Abstract
The focus on more recent theories more or less necessarily means to neglect classical leadership approaches, such as the trait approach, the behavior or style approach, and the situational leadership approach. These theories are criticized for their determined and narrow perspective, which fails to cover leadership reality. Classical approaches assume that there is a unidirectional personal influence of the leader on the followers. Leaders are traditionally seen as having a particular personality with traits different from those of followers. They are conceptualized as active players in the process of leadership. In contrast, followers are regarded as passive and reactive. Additionally, leadership relations in the context of a formal hierarchy are usually understood as situations that are socially predetermined. That means it is always clearly defined who is the supervisor/leader and who is the follower and, consequently, who has power and who does not. A last point of criticism addresses the lack of empirical evidence (e.g., Bryman 1996, 1999; Heller 2002). For example, classical leadership research failed to provide clear empirical evidence for the influence of traits on the emergence of leadership or leadership effectiveness as the result of a certain type of behavior. Following these critical reflections it becomes obvious that it is not sufficient to explain leadership by just concentrating on individual characteristics or patterns of leader behavior that might vary with situational differences. According to a statement expressed by Chemers (1997) some 10 years ago, it can be summarized that 50 years of leadership research have shown that simple answers, which emphasize the universal validity of characteristics, behaviors, or styles, are not suitable for explaining the dynamics of the leadership process (see also Yukl 1994, 2006).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Avolio BJ (2005) Promoting more integrative strategies for leadership theory-building. Am Psychol 62(1):25–33
Bryman A (1996) Leadership in organizations. In: Clegg SR, Hardy C (eds) Handbook of organization studies. Sage, London, pp 276–292
Bryman A (1999) Leadership in organizations. In: Clegg SR, Hardy C, Nord WR (eds) Managing organisations. Current issues. Sage, London, pp 26–42
Chemers MM (1997) An integrative theory of leadership. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ
Dachler HP (1988) Constraints on the emergence of new vistas in leadership and management research: an epistemological overview. In: Hunt JG, Baliga BR, Dachler HP, Schriesheim CA (eds) Emerging leadership vistas. Lexington Books, Lexington, pp 261–285
Heller FA (2002) Leadership. In: Sorge A (ed) Organization. Thompson Learning, London, pp 388–401
Hollander EP (2008) Inclusive leadership. The essential leader-follower relationship. Routledge, New York
Hunt JG (1984) Managerial behaviour from a "radical" perspective. In: Hunt JG, Hosking D, Schriesheim CA, Steward R (eds) Leaders and managers: International perspectives on managerial behavior and leadership. Pergamon Press, New York, pp 275–277
Hunt JG (1991) Leadership: a new synthesis. Sage, New York
Kezar AJ, Carducci R, Contreras-McGavin M (2006) Rethinking the "L" word in higher education: the revolution in research on leadership. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA
Lord RG, Foti RJ, Phillips JS (1982) A theory of leadership categorization. In: Hunt JG, Sekaran U, Schriesheim CA (eds) Leadership beyond established views. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL, pp 104–121
Rost JC (1991) Leadership for the twenty-first century. Praeger, Westport, CT
Van Seters DA, Field RHG (1990) The evolution of leadership theory. J Organ Change Manage 3(3):29–45
Yukl GA (1994) Leadership in organizations. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Yukl GA (2006) Leadership in organizations. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Winkler, I. (2010). Characteristics of Contemporary Theoretical Approaches in Leadership Research. In: Contemporary Leadership Theories. Contributions to Management Science. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2158-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2158-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Physica-Verlag HD
Print ISBN: 978-3-7908-2157-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-7908-2158-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)