Educational leaders at the local level, from teachers and principals to superintendents and school board members, must be. What is the importance of leadership in an organization. Important leadership theories in the realm of management sciences. The importance of leadership and management for education. Leadership theories are schools of thought brought forward to explain how and why certain individuals become leaders. The evidence comes from several different types of research and many different theories. Leadership theories and attempting to explain and define leadership concepts have abounded. But the trouble with leadership theories is theyre easy to hide behind. Leadership as influence a central element in many definitions of leadership is that there is a process of influence. Eoi the role of leadership theory in raising the profile. The importance of leadership and learning organizations by colonel johnny hester united states army dr. Some people may have natural abilities that make them, say, better speakers, better organizers or better nurturers, but these skills can also be learned.
To get things done by people, management must supply leadership in the organisation. Some theories underscore the importance of allowing team members to do what they do best, while other. The search to define these qualities, or traits, led to the trait theories of leadership. National association of elementary school principals,2001. In describing the importance of leadership in business, mills 2005, p. The importance of theories diagnostic categories describe the what of autism spectrum disorders asds. Leadership theories learn about key leadership theories. Rational choice theory, cognitive theories, information. Some of the earliest leadership theorists propounded the great man theory of leadership carlyle, 1841. Most theories of educational leadership and management possess three major characteristics. Leadership provides direction, guidance, restores confidence and makes. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are leadership theoriesand there are almost as many theories of leadership as there are psychologists working in the field p. Leaders aim to use their leadership position to accomplish certain goals. It has been in use only for about two hundred years, although the term leader, from which it was derived, appeared as early as a. Wood school of business, university of ballarat, ballarat, victoria, australia abstract purpose to consider how leadership theories have helped or hindered raising the profile of women in management and leadership roles. Theories of leadership among the various theories of leadership and motivation relating to effective organizational change management, perhaps the most prominent is the transformationaltransactional theory of leadership. The stream of new definitions has continued unabated since stogdill made his observation. From the great man theory of the 19th century, to new research on genetic factors underpinning leadership behaviours, theres a wealth of data to examine. Effective leadership is important because it creates confidence among the participants in an organization and encourages a professional and positive environment. What is instructional leadership and why is it so important.
Leadership theories the most important theories of. A synthesis of leadership theories and styles north american. All three texts used for this course profoundly contributed to my development as an educational leader. Keywords education, leadership, theories, styles, principles, methods, management, policies and practices. Teamwork is essential for realising organisational goals. Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to achieve organizational goals. There have been great leaders who did not hold high positionsfor example, martin luther king, jr. A theory is a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that explains or predicts events or situations by specifying relations among variables. Actors which also determine leadership behavior focus. One of the first steps that the leaders in the organization need to undertake is to establish why the organization exists and what it wants to achieve.
Leadership theories try to put it all together so as to understand how managers, for instance, approach their roles as leaders. Leadership traits leadership traits refer to personal qualities that define effective leaders. While the behavioural theories of leadership focused on discovering the constant relationship between leadership behaviours and the group performance, the contemporary theories emphasized the significance of situational factors such as stress level, job structure, leaders intelligence, followers traits, etc. Introduction the term leadership is a relatively recent addition to the english language. Leadership refers to the ability of an individual or an organization to guide individuals, teams. Bass cites that great leaders were important in the development of civilized. The importance of leadership and management for education 5 8721 restyle 3. It includes the great man theory, charismatic leadership, and the approaches of mcclelland, winter, bennis, burns, fiedler, hersey and blanchard, pathgoal. Numerous explanations, classifications, theories and definitions about leadership, exist in the contemporary literature. Contingency theories attempt to analyse the importance of the situation to the impact of the leader, and conclude that leadership effectiveness depends on the context in which the leader must operate.
Chapter 4 leadership theories and models leader, from. A short history of leadership theories by gene early our world is changing and so is our understanding of leadership. The importance of theories interactive autism network. Leadership theories important theories of leadership. Leadership essay 8 describe the research and theories e. Three dimensions of leadership may be identified as a basis for developing a working definition. The importance of flexible leadership kaplan devries. The importance of leadership style has long been a subject of much debate and contentious discussion. A theory presents a systematic way of understanding events, behaviors andor situations. Such theories often focus on the characteristics of leaders, but some attempt to identify the behaviors that people can adopt to improve their own leadership abilities in different situations. Leadership theories also delve into the project managers ability to define the task, communicate feedback to team members along the way, and remove obstacles that may come up in order to promote the success of the project without delays. The notion of generality, or broad application, is important.
The word leadership has numerous definitions, depending on the perspective of the educator stogdill, 1974. Substantial effort has gone in to classify and clarify different dimensions of active leadership thus, generating considerable organizational and social research of leadership styles and behaviors. The importance of leadership theories for employers, understanding basic leadership principles is key to hiring the right people and placing them in the right positions. The importance of flexible leadership gary yukl ualbany research on leadership and management during the past several decades provide strong evidence that flexible, adaptive leadership is essential for most managers. Leadership has been defined in terms of traits, behaviours, influences, interaction patterns, role relationships, and occupation of a position. In an enterprise setting, leadership acts as the catalyst that makes all other business aspects work in tandem. Studying leadership principles can also help project managers and others improve their leadership skills. In the absence of proper leadership, business resources lie dormant. Simkins 1999 stresses the importance of distinguishing between descriptive and normative uses of theory. The following points justify the importance of leadership in a concern. Andrew hill department of command, leadership, and management project adviser this manuscript is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the master of strategic studies degree. They list challenging behaviors, unusual ways of being, and other characteristics as criteria for determining whether a certain individual might be considered to be. Theories tend to be normative in that they re ect beliefs about the nature of educational institutions and the behaviour of individuals within them.
Managers must influence the team for work accomplishment through leadership. An mse in educational leadership program can help prepare professionals in education fields and beyond for the complexities of modern circumstances and the myriad challenges encountered in schools throughout the country. The importance of leadership is now widely recognised as a key part of overall effective healthcare, and nursing leadership is a crucial part of this as nurses are now the single largest healthcare discipline swearingen, 2009. The role of leadership theory in raising the profile of women in management uma d. Read this article to learn about the meaning, essences, types, importance and theories of leadership. The earliest theories of leadership focused more on the hierarchical role of a leader in commanding workers. Important leadership theories in the realm of management sciences arghya ray scientific essay. Trait theory adherents viewed leadership as consisting of traits which could be. Initiates action leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies and plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts. Leadership provides direction, guidance, restores confidence and. The importance of leadership and learning organizations.
The importance of leadership in education astate online. In transformational leadership theory, a strong leader inspires followers by emphasizing the significance of the task at hand. The importance of leadership leadership is not primarily a formal position. The following are some of the ways which demonstrate the importance of leadership for the achievement of the organizational excellence. Importance of leadership for organizational excellence. It is common because every society, organisation, institution, country and the world require leaders to lead the people towards achievement of their common goals. In the past 20 years alone, a multitude of publications has been presented for. Characteristics of the servantleader servant leadership deals with the reality of power in everyday lifeits legitimacy, the ethical restraints. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for. Leadership theories seek to explain how and why certain people become leaders.
Even though a lot of research has been done on leadership, it is still difficult to pinpoint how leadership impacts factors such as the output and performance of subordinates. In other words, a leadership approach that may be successful in one organisation, or. A leader influences a group and is also influenced by the wishes of the group. Standards for what principals should know and be able to do.
The importance of leadership roles in all group endeavors has led to the development, over time, of a large variety of theories pertaining to leadership. Theory and why it is important social and behavioral. Starting from the early leadership theories of trait and behavior, to the later ones of transformational and distributed leadership concepts, almost every aspect has been touched upon in management literature. Groups, coalitions, leaders roles and positions theories. The relevance of leadership concept to health science library is a key factor to effective management, use of information resources and.
Main theories that emerged during 20th century include. In the article the relevance of emotional intelligence for leadership performance the authors choose to look at the concept of leadership in another way, instead of asking what. Associate professor, college of nursing, university of alabama in huntsville. Theories pull disparate ideas and data into working models, distinguishing concepts and providing a systemic perspective. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. Department of public administration, go mal university, dera ismail khan. The understanding and practice of servant leadership. At its core, servantleadership is a longterm, transformational approach to life and workin essence, a way of beingthat has the potential for creating positive change throughout our society. System theory, institutional theory, discourse analysis, social identity theory, etc. As for theories of leadership that suggest leaders are born, it should be emphasized that leaders can certainly also be made.
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