Core Leadership Theories

Distinctive quality that you either have or you don't

Some examples would be: Integrity, empathy, assertiveness etc...

However none of these theories guarantee success as a leader

Dictates how leaders behave in groups; do they involve the group in decision making?

Autocratic Leader

Make decisions without including team in decision making

Appropriate when a decision needs to made quickly

Democratic Leader

Team gets a say in the decision prior to it being made

Important when team agreement matters, can be difficult to agree though due to the many different ideas and perspective

Laissez-faire Leaders

Allow people to make agreements among themselves

Works when team is highly capable but this can fail is the leader is lazy and/or distracted

Based on ways that leaders use their power and influence to get things done

There are three main types of positional power; legitimate, coercive, and reward.

There are two types of personal power; expert and referent

Depends on situation group is in: Need a quick decision? An autocratic leader may be the best leader in this situation