI+Web3 practitioner & author of Think.Coach.Thrive!

Workplanning usually involves a confluence of top-down and bottom-up approaches in many organizations. Some broad annual guidance is given by the CEO, with Finance providing a budget forecast based on historical data and the strategic imperatives for the new fiscal year. The line divisions then prepare and present a list of initiatives that purportedly contribute to these imperatives and justify their budget-ask.

This generally works in stable environments where the workplanning objectives are incremental as part of a longer five-year duration, but it may be inadequate in managing transformation efforts with the need for new systemic structures due to the merging or dissolving of functional areas within the organization.

Systems thinking provides a holistic approach to understanding and managing complex systems from the current reality to a desired outcome, making it an ideal tool for recasting workplans to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

In the case of Client X, they aimed to leverage systems leadership practices to transform internally and propagate these practices first across its internal divisions, with the goal of taking it to the ecosystem at large. This article outlines a high-level approach to recasting the workplan using systems thinking tools, which has helped Client X align its initiatives, identify gaps and overlaps and achieve strategic objectives.

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Heat wave threatens more than 100 million with dangerously high temperatures this week here s where, how the market for klay thompson could be all over the place, what is systems thinking.

Systems thinking is an approach to problem-solving that views "problems" as parts of a unified whole. It involves understanding how different parts of a system interact and influence each other within the system. Unlike traditional linear thinking, systems thinking considers the broader context and the interconnections within the system and provides a systems map wherein these interactions are perceived as system-to-system, subsystem-to-subsystem or component-to-component.

In the case of Client X, adopting systems thinking means moving away from siloed operations and toward a more integrated and cohesive approach whereby a division’s work is mapped against another for synergistic outcomes. This can help the organization address complex challenges, improve decision-making and foster innovation by removing duplication and identifying implementation gaps.

Recasting The Workplan

The workplan recasting effort begins with "taking apart" the current work streams, not along the divisions’ lines of work but from an overall organizational lens. The leaders participating in this exercise have already been trained in the fundamentals of systems thinking tools. The three-day effort is about applying the systems concepts to model Client X’s journey from its current reality to its desired outcome through its articulated theory of success. The three-day session revolves around these workpieces both at the organizational level and at each strategic level:

1. Align And Select Tools/Models: Select the appropriate systems models and frameworks to guide the recasting process.

2. Apply Systems Thinking Practices: Rework existing work streams of the workplan as layers of interaction across nested hierarchies for each strategy.

3. Identify Interconnectedness: Understand how various initiatives are interconnected and the causal loops that would guide the process.

4. Identify Gaps And Overlaps: Detect any gaps and overlaps in the initiatives to optimize efforts and budgetary choices.

The specific steps that the team undertook during the three-day process included the following.

Step 1: Articulate Vision And Current Reality

Begin by clearly defining the vision and the current reality of the organization. This involves understanding the structural gap between where Client X is and where it wants to be. This step helps in identifying the key challenges and opportunities.

Step 2: Recast Workplan As A Nested Hierarchy Of Choices

Recast the workplan as a nested hierarchy of choices to ensure that decisions at every level are aligned and relevant. This helps in clarifying the strategic intent and who is responsible for what and aids in surfacing gaps and duplications, enabling better resource allocation and prioritization.

Step 3: Cluster Use Cases, And Prioritize Challenge Statements

Cluster the use cases, and prioritize the top three challenge statements that need to be addressed. This focuses the efforts on the most critical issues and ensures that resources are used effectively.

Step 4: Work On Chosen Challenge Statements

The selected challenge statements are put through using the levels of perspective "walk-up" framework to surface and test mental models for diagnosis. This helps in understanding the underlying assumptions and beliefs that drive current behaviors and outcomes.

Step 5: Create A Theory Of Success

Develop a theory of success that identifies the key levers at higher leverage for achieving the desired outcomes from key success factors. This provides a clear road map for action and helps in aligning efforts across the organization.

Step 6: Co-Create A Walk-Down Of The Levels Of Perspective

Collaborate with stakeholders to create a walk-down of the levels of perspective. This step aligns the challenge statement and diagnosis with a related growth strategy, ensuring that all efforts are coherent and strategic.

By integrating systems thinking into the recasting of its workplan, Client X was able to achieve a more cohesive, efficient and effective approach to its initiatives. The workplan was still central in execution, but it is now reinforced and streamlined for internal alignment in a way that was not possible before overlaying the systems thinking perspectives.

This approach can be extrapolated to enable other organizations to address complex challenges, optimize resource allocation and drive strategic outcomes. A coaching reinforcement can additionally be put in place to ensure that these practices are deeply embedded within the organization, leading to sustained transformation and growth.

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