Leadership theories

The phenomenon of leadership has interested more than one generation of thinkers and
researchers. Never among them was there a common view on the definition and nature of this
phenomenon. However, the development of ideas about leadership, experimental developments
have led to the fact that in the theory of leadership, four main approaches to understanding
leadership have been consistently formed one by one. At the same time, each of the subsequent ones
already represented a more mature position, based on the achievements of its predecessors.
The first theory of leadership is the theory of traits. This theory answers the question of what
properties a leader should have. It is believed that certain psychological traits make a person a
leader (Winkler, 2010). According to Nawaz and Khan (2016), the leader was viewed through the
prism of a number of factors:
• Abilities - mental, verbal;
• Achievements - education, physical development.
• Responsibility - dependence, initiative, perseverance, desire.
• Participation - activity, cooperation.
• Status - socio-economic status, popularity.
• Situational personality traits.
According to behavioral theory, the effectiveness of a leader is determined by the leadership
style, i.e. the habitual behavior of the manager in relation to subordinates in order to influence them
and contribute to the achievement of goals (Dugan & Komives, 2011). 
Kurt Lewin (1951) describes 3 styles of leadership behavior:
1. Authoritarian leadership is characterized by a high degree of sole authority of the leader:
the leader determines all the strategies of the group; no authority is delegated to the group. 
2. Democratic leadership is characterized by the division of power and the participation of
workers in management; responsibility is not concentrated, but distributed.
3. Liberal leadership is characterized by minimal participation of the leader; the group has
complete freedom to make independent decisions. 
Contingency theory reflects the fact that the effectiveness of a leader is influenced not only
by personal qualities and leadership style, but also by various situational factors, such as the needs
and personal qualities of subordinates, the nature of the task, the influence of the environment, the
availability of information from the manager (Landis, Hill & Harvey, 2014). In other words, a
leader must be able to behave differently in different situations.
Integrative leadership theory takes into account all the factors affect the nature and content
of leadership:
1. The nature of the leader, his origin, the method of promotion;
 4. The properties of the environment of the leader, his followers and opponents;
5. The relationship between the leader and his supporters, opponents;
6. The specific situation in which leadership is carried out.
Integrative leadership theory attempts to take into account the shortcomings of all existing
leadership theories (Dugan & Komives, 2011, p. 43).
A review of the main leadership theories shows that research in this field of management is
conducted on a broad front, capturing all new sections and opening up new topics. Due to the multi-
connectedness of leadership as a concept and type of activity, it synthesizes almost all the changes
that occur both at the level of the individual and at the level of society.

References
Dugan, J. P., & Komives, S. R. (2011). Leadership theories. The handbook for student
leadership development, 35-57.
Landis, E. A., Hill, D., & Harvey, M. R. (2014). A synthesis of leadership theories and
styles. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2), 97.
Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: selected theoretical papers (Edited by
Dorwin Cartwright.).
Nawaz, Z. A. K. D. A., & Khan, I. (2016). Leadership theories and styles: A literature
review. Leadership, 16(1), 1-7.
Winkler, I. (2010). Contemporary leadership theories: Enhancing the understanding of the
complexity, subjectivity and dynamic of leadership. Springer Science & Business Media.