Many times, people in leadership roles are not aware of what type of leader they want to be. A certain attitude emerges, and this will determine what kind of leader that person will be. In order to become a leader that everyone will enjoy and respect, one should look at and recognize the different leadership theories that exist.

There are quite a few leadership theories that exist, but there about half a dozen main leadership theories that describe the qualities that define leaders and followers. These qualities can be inherent, learned or present in specific situations. The following is just a taste of the different types of theories present in the topic of leadership today.

The Great Man Theories

A couple of different leadership theories explain that leadership is inherent, or the qualities that define a good leader are natural traits that people express. These leadership theories idolize the born leader that is, the leader that best fits most situations have had a leadership personality from birth.

These leadership theories seem to fall short when people express the qualities that a great leader should have, though they do not want to be or cannot be a leader.

Relationship Theories

Some leadership theories explain the role of the leader by comparing that role to the role of the followers. Making these distinctions provide a list of traits that differentiate the leader from his followers. This relationship is usually defined in a workplace where the role of the leader is forced upon the team in order to reach a goal. The reason that the leader became a leader in the first place is because they showed some extra effort that defined them as leadership material. Leadership theories like this are usually the ones that create the moral and ethical leaders who are proud to serve as a leader and help the followers through their tasks, creating a solid team.

Other common leadership theories look at the outside variables that affect the group dynamic to determine the particular style of leadership that is needed for a certain situation. These theories take in account the attitude and behavior of the leader as well as the collective behavior of the followers.

Knowing what kind of a leader to want to be and being familiar with common leadership theories will help you out. Whether you believe in natural born leaders or made leaders, it is important to understand all the concept of leadership in order to best serve your followers.

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