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Becoming an effective strategic leader involves developing your skills and knowledge to cope

with competition and respond quickly to opportunities. Strategic leaders also influence

subordinates to recognize and take actions that enable the companys long-term success.

Balancing daily operations with visionary planning requires that you think and act appropriately to

sustain a competitive advantage. Creating an effective strategy can involve planning plotting

responding to patterns taking advantage of a position or shaping the companys perspective.

!eadership theories

There is a wide and ever growing variety of theories to explain the concept and practice

of leadership. I will provide a brief overview of the more dominant or better known

theories. I hope that others will share their thoughts on whether this list neglects any

theories of note. In the future we can discuss some of the emerging leadership

theories/approaches such as adaptive, authentic, and appreciative. It is important to note

that this submission attempts to provide an overview of

leadership theoriesversus models. I view models as attempts to functionalize the more

theoretical aspects of leadership and make them easier to put into play by organizations

and consultants. This is, in and of itself, an important activity.Most theories view leadership as grounded in one or more of the following three

perspectives leadership as aprocess or relationship, leadership as a combination

of traits or personality characteristics, or leadership as certain behaviorsor, as they are

more commonly referred to, leadership skills. In virtually all of the more dominant

theories there exist the notions that, at least to some degree, leadership is aprocessthat

involves influencewith a groupof people toward the realization ofgoals. I will say on the

front end that, in my opinion, leadership is a dynamic and complex process, and that

much of what is written these days tends to over!simplify this process. My goal here is

to provide an overview that keeps things simple, without crossing into over!simplification,

and for the most part refraining from any criti"uing of the various theories. I will leave

that to my fellow bloggers for now.Trait Theory

This theory postulates that people are either born or not born with the qualitiesthat

predispose them to success in leadership roles. That is, that certain inherited "ualities,

such as personality and cognitive ability, are what underlie effective leadership. There

have been hundreds of studies to determine the most important leadership traits, and

while there is always going to be some disagreement, intelligence, sociability, and

drive #aka determination$ are consistently cited as key "ualities.

Skills Theory

This theory states that learned knowledge and ac"uired skills/abilities are significant

factors in the practice of effective leadership. %kills theory by no means disavows the

connection between inherited traits and the capacity to be an effective leader & it simplyargues that learned skills, a developed style, and ac"uired knowledge, are the real keys

to leadership performance. It is of course the belief that skills theory is true that

warrants all the effort and resources devoted to leadership training and development

Situational Theory

This theory suggests that different situations re"uire different stylesof leadership. That

is, to be effective in leadership re"uires the ability to adapt or adjustone's style to the

circumstances of the situation. The primary factors that determine how to adapt are an

assessment of the competenceand commitmentof a leader's followers. The assessment

of these factors determines if a leader should use a more directiveor supportivestyle.

Contingency Theory

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This theory states that a leader's effectiveness is contingent on how well the leader's

style matches a specific setting or situation. (nd how, you may ask, is this different from

situational theory) In situational the focus is on adaptingto the situation, whereas

contingency states that effective leadership depends on the degree of fitbetween a

leader's "ualities and style and that of a specific situation or context.

Path-Goal TheoryThis theory is about how leaders motivatefollowers to accomplish identified ob*ectives.

It postulates that effective leaders have the ability to improve the motivation of followers

by clarifying the pathsand removing obstaclesto high performance and desired

ob*ectives. The underlying beliefs of path!goal theory #grounded in expectancy theory$

are that people will be more focused and motivated if they believe they are capable of

high performance, believe their effortwill result in desired outcomes, and believe their

work is worthwhile.

Transformational Theory

This theory states that leadership is the process by which a person engageswith others

and is able to create a connectionthat results in increased motivationand moralityin

both followers and leaders. It is often likened to the theory of charismaticleadershipthat espouses that leaders with certain "ualities, such as confidence,

extroversion, and clearly stated values, are best able to motivate followers. The key in

transformational leadership is for the leader to be attentive to the needsand motivesof

followers in an attempt to help them reach their maximumpotential. In addition,

transformational leadership typically describes how leaders can initiate, develop, and

implement important changes in an organization. This theory is often discussed in

contrast with transactional leadership.

Transactional Theory

This is a theory that focuses on the exchangesthat take place between leaders and

followers. It is based in the notion that a leader's *ob is to create structures that make it

abundantly clear what is expected of his/her followers and also the consequences#i.e.rewards and punishments$ for meeting or not meeting these expectations. This theory is

often likened to the concept and practice of managementand continues to be an

extremely common component of many leadership models and organizational structures.

Servant Leadership Theory

This conceptualization of leadership reflects a philosophy that leaders should be servants

first. It suggests that leaders must place the needs of followers, customers, and the

community ahead of their own interests in order to be effective. The idea of servant

leadership has a significant amount of popularity within leadership circles & but it is

difficult to describe it as a theory inasmuch as a set of beliefs and values that leaders are

encouraged to embrace.