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Major approaches to the study of leadership.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

The study of leadership has produced a multitude of perspectives and theories. It is a daunting but rewarding challenge for professors to synthesize the literature and present it to aspiring leaders in a meaningful way.

Introduction

The study of leadership has been a popular topic for debate since scholars first recognized the impact leadership has on the success of an organization. In higher education, investigative efforts into what epitomizes leadership have played an integral part in the development of educational leadership programs. What is leadership? What are the theoretical constructs taught to aspiring leaders? The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the literature on the major approaches to the study of leadership.

Major Approaches to the Study of Leadership

According to Wolverton, Gmelch, Montez, and Nies (2001), leadership is the essential element that holds an organization together while moving it forward. Definitions and assumptions about leadership are numerous and varied. As early as 5000 years ago, Egyptian hieroglyphics were written for the words leadership, leader, and follower. (Bass, 1990). Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, "looked at the requirements of the ideal leader of the ideal state" (Bass, p.4). In the Old and New Testaments as well as in Greek and Latin classics, leaders were called prophets, priests, kings, chiefs, and heroes. Although the advent of leadership can be traced to these early beginnings, leadership studies did not begin in earnest until after World War I (Lathan, 1993). Between 1945 and 1960, researchers devoted their efforts to empirical studies, but by the 1970s, research became more theory driven (Bass, 1990). As a result, the study of leadership has produced a multitude of perspectives and theories.

Trait Theories

The trait theory attempts to identify specific personal characteristics that explain why certain individuals have the ability to succeed in leadership positions and others do not. In the early part of the 20th century, this theory was known as the Great Man Theory of Leadership and is supported today by individuals who consider the leadership of a "great man" (Iacocca, MacArthur, Kennedy, MLK) to have been transformational (Bass, 1990). Research using this theory has examined leaders with various attributes and personality traits. These traits include physical characteristics, personality, social background, and ability (Bensimon, Neumann & Birnbaum, 1989; Yukl, 1994). It should be noted "some of the variance in who emerges as a leader is due to situational effects, and some is due to the interaction of traits and situation" (Bass, 1990, p. 87). Since few people demonstrate consistent traits under all conditions, opposing characteristics, such...

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