Leadership in

Organisations
Lecture Three: History of Leadership Research
 Lecture 2 Summary
• Etymology
• Definitions Any Questions?
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‘Leadership is a
CONTEXT
process whereby an PEOPLE
individual influences a
group of individuals to
achieve a common
goal.’ GROUP LEADER-
OBJECTIVES LEADERSHIP FOLLOWER
(Northouse, 2018, p. 3)

INFLUENCE CHANGE
Scope for Lecture 3
• Background: History of Leadership Research
• A Timeline of Leadership Studies
• Conceptualising Leadership over the past century
• Summary

Why bother researching

Leadership?
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Background: History of Leadership
Research
• Although the phenomenon of
leadership has been around
since antiquity (Bass, 1990),
the systematic social
scientific study of leadership
did not begin until the early
1930s with the focus of much
of the research being an
attempt to define and analyse
leadership effectiveness.
• The resulting contributions
have been cumulative, and a
great deal is now known
about leadership phenomena
(Yukl, 2013).
Background: History of Leadership
Research
 Modern Leadership Studies: Thomas Carlyle, for many, is the
first modern writer on leadership. He constructed and
personified a popular assumption about leadership in
Victorian times i.e. it was irredeemingly masculine, heroic,
individualistic and normative in orientation in nature.

 Carlyle's model seems to have prevailed throughout the latter

half of the 19th century and was not challenged until the first
professional managerial group began displacing the original
and heroic owner-managers towards the end of the 19th
century.

Source: Chapter One to The SAGE Handbook of Leadership, Grint (2011)

History of leadership research
Are you born a leader, or
can you make a leader?
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1930s-50s Early 2000s Modern

leadership theories: 1960s The 1980s – Situational leadership theories
e.g. `Great Man` Behavioural and contingency e.g. transformational
Approach, & Trait Approach (Styles) theories leadership; LMX and
Approach Path-goal
Great Man Approach

Leaders are born not made

Not based on process but assumes that the capacity for

leadership is genetic and is therefore inherited

No amount of training and development will make up for a

lack of inherent capacity

Assumes that leaders are somehow heroic and that

leadership is shown through action

`Great Man` approach because leadership was closely tied to

military activities – at the time a male domain
Trait Approach

Similar to Great Man Approach. Assumes that individuals are born with certain
traits that make them likely to be better leaders than other individuals.

Identify traits of successful leaders and you can then identify these traits
in individuals – identify the traits and identify the leaders

Emphasis on personality and behavioural characteristics such as

Intelligence: Honesty: Competency: Inspiring character

Still around today – e.g. interview checklists

Background: History of Leadership
Research
• In his work, Grint (2011) goes on to suggest that as the context evolved, the
leadership ‘requirement’ changed — the prevailing model changed from the heroic
individual to rational systems thinkers as a function of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s
Scientific Management.
The Behavioural Approach
Based on the actions of leaders the behavioural approach includes for example
Style Theory.

Assumes leaders are made not born

Leadership can therefore be `learned` and `developed`

Sees leadership from the point of view of subordinates as well as leaders

In the 1960’s and early 1970`s the emphasis was on one best style of leadership
from autocratic to democratic but participative leadership was the most effective
style to adopt
Leadership Styles influence levels of freedom
Levels of
Freedom

Levels of
Control change
depending on
Autocratic Democratic Laissez faire your style

Source: Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum, 1973

The Situational Approach 1980s
Looking back on some of
the lessons from the 2nd
WW they found leadership
was contingent (dependent)
on the situation.

Leaders have a preferred

Leadership depends on the
style but need to adjust that
task – newer the task more
style according to workers’
supportive leadership
levels of competence in
required.
doing the actual task

Once they become eg when someone is new to

competent, eventually we an organisation we tell them
delegate. what to do
 The Situational Approach …and
Style of Leader
The ‘contingency approach
(High Some leaders may
) have a dominant
style that they can’t
Supportive Behaviour

SUPPORTING SELLING
COACHING
S3 S2 change.
Assumes the
leader can
In this case,
change their
effective leadership
style
is contingent on
DELEGATING DIRECTING matching a leader`s
S4 S1 style to the right
setting (Northouse,
2018, p.113)
(Low) Directive Behaviour (High
)
HIGH Development level of team members LO
D4 D3 D2 D1 W

Hersey and Blanchard (1988)

 Modern Approaches late 20th century
Move away from the
dominant leader (top
down) to leadership as
a two-way interaction
with followers (bottom
up)
Modern
approaches e.g.
1930s-50s transactional /
1960s The Situational &
`Great Man` transformational,
Behavioural Contingency
Approach, & LMX, and path-
Approach Approach 1980s
Trait Approach goal theories
(late 20th
Century)

• Source: Schedlitzki and Edwards (2018) ‘A

Timeline in Leadership Studies’ from the early
1900s.
Transactionary V Transformational
Transformational Leadership emphasized
Where leaders rely on rewards and
the leader's ability to inspire and motivate
punishments to achieve optimal job
their followers to achieve extraordinary
performance from their subordinates
outcomes.

What would a
leader need to do
to get you to go the
‘extra mile’?
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 Path-Goal Theory: Key Components

 The main role of a leader in organisations is to steer

followers down a path to achieving agreed goals –
leaders must make goals look attractive and increase
followers` confidence in achieving them
obstacle
subordinates goals
(productivity)

 (House & Mitchell (1974) in Northouse, 2010, p. 126)

LMX – Leader Member Exchange
In summary Modern leadership theories:

From heroic to ‘post heroic’

From the individual leader towards leadership as a ‘social process’

From something you’re born with to something you can learn/make

However, still heavily individualistic, white, male, dominated and western assumptions
embedded within mainstream leadership studies

Source: Campbell, Edgar, & Stonehouse (2011) & Schedlitzki and Edwards, (2018)
 Still heavily
individualistic,
white, male, with
western
assumptions
embedded within
mainstream
leadership studies
(Schedlitzki and
Edwards, 2018).
 Conceptualising leadership (Bolden et al 2013)

2. As a ‘relationship’
1. As a ‘property’ of the
between leader and 3. As a ‘process’ e.g.
leader (e.g. a ‘trait’; skill or
follower (e.g. LMX theory; distributed leadership
behaviour)
transformational & servant)
 Conceptualising leadership (Western 2013)

• Western (2013), for example,

suggests four discourses of
leadership:
 Controller leadership (efficiency
and productivity) (1920s).
 Therapist leadership
(relationships and motivation)
(1960s).
 Messiah leadership (vision and
culture) (1980s onwards).
 Eco-leadership (connectivity and
ethics) (this decade).
Conceptualising leadership (Avery 2012)

2. 4. Organic
1. Classical 3. Visionary
Transactional (beyond
(up to 1970) (up to 2000)
up to 1985 2000)

Campbell, Edgar, & Stonehouse (2011)

 Summary
• In truth, there is no one ‘conception’ that can explain all circumstances — each
has its strengths and weaknesses and the choice as to which is accepted owes as
much to personal beliefs and experience as to empirical evidence.

1. Trait V
Process?

Northouse
(2019) Can
leadership
emerge?
2. Assigned
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What we’ve done today
 History of leadership research
 Early Leadership Theories (great man, trait, behavioural,
situational, contingency
 Modern Leadership Theories (Transactionary; transformational;
path goal; LMX)
 Conceptualising Leadership
 Conclusion – there’s no one right way!
Any
Questions?
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