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Why You Need a Defined Leadership Philosophy [and how to develop one]

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What makes a great leader?

Is it someone who takes command with a firm leadership style?

Does it take an ethical leader who seeks to follow their moral compass and embraces the shared values of their employees?

Or is a successful leader one who can transform a company's culture so that it allows each individual to thrive? While also reaching company goals and staying true to each core value of the business?

It is all of these things and many more.

If you're an aspiring leader who is intent on supporting your team, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed at all you need to be. Especially if you're also focusing on transforming and improving organizational culture. And want to be recognized as exhibiting ethical leadership behavior.

Take a breath because we've got your back.

We're going to explore the 13 core values of a leader that you should foster to be the type of leader you dream of.

Let's start, in a typical leadership style, at a high level.

What are leadership values?

Values are the underlying beliefs that guide our decisions and actions and ultimately shape our days and careers.

Leadership values are a subset of those values that positively influence one's ability to lead effectively or be a 'good leader.'

You can foster and develop leadership values with time. However, as with many character traits, you will probably have a tendency toward one specific leadership skill or another.

You can uncover these natural leadership qualities by asking yourself questions such as:

What values guide my personal life?

How do I react in common situations (such as when confronted with change)?

What kind of leaders do I gravitate to (such as a passionate leader or a more strategic leader)?

You should also consider this question: What are the goals, mission, and culture of my company?

The leadership values related to effective leadership at your company will lie at the intersection of your personal values and your company's values.

The importance of a leader with values

Everyone has values, but not everyone exhibits good leadership values.

Anyone in a leadership role should be aware of the values they hold, their strengths, and the areas they can improve on as they grow as a leader.

Why?

Because your values determine how you execute leadership, the team environment you create, and the success of your company. The values you display as a leader will permeate your entire organization and affect its performance.

Leaders who adhere to their values earn respect and commitment from their teams. Value-driven leadership can inspire others not just to follow them but to adopt those values as their own.

By embracing the notion that you can develop leadership qualities, you can also choose leadership values to develop. This is possible both through leadership training and mindful attention and practice.

13 Important values of a leader

Let's review 13 core values that an outstanding leader should demonstrate.

1. Empowerment and development

As a leader, you are in a position of power.

Instead of trying to keep all that power and control for oneself, an effective leader empowers others and amplifies their own impact as a result.

This empowerment can come from formal employee training, ongoing coaching, and workforce development. Mentorship and the delegation of responsibilities can also help.

Empowering others through mentorship and delegation of complex tasks creates a stronger team. With it, you will help build future leaders you can rely on with confidence.

2. Vision

Leaders have the important responsibility of creating and maintaining the organizational vision. What does the company seek to become in the next 5, 10, or 20 years, and what steps are required to realize that goal?

"...As a visionary leader, you should be thinking about more than just the next quarter. You should also be thinking about the next decade, and what your company's reputation and place in the world will be after 40 quarterly results."

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors

When you center vision as a leadership value, this means you keep the big picture at the forefront of your decision-making.

It also means employing foresight to plan for obstacles. Keep an eye out for anything that may get in the way of your company's vision, and be ready to update the vision as you gain more experience and information.

Successful leadership also includes the leader's ability to communicate that vision to their team members. The message must be shared in a meaningful, actionable, and engaging way.

3. Communication

"Communication and communication strategy is not just part of the game-it is the game."

Oscar Munoz, executive chairman of United Airlines

Communication is the foundation of any relationship.

In a work setting, centering communication as a core leadership value manifests in many ways. It can take the form of conveying context to employees. Or it can be setting clear expectations for individuals and teams. Or even providing and seeking constructive feedback.

A leader may have a clear vision, but unless communication is a driving value, others will not be able to share it.

4. Reinforcement and influence

Positive reinforcement and recognition to your team members are important forms of communication.

"The number one thing that you have to do as a leader: to bolster the confidence of the people you lead."

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

When things are busy, it can be all too easy to speed along without making an effort to show that you noticed someone's contribution.

However, positive reinforcement is a huge aspect of improving employee motivation and engagement. Not only that but in lifting your influence as a business leader.

Without recognition, the motivation of team members can lag, and their productivity will grind to a halt.

By demonstrating appreciative behavior, you encourage others to reinforce each other too. This helps boost morale across the organization.

5. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand others, see from their point of view, and feel what they are feeling. It is a value that is held in high regard by many senior executives and good business leaders.

The importance of empathy as a leadership value is not simply to be nice or likable. You can build a far stronger team by exercising empathy and understanding each person's motivations with whom you work.

Empathy will help you match people's strengths and skills to roles where they can make the most impact. It will help you build and sustain positive and productive relationships. It will also help you recognize the core values of others on your team.

This is the knowledge that you can harness for the betterment of each individual and the company.

6. Humility

Leaders must constantly be learning. To be in that receptive state of mind requires humility.

Opportunities to build wisdom can easily be lost if you are not willing to recognize and process mistakes. Humility also means knowing when to ask for input from others.

If you have a gap in knowledge in a certain area, seek advice from those with more experience or from coaches. If your strategy is not connecting with your audience, consult the people closest to the work or your customers.

Having a strong sense of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and humility is a key leadership trait. It prevents leaders from becoming insulated from the outside world. In turn, this allows them to focus on becoming better leaders all-around.

7. Passion and commitment

An extraordinary leader is not only capable of commanding influence or communicating successfully.

They are also:

committed to meeting organizational goals

passionate about the company and their leadership role within it

and demonstrate ferocious resolve when faced with adversity

A leader with this kind of mindset can motivate everyone around them. Their passion and energy are so infectious that it drives and uplifts the entire team.

8. Respect

As a leader, you can demonstrate respect through many of the behaviors already listed here:

Empowering others

Strong communication skills

Recognition of employee abilities

Empathizing with the situations of others

Respect should also move in all directions. Treat upper management, your board, employees, and customers with the respect they deserve to gain respect in return.

It's also important to build a culture where differences are respected and appreciated. Having diverse viewpoints within the organization is a strength, and those who differ from you in opinion should feel as valued as those aligned with you.

9. Patience

Patience is a value that is often learned with time but is an incredibly important skill for those in leadership roles. At its heart, patience is about delayed gratification.

Leaders need to be patient with new hires who aren't up to operating speed yet. They also require patience with existing team members who are working out how to deal with complex issues. This is especially true where the leader may be able to tackle with greater ease.

Patience also benefits leaders who have long-term goals, such as quarterly or annual sales targets. These goals can only be achieved incrementally through perseverance and patience.

10. Resilience

A key nature of business is change, and as a leader, you often take the brunt of big changes - or even initiate them.

You must be able to weather these times, not only for yourself but for your team.

This is not to say you can't have human reactions to challenges, but ultimately your team will respond to how you handle hardship and communicate the outcomes.

Employees look to their leaders for cues during unpredictable phases, and a show of resilience at the top will bolster the entire organization.

Resilience has tangible positive outcomes as well. As BetterUp's study on resilience shows, it increases revenue, encourages innovation, and retains employees.

11. Honesty and transparency

Employees want a coach and leader who is honest and transparent about their performance, business objectives and directives, and internal company politics.

Nobody likes to feel like they are being lied to or deceived.

Transparency does not mean telling everyone everything as soon as you hear it - there is a time and a manner in which to convey information.

You want to be aware of how new information impacts people and impart it with care, utilizing values we've discussed like empathy, communication, and respect.

Take a company reorganization, for example. You don't want to sound the alarm that change is coming before you've worked out the details. Nor do you want to spring the news on people the day before everything shifts.

Valuing transparency, in this case, would mean communicating why there is a reorganization and getting other company leaders on board with how it affects them and their teams. It could also include hosting a Q&A for everyone who will be affected and setting clear expectations for how and when changes will occur.

"Being transparent about our plans enables us to get better feedback."

Shantanu Narayen, chairman, president, and CEO of Adobe Inc.

12. Accountability

One of the values that many employees admire in a leader is accountability.

Accountability means taking responsibility for one's duties and goals and, at times, owning responsibility for the shortcomings of one's team.

However, strong leaders also need to be prepared to hold their employees accountable for the tasks they are responsible for, which helps to promote personal growth with your team.

13. Integrity

Integrity is a character trait that gains respect and trust.

As a leader, integrity means approaching all of your work with consistency and coherency: the way you communicate with others, carry out your organization's mission, and approach new situations.

Integrity means honoring commitments (including to yourself) and doing what you say you will do, as well as approaching challenges in ways that are coherent with other values and beliefs.

Leading with integrity can sound abstract because it encapsulates so much, but you can think of it as integrating all of your core leadership values - the end doesn't justify the means if the means violate our core values.

The people who work for us notice if we only exhibit our values when times are good. By knowing your leadership values, reviewing them, and having them guide your actions, you will be leading with integrity no matter what your company faces.

Core values of a leader make for great leadership

Becoming a great leader is a journey and one which will last your entire career.

Of course, the sooner you start focusing on these leadership values, the faster you'll become the leader you want to be:

1. Empower and development

2. Vision

3. Communication

4. Reinforcement and influence

5. Empathy

6. Humility

7. Passion and commitment

8. Respect

9. Patience

10. Resilience

11. Honesty and transparency

12. Accountability

13. Integrity

Are you looking for a helping hand in developing your leadership skills? Check out how we help leaders grow.

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Leadership values: 13 essential values of a leader

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What makes a great leader? Is it someone who takes command with a firm leadership style? Does it take an ethical leader who seeks to follow their moral compass and embraces the shared values of their employees? Or is a successful leader one who can transform a company's culture so that it allows each individual to thrive?

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School counselors must also begin to recognize areas of conflict between personal and professional values. They must clarify their personal core beliefs and values and ensure their values will not be exposed at the expense of students' exploration of their own beliefs.

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Technology is compromising the health and well-being of teachers, blurring the already-indistinct boundaries between work and home and leading to an unsustainable "always on" mentality, researchers assert in a new study.

It's not an entirely new problem. For decades, educators have labored under the twin pressures of expanding responsibilities at work and increasing domestic demands. As dual-income families became the norm, larger class sizes, more paperwork, and a gradual shift in caretaking duties toward school systems have strained the capacity of educators, encroaching on personal time traditionally set aside for family and friends. Well before the pandemic, stress topped the list of reasons teachers quit, according to a RAND study, which identified long hours and the burden of taking on second jobs to supplement income as primary factors in early retirement.

Technology is rapidly pushing things toward a breaking point. The proliferation of computers, and especially cell phones, is putting the last vestiges of personal space at risk, compelling teachers to spend more time outside of school hours planning tech-enriched lessons while responding to nighttime emails and text messages. This pattern of incursion-researchers call it "techno-invasion" or "pervasive connectivity"-can make them feel as though they're on call at all hours of the day and even late into the night, explains Caroline Murphy, a researcher at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick, in the current study.

For teachers, there are few places to turn to for respite. While the public sector has typically traded lower wages for better work-life balance, the commodification of teaching-driven by a greater focus on test scores and evaluating teacher performance-has led to what some experts call the "marketization of education." Increasingly, the profession looks like the private sector, "in particular in relation to demands around working time, and the development of an 'always on' culture," Murphy points out. In what amounts to a broken promise, the expectations keep growing, but the pay hasn't kept pace.

Without new policies defending teachers' fundamental right to disconnect-to reclaim time with their families and friends, and to relax and restore themselves-the outcomes are all too predictable. Rising job dissatisfaction and deteriorating mental and physical health are real risks, according to the research. The issue is serious and growing, and it demands immediate attention.

Internet Leakage

Online communications have led to a pervasive "encroachment of work on individuals' time off through ubiquitous connectivity," says Murphy. The mere expectation that an email or text may arrive from a principal or student, and demand a response, is an intrusion into a teacher's personal space.

Theoretical emails eventually become real ones. The average teacher receives up to 100 emails each day, a staggering amount that can feel insurmountable-and the pressure to reply quickly can feel irresistible. In a 2019 study, employees reported that they started responding to emails 6 seconds after receiving them. Meanwhile, in a 2015 study, researchers observed that employees experienced "significantly lower daily stress" when limiting the frequency of checking email to three times a day, compared with those who had no restrictions.

There's also a significant cognitive tax to checking emails and other notifications, like texts or reminders: According to a 2017 study, the barrage of pings and warnings emanating from our phones are almost impossible to ignore, even when the phone is off and turned upside down on the table. "The mere presence of one's own smartphone may occupy limited-capacity cognitive resources," the researchers conclude, "thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks and undercutting cognitive performance." Shutting the cell phone off and abandoning it in another room was the only way to restore sanity.

The Technology Learning Curve

The deluge of new technologies unsupported by adequate training-from learning management systems to new apps, videoconferencing software, and multimedia lesson-planning-is undermining competence and professionalism, Murphy argues.

"I have NEVER been this exhausted," exclaimed Sarah Gross, a veteran high school English teacher who did hybrid teaching last fall, according to the New York Times. "This is not sustainable."

Gross isn't alone: In 2021, researchers analyzed over a decade's worth of studies and found that teachers were being pushed to adopt technology in their classrooms without the "technical resources and equipment necessary for its correct didactic use," a particularly insidious problem that culminated in "conflicts between teachers, as well as in their relationships with colleagues or with other people involved in the environment, eventually producing, in the worst case, damaged personal and interpersonal relationships that affect their health."

In a study published earlier this year, researchers found that nearly half of the teachers surveyed spent 20 or more hours per week creating new lessons, adapting materials to online classrooms, and troubleshooting tech issues. Notably, this pattern is expected to continue past the pandemic as schools commit to deeper integration of technology and even offer some form of remote instruction permanently.

A Heavy Toll

This new source of anxiety is not only linked to decreased job satisfaction, motivation, and competency but is also a health and safety concern, "causing physical ailments such as headaches, sleep issues, muscle cramps, back aches and high blood pressure," according to Murphy.

It's not technology itself that's the problem-it's that technology erodes the boundaries that have historically constrained altruistic teachers. "We may feel that if we don't get a task done, our students will suffer or programs will fail," explains John McCarthy, a former teacher and current consultant. "However, if we become mentally exhausted, overtired, or drained of energy, we risk a complete shutdown mentally or physically-and at that point, no tasks will get done."

According to a 2015 survey, 78 percent of teachers feel physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of the day, and while technology isn't the sole source of stress, it is "one of the most significant contributing factors to increasing stress levels," Murphy points out, adding that educators routinely report that "invasion of privacy" is a "significant source of work exhaustion."

Pushing Back-Without Going Back

That's not to say that Ludditical solutions like banning technology should be pursued; technology creates enormous efficiencies and is here to stay, but it must be carefully managed. Murphy asserts that we need to establish and adopt policy that "supports the healthy adoption of technology outside of school hours by both teachers and students."

While the United States is lagging behind other countries, "right to disconnect" legislation has been proposed in New York to protect workers from being penalized if they choose not to respond to emails after work hours. Meanwhile, major companies have begun to acknowledge the problem. Volkswagen banned internal emails from being sent or received through its servers during off-work hours in 2012, following "complaints that staff's work and home lives were becoming blurred." And in 2016, France adopted new labor laws giving employees the right "to not have to take calls or read emails related to work during their time off." The law's stated goal is to "ensure that the employees' non-work hours, vacation time, and personal and family life be respected."

So what should be under consideration for schools?

Model better practices: Consider developing policies or guidelines that encourage school leaders to avoid sending emails after school hours, except in the case of emergencies. What may seem like a simple question or request can have bigger implications as teachers feel the need to regularly check email at night to avoid appearing nonresponsive.

Give "permission to disconnect": Leaders can provide explicit permission giving teachers the right to disconnect from work-related communications outside of normal school hours. The policy should be socialized among all stakeholders in the learning community and honored with no questions asked.

Survey your staff: Conduct work-life balance surveys to gauge staff well-being. Ask questions such as "How often do the demands of your job interfere with your family life?"-good lists of questions can be found in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Quality of Worklife Questionnaire and the Staff Distance Learning and Wellness Survey from Broward County Public Schools.

Keep your cell phone clean: Teachers should consider removing access to work emails from their smartphones, and school and district leaders should encourage it. "You may find it more helpful to only check email on your computer-that way, when the school day ends, you can close your computer and walk away from the pings and the temptation to check your inbox," suggests classroom teacher Lauren Huddleston.

Be transparent about your obligations: Block visible time on your calendar for typically unstructured tasks like writing emails, grading papers, and planning lessons, suggests educational consultant and former teacher Marissa King. Consider clearly demarcating your work hours on your calendar as well, and set up out-of-office messages that state your work hours and indicate when you'll respond to late emails.

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Defending a Teacher's Right to Disconnect

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Remember personal time? For many educators, technology has driven it toward extinction-and it's time to get serious about reclaiming it.

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This article is the first in a series drawing together McKinsey's collective thinking and expertise on five behaviors to help leaders navigate the pandemic and recovery. Separate articles describe organizing via a network of teams; displaying deliberate calm and bounded optimism; making decisions amid uncertainty; demonstrating empathy; and communicating effectively.

The coronavirus pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders in business and beyond. The humanitarian toll taken by COVID-19 creates fear among employees and other stakeholders. The massive scale of the outbreak and its sheer unpredictability make it challenging for executives to respond. Indeed, the outbreak has the hallmarks of a "landscape scale" crisis: an unexpected event or sequence of events of enormous scale and overwhelming speed, resulting in a high degree of uncertainty that gives rise to disorientation, a feeling of lost control, and strong emotional disturbance.

Recognizing that a company faces a crisis is the first thing leaders must do. It is a difficult step, especially during the onset of crises that do not arrive suddenly but grow out of familiar circumstances that mask their nature. Examples of such crises include the SARS outbreak of 2002-03 and now the coronavirus pandemic. Seeing a slow-developing crisis for what it might become requires leaders to overcome the normalcy bias, which can cause them to underestimate both the possibility of a crisis and the impact that it could have.

What leaders need during a crisis is not a predefined response plan but behaviors and mindsets that will prevent them from overreacting to yesterday's developments and help them look ahead. In this article, we explore five such behaviors and accompanying mindsets that can help leaders navigate the coronavirus pandemic and future crises.

Organizing to respond to crises: The network of teams

During a crisis, leaders must relinquish the belief that a top-down response will engender stability. In routine emergencies, the typical company can rely on its command-and-control structure to manage operations well by carrying out a scripted response. But in crises characterized by uncertainty, leaders face problems that are unfamiliar and poorly understood. A small group of executives at an organization's highest level cannot collect information or make decisions quickly enough to respond effectively. Leaders can better mobilize their organizations by setting clear priorities for the response and empowering others to discover and implement solutions that serve those priorities.

Some parts of the network pursue actions that take place outside regular business operations. Other parts identify the crisis's implications for routine business activities and make adjustments, such as helping employees adapt to new working norms. In many cases, the network of teams will include an integrated nerve center covering four domains: workforce protection, supply-chain stabilization, customer engagement, and financial stress testing (for more, see " Responding to coronavirus: The minimum viable nerve center ").

In many cases, the network of teams will include an integrated nerve center covering four domains: workforce protection, supply-chain stabilization, customer engagement, and financial stress testing.

Regardless of their functional scope, effective networks of teams display several qualities. They are multidisciplinary: experience shows that crises present a degree of complexity that makes it necessary to engage experts from different fields. They are designed to act. Merely soliciting experts' ideas is not enough; experts must gather information, devise solutions, put them into practice, and refine them as they go. And they are adaptable, reorganizing, expanding, or contracting as teams learn more about the crisis and as conditions change.

Leaders should foster collaboration and transparency across the network of teams. One way they do this is by distributing authority and sharing information: in other words, demonstrating how the teams themselves should operate. In crisis situations, a leader's instinct might be to consolidate decision-making authority and control information, providing it on a strictly need-to-know basis. Doing the opposite will encourage teams to follow suit.

Another crucial part of the leader's role, especially in the emotional, tense environment that characterizes a crisis, is promoting psychological safety so people can openly discuss ideas, questions, and concerns without fear of repercussions. This allows the network of teams to make sense of the situation, and how to handle it, through healthy debate.

Elevating leaders during a crisis: The value of 'deliberate calm' and 'bounded optimism'

Just as an organization's senior executives must be prepared to temporarily shift some responsibilities from their command-and-control hierarchy to a network of teams, they must also empower others to direct many aspects of the organization's crisis response. This involves granting them the authority to make and implement decisions without having to gain approval. One important function of senior executives is to quickly establish an architecture for decision making, so that accountability is clear and decisions are made by appropriate people at different levels.

Senior leaders must also make sure that they empower the right people to make crisis-response decisions across the network of teams. Since decision makers will probably make some mistakes, they must be able to learn quickly and make corrections without overreacting or paralyzing the organization. At the start of a crisis, senior leaders will have to appoint decision makers to direct the crisis response. But as the crisis evolves, new crisis-response leaders will naturally emerge in a network-of-teams construct, and those crisis-response leaders won't always be senior executives.

Another important quality is "bounded optimism," or confidence combined with realism. Early in a crisis, if leaders display excessive confidence in spite of obviously difficult conditions, they can lose credibility. It is more effective for leaders to project confidence that the organization will find a way through its tough situation but also show that they recognize the crisis's uncertainty and have begun to grapple with it by collecting more information. When the crisis has passed, then optimism will be more beneficial (and can be far less bounded).

Making decisions amid uncertainty: Pause to assess and anticipate, then act

Waiting for a full set of facts to emerge before determining what to do is another common mistake that leaders make during crises. Because a crisis involves many unknowns and surprises, facts may not become clear within the necessary decision-making time frame. But leaders should not resort to using their intuition alone. Leaders can better cope with uncertainty and the feeling of jamais vu (déjà vu's opposite) by continually collecting information as the crisis unfolds and observing how well their responses work.

In practice, this means frequently pausing from crisis management, assessing the situation from multiple vantage points, anticipating what may happen next, and then acting. The pause-assess-anticipate-act cycle should be ongoing, for it helps leaders maintain a state of deliberate calm and avoid overreacting to new information as it comes in. While some moments during the crisis will call for immediate action, with no time to assess or anticipate, leaders will eventually find occasions to stop, reflect, and think ahead before making further moves.

The pause-assess-anticipate-act cycle should be ongoing, for it helps leaders maintain a state of deliberate calm and avoid overreacting to new information as it comes in.

Two cognitive behaviors can aid leaders as they assess and anticipate. One, called updating, involves revising ideas based on new information teams collect and knowledge they develop. The second, doubting, helps leaders consider ongoing and potential actions critically and decide whether they need to be modified, adopted, or discarded. Updating and doubting help leaders mediate their dueling impulses to conceive solutions based on what they've done previously and to make up new solutions without drawing on past lessons. Instead, leaders bring their experiences to bear while accepting new insights as they emerge.

Once leaders decide what to do, they must act with resolve. Visible decisiveness not only builds the organization's confidence in leaders; it also motivates the network of teams to sustain its search for solutions to the challenges that the organization faces.

Demonstrating empathy: Deal with the human tragedy as a first priority

In a landscape-scale crisis, people's minds turn first to their own survival and other basic needs. Will I be sickened or hurt? Will my family? What happens then? Who will care for us? Leaders shouldn't assign communications or legal staff to address these questions. A crisis is when it is most important for leaders to uphold a vital aspect of their role: making a positive difference in people's lives.

Doing this requires leaders to acknowledge the personal and professional challenges that employees and their loved ones experience during a crisis. By mid-March 2020, COVID-19 had visited tragedy on countless people by claiming thousands of lives. More than 100,000 cases had been confirmed; many more were being projected. The pandemic had also triggered powerful second-order effects. Governments instituted travel bans and quarantine requirements, which are important for safeguarding public health but can also keep people from aiding relatives and friends or seeking comfort in community groups or places of worship. School closures in many jurisdictions put strain on working parents. Since each crisis will affect people in particular ways, leaders should pay careful attention to how people are struggling and take corresponding measures to support them.

Lastly, it is vital that leaders not only demonstrate empathy but open themselves to empathy from others and remain attentive to their own well-being. As stress, fatigue, and uncertainty build up during a crisis, leaders might find that their abilities to process information, to remain levelheaded, and to exercise good judgment diminish. They will stand a better chance of countering functional declines if they encourage colleagues to express concern-and heed the warnings they are given. Investing time in their well-being will enable leaders to sustain their effectiveness over the weeks and months that a crisis can entail.

Communicating effectively: Maintain transparency and provide frequent updates

Crisis communications from leaders often hit the wrong notes. Time and again, we see leaders taking an overconfident, upbeat tone in the early stages of a crisis-and raising stakeholders' suspicions about what leaders know and how well they are handling the crisis. Authority figures are also prone to suspend announcements for long stretches while they wait for more facts to emerge and decisions to be made.

Communications shouldn't stop once the crisis has passed. Offering an optimistic, realistic outlook can have a powerful effect on employees and other stakeholders, inspiring them to support the company's recovery.

The coronavirus pandemic is testing the leaders of companies and organizations in every sector around the world. Its consequences could last for longer and present greater difficulties than anyone anticipates. The prolonged uncertainty is all the more reason for leaders to embrace the practices described in this article. Those who do will help establish or reinforce behaviors and values that can support their organizations and communities during this crisis, however long it continues, and prepare them well for the next large-scale challenge.

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Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges

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This article is the first in a series drawing together McKinsey's collective thinking and expertise on five behaviors to help leaders navigate the pandemic and recovery. Separate articles describe organizing via a network of teams; displaying deliberate calm and bounded optimism; making decisions amid uncertainty; demonstrating empathy; and communicating effectively.

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What Good Leadership Looks Like During This Pandemic

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When contending with a crisis like the ongoing pandemic, leaders can easily fall into the traps of waiting for the situation to clarify how to act and downplaying the threat in order to reassure people. It turns out that these instincts mean failing the coronavirus leadership test. Passing that test…

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Transformational Leadership- A Closer Look at the Effects of Transformational Leadership

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Transformational Leadership- A Closer Look at the Effects of Transformational Leadership

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Have you ever been in a group where someone took control of the situation by conveying a clear vision of the group's goals, a marked passion for the work, and an ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized? This person just might be what is called a transformational leader.

Transformational leadership is a leadership style that can inspire positive changes in those who follow. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate. Not only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed as well.

Quick Background

The concept of transformational leadership was initially introduced by leadership expert and presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership can be seen when "leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation."﻿﻿

Later, researcher Bernard M. Bass expanded upon Burns's original ideas to develop what is today referred to as Bass's Transformational Leadership Theory. According to Bass, transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers. Transformational leaders, Bass suggested, garner trust, respect, and admiration from their followers.﻿﻿

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Components

Bass also suggested that there were four different components of transformational leadership.

1. Intellectual Stimulation: Transformational leaders not only challenge the status quo; they also encourage creativity among followers. The leader encourages followers to explore new ways of doing things and new opportunities to learn.

2. Individualized Consideration: Transformational leadership also involves offering support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive relationships, transformational leaders keep lines of communication open so that followers feel free to share ideas and so that leaders can offer direct recognition of the unique contributions of each follower.

3. Inspirational Motivation: Transformational leaders have a clear vision that they are able to articulate to followers. These leaders are also able to help followers experience the same passion and motivation to fulfill these goals.

4. Idealized Influence: The transformational leader serve as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalize his or her ideals.

So what are some typical signs of a transformational leader? Groups led by this type of leader tend to be both successful and loyal. They give a lot to the team and care deeply about the group's ability to accomplish its goals. Turnover tends to be quite low as transformational leaders are able to inspire a great deal of commitment in their followers.

In their classic text, Transformational Leadership, authors Bass and Riggio explained:

"Transformational leaders...are those who stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacity. Transformational leaders help followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers' needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization."

"Research evidence clearly shows that groups led by transformational leaders have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other types of leaders," explained psychologist and leadership expert Ronald E. Riggio in an article for Psychology Today.

The reason, he suggests, is that transformational leaders believe that their followers can do their best, leading members of the group to feel inspired and empowered.

What can you do to become a more transformational leader? Leadership experts suggest that having a strong, positive vision of the future plays a critical role. Not only is it important to believe in this vision yourself; you've also got to inspire others to buy into your vision as well.

Link to Well-Being

According to the results of one study, this style of leadership can also have a positive influence on employee well-being.﻿﻿

The study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine involved surveying workers at several different German information and communication technology companies. Researchers asked participants to answers questions about their employer's leadership style.

A score for transformational leadership was then determined based on qualities such as providing intellectual stimulation, giving positive feedback for good performance, leading by example, and helping employees feel like they were making a contribution toward the goals of the group.

The researchers discovered that employees who identified a higher level of transformational leadership in their employers also had higher reported levels of well-being. The effect stayed significant even after researchers controlled for factors that are linked to well-being such as job strain, education, and age.

"The results of this study suggest that a transformational leadership style, which both conveys a sense of trust and meaningfulness and individually challenges and develops employees, also has a positive effect on employee well-being," the authors summarized.

Real-World Applications

So what impact could such results have for managers and workers?

The study's authors suggest that the results are important and can help companies develop leadership training programs that can be used to teach transformational leadership skills. Acquiring communication skills such as resolving conflicts in the workplace and recognizing the needs of employees are an important part of transformational leadership.

"Such training programs can be seen as another essential component of workplace health promotion and prevention efforts and therefore should receive wide support," explained the study's authors.

A Word From Verywell

The transformational style of leadership can be highly effective when used appropriately, but it might not necessarily be the best choice for every situation. In some cases, groups may require a more managerial or autocratic style that involves closer control and greater direction, particularly in situations where group member are unskilled and need a lot of oversight.

One way to improve your own leadership skills is to assess your own current leadership style and think about ways in which your strengths can benefit the group you are leading. By evaluating your own skills, you will be better able to play to your strengths and work on improving your areas of weakness.

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How Do Transformational Leaders Inspire and Motivate Followers?

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Have you ever been in a group where someone took control of the situation by conveying a clear vision of the group's goals, a marked passion for the work, and an ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized? This person just might be what is called a transformational leader.

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said:

"The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions...The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the "top of the pyramid," servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

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What is Servant Leadership? - Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: "The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.

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The Global Emotional Intelligence Test uses 40 questions which are derived from, the Global instrument, which contains 158 items. These are based on Goleman's four quadrant Emotional Intelligence Competency Model (2002). Click EI Capability Assessment here for more details. Short EI quizzes such as this are meant to be fun, and to give you a guide to which EI areas you are doing well in and those which perhaps you need to focus on for development.

This Test, is a forced-choice psychological test which requires you to choose Instructions for the FREE EI Test one statement in each pair of statements that describes you best. For each pair of statements, select the statement that best applies to you. Do not over-analyse the questions, or try to think of "exceptions to the rule." Be spontaneous and choose the statement that comes closest to the way you are.

Occasionally there will be questions that ask you to make a close call between two choices. This is because the Test is trying to distinguish between specific areas. If a question is very close and you can't decide which statement applies to you best, you can come back to it after you have completed the other questions.

The Test usually takes about 10 minutes to complete. At the end of the test, click on the Score Test button, and wait for the computer to generate an EI profile of your scores. If you have answered honestly and accurately, your scores will reflect your capability level within each of the EI quadrants.

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the results of this Test - only that it can help you begin your journey of self-development!

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Emotional Intelligence Test - Global Leadership Foundation

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Free emotional intelligence test developed by Global Leadership Foundation

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The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence. So, let's look at each element in more detail and examine how you can grow as a leader.

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

1. Self-awareness

If you're self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses, and it means behaving with humility.

So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?

Keep a journal. Journals help you improve your self-awareness. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.

2. Self-regulation

Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.

This element of emotional intelligence, according to Goleman, also covers a leader's flexibility and commitment to personal accountability.

So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?

Hold yourself accountable. If you tend to blame others when something goes wrong, stop. Make a commitment to admit to your mistakes and to face the consequences, whatever they are. You'll probably sleep better at night, and you'll quickly earn the respect of those around you.

Practice being calm. The next time you're in a challenging situation, be very aware of how you act. Do you relieve your stress by shouting at someone else? Practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself. Also, try to write down all of the negative things you want to say, and then rip it up and throw it away. Expressing these emotions on paper (and not showing them to anyone!) is better than speaking them aloud to your team. What's more, this helps you challenge your reactions to ensure that they're fair!

3. Motivation

Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals, and they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work.

How can you improve your motivation?

Re-examine why you're doing your job. It's easy to forget what you really love about your career. So, take some time to remember why you wanted this job. If you're unhappy in your role and you're struggling to remember why you wanted it, try the Five Whys technique to find the root of the problem. Starting at the root often helps you look at your situation in a new way. And make sure that your goal statements are fresh and energizing. For more on this, see our article on Goal Setting.

4. Empathy

For leaders, having empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. Leaders with empathy have the ability to put themselves in someone else's situation. They help develop the people on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and listen to those who need it.

If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being empathic.

How can you improve your empathy?

Respond to feelings. You ask your assistant to work late - again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours, and that you're just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue (for example, give him Monday mornings off).

5. Social Skills

Leaders who do well in the social skills element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They're just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they're experts at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.

Leaders who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. They're rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they don't sit back and make everyone else do the work: they set an example with their own behavior.

So, how can you build social skills?

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Emotional Intelligence in Leadership - Learning How to Be More Aware

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Relating to others is vital in today's workplace. Learn how to build your emotional intelligence (EI) with this article.

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How Emotional Intelligence Became a Key Leadership Skill

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How Emotional Intelligence Became a Key Leadership Skill

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Anyone trying to come up to speed on emotional intelligence would have a pretty easy time of it since the concept is remarkably recent, and its application to business newer still. The term was coined in 1990 in a research paper by two psychology professors, John D. Mayer of UNH and Peter Salovey of Yale. Some years later, Mayer defined it in HBR this way:

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How Emotional Intelligence Became a Key Leadership Skill

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A reading list to bring you up to speed.

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A model consisted of five components (Purpose, Inclusive, Empowering, Ethical, and Process) that focuses on a group or organization's positive social development and advancement. Each component can be applied into the Knowing-Being-Doing framework of an exemplary leader.
What are the Components?
Purpose - Having an individual commitment to a goal or activity while establishing a common ground with others who share a similar purpose.
Inclusive - Involving not only everyone but also everyone's ideas and different viewpoints.
Empowering - Giving others the ability to not only be involved but feel involved in group decision making.
Ethical - Being 'fair' to yourself as a leader, other leaders, and to the process you take to achieve your goals.
Process - The path you as a group decide to go in along with how well you stay together, communicate, solve problems, and achieve your goals as a group.

Knowing? Being? Doing?
Knowing - The skills needed to perform and knowing process of how to manage yourself and others to achieve goals.
Being - Self awareness of personal beliefs, values, and goals while understanding that your actions can have significant effect on others.
Doing - Using the knowledge and self awareness to lead a group to achieving previously stated goals. Knowing the skills needed is not enough to be a leader, one must be aware of the influence he can potentially have on others. Similarly, being aware that you have the potential to lead is not enough if you don't possess the knowledge of skills. The combination of skills accompanied with the process of doing completes the framework of an exemplary leadership.

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A model consisted of five components (Purpose, Inclusive, Empowering, Ethical, and Process) that focuses on a group or organization's positive social development and advancement. Each component can be applied into the Knowing-Being-Doing framework of an exemplary leader. What are the Components?

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Behaviorism: grand theory of human development that studies observable behavior. Describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned. (Berger, 38) School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of "learning." Rejected the emphasis on "consciousness" promoted by structuralism and functionalism. Also flatly rejected "Freudian" notions about unconscious influences. (Hockenbury, 7-8) Insists that only observable behavior should form the object of study, as this can be witnessed, described, and measured in objective terms. (Collin, 340) Editor's note - developed by John Watson and later championed by B.F. Skinner. Also referred to as 'behavior theory.'

Behaviorist: a person who believes in behaviorism. (Marshall, 11/3/2011)

Cognitivism: grand theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time. According to this theory, our thoughts shape our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. (Berger, 43) Focuses on the mental processes involved in learning and knowing, and how the mind actively organizes experiences. (Collin, 340) Emphasizes the importance of "observational learning," conscious cognitive processes, social experiences, "self-efficacy" beliefs, and "reciprocal determinism." (Hockenbury, 416) Editor's note - developed by Albert Bandura. Also referred to as 'cognitive theory,' 'cognitive objectivism' and 'social cognitivism.'

Cognitivist: a person who believes in cognitivism. (Marshall, 11/3/2011) Also referred to as 'cognitivist objectivist.'

Reciprocal Determinism: a model that explains human functioning and personality as caused by the interaction of behavior, cognitive, and environmental factors. (Hockenbury, 416)

Emergent Theories of Psychology: theories that bring together information from many disciplines in addition to psychology and that are becoming comprehensive and systematic in their interpretations of development. (Berger, 34)

Evolutionary Psychology: the application of principles of "evolution," including "natural selection," to explain psychological processes and phenomena. (Hockenbury, 11) Some cognitive psychologists have claimed that ... we inherit certain psychological characteristics they are also subject to the same sort of natural selection as our physical characteristics. (Collin, 211)

Functionalism: the view that mental processes and behaviors of living organisms help them adapt to their environments. (Schunk, 22) Concerned with investigating the adaptive functions of the mind in relation to its environment. (Collin, 341) Early school of psychology that emphasized studying the purpose, or function, of behavior and mental experiences. Functionalists also examined how psychology could be applied to areas such as "education," child rearing, and the work environment. (Hockenbury, 5) Editor's note - developed by William James.

Humanistic Psychology: school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction. (Hockenbury, 9) Approach that emphasizes the importance of free will and self-actualization in determining good mental health. (Collin, 341) View that emphasizes the importance of psychological and "cognitive" factors in motivation, especially the notion that people are motivated to realize their personal potential. (Hockenbury, 302) A paradigm/philosophy/pedagogical approach that believes learning is viewed as a personal act to fulfill one's potential. Key proponents include Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Malcolm Knowles. (LearningTheories, 17) Editor's note - developed by Craig Rogers.

Conditional Positive Regard: the sense that you will be valued and loved only if you behave in a way that is acceptable to to others. (Hockenbury, 414) Also referred to as 'conditional love.'

Unconditional Positive Regard: the sense that you will be valued and loved even if you don't conform to the standards and expectations of others. (Hockenbury, 414) Also referred to as 'unconditional love.'

Jung's Theory: people are motivated by a more general 'psychological energy' that pushes them to achieve psychological growth, self-realization, 'psychic wholeness' and harmony. (Hockenbury, 407) Jung believed every person's purpose in life was to have his or her conscious and unconscious become fully integrated, so that they could become their 'true self.' (Kleinman, 134) Editor's note - developed by Carl Jung.

Archetypes: in Jung's theory, the inherited mental images of universal human instincts, themes, and preoccupations that are the main components of the collective unconscious. (Hockenbury, 408) Jung believed that the archetypes are layers of inherited memory, and they constitute the entirety of the human experience. (Collin, 105)

Collective Unconscious: in Jung's theory, the hypothesized part of the unconscious mind that is inherited from previous generations and that contains universally shared ancestral experiences and ideas. (Hockenbury, 407)

Extroverts: personality type that turns its attention toward the outside world. (Hockenbury, 408)

Introverts: personality type that focuses attention inward. (Hockenbury, 408)

Rationalism: the idea that knowledge derives from reason without recourse to the senses. Can be traced to Plato, who distinguished knowledge acquired via the senses, from that gained by reason. (Schunk, 5)

Structuralism: early school of psychology that emphasized studying the most basic components, or 'structures,' of "conscious" experiences. Held that even our most complex conscious experiences could be broken down into elemental structures, or component parts, of sensations and feelings. In the end, the methods and goals of structuralism were simply too limited to accommodate the rapidly expanding interests of the field of psychology. (Hockenbury, 4-5) Editor's note - developed by Edward Titchener.

Psychoanalytic Theory: a grand theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior. (Berger, 35) Developed by Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that human behavior was motivated by unconscious conflicts that were almost always sexual or aggressive in nature. Also form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the role of unconscious factors in personality and behavior. (Hockenbury, 7) Also referred to as 'contemporary psychoanalysis.'

Dream Analysis: the content of dreams is analyzed for disguised or symbolic wishes, meanings, and motivations. (Hockenbury, 551) Also referred to as 'dream interpretation.'

Eros: in Freud's theory, the self-preservation or life instinct, reflected in the expression of basic biological urges that perpetuate the existence of the individual and the species. (Hockenbury, 401)

Free Association: therapeutic mechanism that emphasizes the resolution of unconscious conflicts. Requires the patient to rapidly respond to a list of trigger words with the first word that comes to mind. (Bamford, 11/1/10)

Freudian Defense Mechanisms: the denials, repressions, confabulations (imaginary experiences) and other forms of self-delusion that govern our daily lives. (Ramachandran, 134) Also referred to as 'ego defense mechanisms.'

Displacement: emotional impulses redirected to a substitute object or person, usually one less threatening or dangerous. (Hockenbury, 403)

Sublimation: (re-channeling) sexual urges into nonsexual activities. Does not take place on a single occasion. Demands a continuous expenditure of effort. (Hockenbury, 403)

Projection: the attribution of one's own unacceptable urges or qualities to others. (Hockenbury, 403)

Rationalization: justifying one's actions or feelings with socially acceptable explanations rather than consciously acknowledging one's true motives or desires. (Hockenbury, 403)

Reaction Formation: thinking or behaving in a way that is the extreme opposite of urges or impulses (perceived to be unacceptable). (Hockenbury, 403) Editor's note - occurs when a person feels an urge to do or say something and then actually does or says something that is effectively the opposite of what they really want.

Regression: retreating to a behavior pattern characteristic of an earlier stage of development. (Hockenbury, 403)

Repression: the exclusion from consciousness of anxiety-producing thoughts, feelings, or impulses. Pushed out of conscious awareness into the unconscious. Most fundamental defense mechanism. (Hockenbury, 403)

Freudian Personality Structure s: according to Freud, 'psychological energy' evolves to form three basic structures of personality - the "id," the "ego," and the "superego." (Hockenbury, 401)

Ego: in Freud's theory, the 'partly conscious' rational component of personality that regulates thoughts and behavior and is most in touch with the demands of the external world. (Hockenbury, 401)

Id: in Freud's theory, the completely unconscious, irrational component of personality that seeks immediate satisfaction of instinctual urges and dies; ruled by the "pleasure principal." (Hockenbury, 401)

Superego: in Freud's theory, the partly conscious, self-evaluative, moralistic component of personality that is formed through the internalization of parental and societal rules. (Hockenbury, 402)

Freudian Psychosexual Stages: in Freud's theory, age-developmental periods in which the child's sexual urges are focused on different areas of the body and are expressed through the activities associated with those areas. Includes the oral (birth to 1 year), anal (ages 1 to 3), phallic (3 to 6), latency (7 to 11), and genital (adolescence) stages. (Hockenbury, 404)

Libido: in Freud's theory, the psychological and emotional 'energy' associated with expressions of sexuality. (Hockenbury, 401) Also referred to as 'sex drive.'

Oedipus Complex: in Freud's theory, a child's unconscious sexual desire for the opposite-sex parent, usually accompanied by hostile feelings toward the same-sex parent. (Hockenbury, 404)

Pleasure Principle: in Freud's theory, the motive to obtain pleasure and avoid tension or discomfort; the most fundamental human motive and the guiding principle of the id. (Hockenbury, 401)

Reality Principle: in Freud's theory, the capacity to accommodate external demands by postponing gratification until the appropriate time or circumstances exist. (Hockenbury, 401)

Resistance: a patient's unconscious attempts to block the revelation of repressed memories and conflicts. (Hockenbury, 551) The patient resists recovery and deliberately undermines the therapeutic process. (Bamford, 11/1/10)

Thanatos: in Freud's theory, the death instinct, reflected in aggressive, destructive, and self-destructive actions. (Hockenbury, 401)

Transference: the process by which emotions and desires originally associated with a significant person in the patient's life, such as a parent, are unconsciously transferred to the psychoanalyst. (Hockenbury, 551)

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BEHAVIORAL THEORIES - Richards on the Brain

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Behaviorism: grand theory of human development that studies observable behavior. Describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned. (Berger, 38) School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of "learning." Rejected the emphasis on "consciousness" promoted by structuralism and functionalism.

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Theories of leadership explain how and why specific individuals become leaders. They emphasize the character characteristics and actions that people might adopt to improve their leadership skills. Top qualities cited by leaders as essential to effective leadership involve:

Strong moral principles and ethics

Excellent organizational abilities

Competent learner

Encourages employee development

Encourages affiliation and connection

These qualities are thought to be the most crucial by leaders all across the world, according to research. And leadership theories aid in illuminating how leaders use and cultivate these qualities.Leadership theories have recently been more codified, which makes them simpler to comprehend, discuss, and evaluate in practice.

What is a Leadership Theory?
A leadership theory describes how and why certain individuals become leaders. The focus is on the characteristics and behaviors that people can adopt to enhance their leadership ability. According to leaders, strong ethics and high moral standards are essential qualities of a good leader.

What Makes an Honest Leader?

A successful leader possesses personality, bravery, a transparent vision, and ambition. A strong leader creates organizational success by encouraging the team to perform at their highest level.

Essential Leadership Skills of Excellent Leaders

Understand the way to offer support. Supportive leaders are accessible to their staff, transparent about their choices, team players, and adept communicators of plans and tactics.

Have empathy and demonstrate it

Keep the lines of communication open

Being capable of taking decisions

Effective planning

Collaborate.

10 Major Leadership Theories You Need to Know About

1. The Transactional Theory or Management Theory

Well during Industrial Revolution, this transactional theory was developed to boost company productivity. It is a leadership approach that emphasizes the value of hierarchy for enhancing organizational effectiveness. These managers place high importance on structure and utilize their authority to enforce rules to inspire staff to perform at their best. In accordance with this philosophy, workers are rewarded for achieving their given objectives. The concept also presupposes that workers must comply with managerial directives.

Managers whopractice transactional leadership keep an eye on their staff, making sure they are rewarded for reaching milestones and disciplined when they fall short. These executives, however, do not serve as a trigger for a company's expansion. Instead, they concentrate on upholding the organization's policies and standards to ensure that everything goes as planned.

Leaders Who Practice Transactional Leadership:

Target immediate objectives.

Favor standardized processes and regulations

Recent changes

Discourage original thought

Emphasis on one's own interests

Encourage performance

When there are challenges that are clearly stated and the main goal is to finish a work, transactional leadership works well.

2. Theory of Transformation

The relationship between leaders and staff can help the organization, according to the transformational theory of management. This leadership theory contends that effective leaders inspire workers to go above and beyond what they are capable of. Leaders develop a vision for their team members and motivate them to realize it.

Employee morale is raised and inspired by transformational leaders, which helps them perform better at work. These managers encourage staff members by their deeds rather than their words because they specialize in setting an example.

Leaders Who Practice Transformational Leadership:

Self-manage

Set an example

Give interaction a high priority

Be proactive in your work

Promote the development of employees

Receptive to fresh concepts

Take chances and make difficult choices

Transformational leaders, as opposed to transactional leaders, prioritize failed processes and gather personnel who get along well to accomplish shared corporate objectives. Additionally, effective executives prioritize the requirements of the organization and its employees over their own.

3. The Theory of Contingencies

According to the contingency hypothesis, there is no one right way to run an organization. Determining the optimal strategy for leading an organization to achieve depends on both internal and external considerations. The right candidate should fit the correct scenario, according to the contingency theory.

The following elements influence the leadership style, based on contingency theory:

Management approach

Work speed

Organizational policies and culture

Employee spirit

Employees' level of maturity

Relationship between coworkers or members of a team

Organizational objectives

Environment and routine at work

The management strategy that will help the organization achieve its objectives in a particular situation is decided by the leader.

According to this view, situations determine whether or not leaders are effective. No matter how successful a leader is, the idea explains, difficult situations will always arise. It emphasizes that the leaders are aware that the conditions in combination with their abilities have a role in their achievement.

4. The Theory of Situations

Similar to the contingency theory, this idea emphasizes the significance of context and holds that a leader should adjust to the shifting context to achieve objectives and make judgments. The level of competence and dedication of the team members can influence how these leaders choose to lead.

Situational leadership, as per situational theory:

Develop a connection with the workforce

Encourage employees

Recognize when alternative leadership philosophies are required in a given situation

Develop teams and organizational units

The idea also distinguishes four main leadership styles:

1. Telling: Managers instruct staff members on what needs to be done and how to go about it.

2. Selling: Team members are persuaded to adopt a leader's concepts or ideas.

3. Participating: Effective leaders encourage their team members to take an active part in problem-solving and decision-making processes.

4. Delegating: Limiting their involvement, leaders hand off the majority of the work to the team. Such leaders defer to the group for decision-making but they are always ready for advice.

The theory lists a few essential traits of a situational leader, such as problem-solving abilities, trust, adaptability, insight, and coaching.

5. The Great Man Theory

One of the first theories on leadership makes the assumption that these qualities are inherent, which indicates that leaders are born, not created, and cannot be learned. This hypothesis asserts that a leader has certain innate human characteristics, such as:

Glamour

Decisive

Wisdom

Daring

Assertiveness

Appeal

This viewpoint emphasizes the fact that individuals cannot be taught to be effective leaders. It's a quality that either you have or you don't. These abilities come naturally, thus you cannot learn them or receive training in them.

In addition, the idea holds that these leadership qualities are constant over time and apply to all organizations, regardless of the setting in which these leaders are employed. The idea that exceptional leaders emerge when they are required is another tenet of this leadership ideology.

6. The Trait Theory

The great man theory is expanded upon by the trait theory of leadership, which is predicated on the idea that effective leaders have particular personality qualities and features of behavior. They can become effective leaders in a number of circumstances thanks to these qualities. It also promotes the idea that certain people are more naturally gifted as leaders than others. Effective people have hobbies and personality traits that are very different from those of non-leaders.

The main characteristics of a successful leader are:

Emotional equilibrium

Acknowledging one's duty

Competence

Recognising obstacles

Thinking with action

Motivational abilities

Talents in communication

Tenacity and flexibility

Making decisions with assurance

You can learn more about your limitations and strengths with the help of this leadership idea. Then, you can try to strengthen your areas of weakness.The ideal person for a leadership position is chosen by many organizations using the trait approach.

7. Behaviorist Theory

According to this view, a person's leadership abilities are a product of their environment. Different learning talents contribute to effective management. The behavioral idea holds that leaders are formed and trained, not born, in contrast to the model of leadership. In other words, a leader's performance is not influenced by their inherent traits because leadership qualities are driven by behavior. Anyone is capable of becoming a leader with the right training and instruction.

According to the theory, in order to boost the output and morale of their team, managers should be mindful of their own behavior. This theory classifies managers into the following categories depending on the leadership styles it acknowledges:

Task-focused managers

Leaders who put people first

Apathetic leaders

Effective leaders

Dictatorial authorities

Current authorities

Reliable leaders

Shrewd businesspeople

Daddy-like bosses

Heads of Country Clubs

It is simple to assess the style of leadership of construction professionals, team leaders, or indeed any skilled leader using the behavioral theory.

8. Behavioral Theory

Behavioral leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders and holds that other leaders are able to imitate similar actions. Because it is sometimes known, the design theory contends that successful leaders could also be developed through teachable conduct rather than being born with it. The behaviors of a pacesetter are extensively emphasized in behavioral theories of leadership; this theory contends that observing a leader's behavior is the best indicator of how successful their leadership will be. The behavioral learning hypothesis emphasizes behavior instead of traits. Consistent with this idea, observable patterns of conduct are classified as "styles of leadership." Task-oriented leaders, club leaders, people-oriented leaders, dictatorial leaders, status-quo leaders, and more are some samples of leadership styles.

9. Functional Theory

The functional theory of leadership emphasizes how employment or organization is being led rather than who has been formally designated as the leader. Within the functional leadership approach, the power to get things done is supported by a collection of people's behaviors rather than one individual.

10. Integrated Psychological Theory

Integrative leadership may be a new style of leadership that encourages cooperation across a variety of barriers in order to advance the common good. It combines leadership theories and techniques that have their roots in five important societal spheres: industry, government, nonprofits, the media, and the community.

Why Are Leadership Theories Important?

Theories of leadership describe how and why particular people develop to be leaders. They lay emphasis on the actions and character characteristics that folks might adopt for improving their leadership skills. Top qualities that leaders cite as essential to effective leadership include: Strong moral principles and ethics

It is not necessary to overemphasize the importance of leadership. Any organization's success may be a result of its leadership. Due to its leadership, even the state has achieved independence, expansion, prosperity, and power. Effective leadership is another thing about the success and expansion of a business or industrial organization.

What Are Leadership Styles?

Following are the five sorts of leadership according to the Personnel Research Board at Ohio University.

1. The bureaucrat

2. The autocrat

3. The diplomat

4. The expert

5. The quarterback

Applying Leadership Theories at Workplace

10 methods to point out leadership at the office

Become a thought leader

Join a corporation for professionals

Consider the large picture

Think proactively and with positivity

Listen to others and pick up tips from them

Connect with a goal in mind

Look for a mentor

Accept diversity

Bottom Line

As you can see, leadership theories are based on different ways of thinking. Some focus on traits and qualities, while some touch upon the importance of situational aspects that influence how leaders behave. Like many other behavioral concepts, leadership is highly multi-dimensional, and there are numerous factors that go into filling the shoes of a leader. Because the human side of the business is one of the most - if not the most - important elements that determine the success and failure of an organization, leadership will always remain the most prized skill in the business world.

If you want to up your managerial performance and boost your leadership capabilities, Simplilearn's Master Of Business Administration (MBA) with IU, Germany can get you there. The state-of-the-art program prepares professionals (both aspiring and experienced ones) wjth the skills needed to succeed today as a the modern leader in businesses across industries. Boost your career with a Degree from London South Bank University & study in Bad Honnef or Berlin. This 12 month program covers all the in-demand business management skills and offers 4 specializations - Digital Marketing, Business Analysis, Design Thinking, Digital Transformation. Explore the program today.

What is a Leadership Theory?
A leadership theory describes how and why certain individuals become leaders. The focus is on the characteristics and behaviors that people can adopt to enhance their leadership ability. According to leaders, strong ethics and high moral standards are essential qualities of a good leader.

What Makes an Honest Leader?

A successful leader possesses personality, bravery, a transparent vision, and ambition. A strong leader creates organizational success by encouraging the team to perform at their highest level.

Essential Leadership Skills of Excellent Leaders

Understand the way to offer support. Supportive leaders are accessible to their staff, transparent about their choices, team players, and adept communicators of plans and tactics.

Have empathy and demonstrate it

Keep the lines of communication open

Being capable of taking decisions

Effective planning

Collaborate.

10 Major Leadership Theories You Need to Know About

1. The Transactional Theory or Management Theory

Well during Industrial Revolution, this transactional theory was developed to boost company productivity. It is a leadership approach that emphasizes the value of hierarchy for enhancing organizational effectiveness. These managers place high importance on structure and utilize their authority to enforce rules to inspire staff to perform at their best. In accordance with this philosophy, workers are rewarded for achieving their given objectives. The concept also presupposes that workers must comply with managerial directives.

Managers whopractice transactional leadership keep an eye on their staff, making sure they are rewarded for reaching milestones and disciplined when they fall short. These executives, however, do not serve as a trigger for a company's expansion. Instead, they concentrate on upholding the organization's policies and standards to ensure that everything goes as planned.

Leaders Who Practice Transactional Leadership:

Target immediate objectives.

Favor standardized processes and regulations

Recent changes

Discourage original thought

Emphasis on one's own interests

Encourage performance

When there are challenges that are clearly stated and the main goal is to finish a work, transactional leadership works well.

2. Theory of Transformation

The relationship between leaders and staff can help the organization, according to the transformational theory of management. This leadership theory contends that effective leaders inspire workers to go above and beyond what they are capable of. Leaders develop a vision for their team members and motivate them to realize it.

Employee morale is raised and inspired by transformational leaders, which helps them perform better at work. These managers encourage staff members by their deeds rather than their words because they specialize in setting an example.

Leaders Who Practice Transformational Leadership:

Self-manage

Set an example

Give interaction a high priority

Be proactive in your work

Promote the development of employees

Receptive to fresh concepts

Take chances and make difficult choices

Transformational leaders, as opposed to transactional leaders, prioritize failed processes and gather personnel who get along well to accomplish shared corporate objectives. Additionally, effective executives prioritize the requirements of the organization and its employees over their own.

3. The Theory of Contingencies

According to the contingency hypothesis, there is no one right way to run an organization. Determining the optimal strategy for leading an organization to achieve depends on both internal and external considerations. The right candidate should fit the correct scenario, according to the contingency theory.

The following elements influence the leadership style, based on contingency theory:

Management approach

Work speed

Organizational policies and culture

Employee spirit

Employees' level of maturity

Relationship between coworkers or members of a team

Organizational objectives

Environment and routine at work

The management strategy that will help the organization achieve its objectives in a particular situation is decided by the leader.

According to this view, situations determine whether or not leaders are effective. No matter how successful a leader is, the idea explains, difficult situations will always arise. It emphasizes that the leaders are aware that the conditions in combination with their abilities have a role in their achievement.

4. The Theory of Situations

Similar to the contingency theory, this idea emphasizes the significance of context and holds that a leader should adjust to the shifting context to achieve objectives and make judgments. The level of competence and dedication of the team members can influence how these leaders choose to lead.

Situational leadership, as per situational theory:

Develop a connection with the workforce

Encourage employees

Recognize when alternative leadership philosophies are required in a given situation

Develop teams and organizational units

The idea also distinguishes four main leadership styles:

1. Telling: Managers instruct staff members on what needs to be done and how to go about it.

2. Selling: Team members are persuaded to adopt a leader's concepts or ideas.

3. Participating: Effective leaders encourage their team members to take an active part in problem-solving and decision-making processes.

4. Delegating: Limiting their involvement, leaders hand off the majority of the work to the team. Such leaders defer to the group for decision-making but they are always ready for advice.

The theory lists a few essential traits of a situational leader, such as problem-solving abilities, trust, adaptability, insight, and coaching.

5. The Great Man Theory

One of the first theories on leadership makes the assumption that these qualities are inherent, which indicates that leaders are born, not created, and cannot be learned. This hypothesis asserts that a leader has certain innate human characteristics, such as:

Glamour

Decisive

Wisdom

Daring

Assertiveness

Appeal

This viewpoint emphasizes the fact that individuals cannot be taught to be effective leaders. It's a quality that either you have or you don't. These abilities come naturally, thus you cannot learn them or receive training in them.

In addition, the idea holds that these leadership qualities are constant over time and apply to all organizations, regardless of the setting in which these leaders are employed. The idea that exceptional leaders emerge when they are required is another tenet of this leadership ideology.

6. The Trait Theory

The great man theory is expanded upon by the trait theory of leadership, which is predicated on the idea that effective leaders have particular personality qualities and features of behavior. They can become effective leaders in a number of circumstances thanks to these qualities. It also promotes the idea that certain people are more naturally gifted as leaders than others. Effective people have hobbies and personality traits that are very different from those of non-leaders.

The main characteristics of a successful leader are:

Emotional equilibrium

Acknowledging one's duty

Competence

Recognising obstacles

Thinking with action

Motivational abilities

Talents in communication

Tenacity and flexibility

Making decisions with assurance

You can learn more about your limitations and strengths with the help of this leadership idea. Then, you can try to strengthen your areas of weakness.The ideal person for a leadership position is chosen by many organizations using the trait approach.

7. Behaviorist Theory

According to this view, a person's leadership abilities are a product of their environment. Different learning talents contribute to effective management. The behavioral idea holds that leaders are formed and trained, not born, in contrast to the model of leadership. In other words, a leader's performance is not influenced by their inherent traits because leadership qualities are driven by behavior. Anyone is capable of becoming a leader with the right training and instruction.

According to the theory, in order to boost the output and morale of their team, managers should be mindful of their own behavior. This theory classifies managers into the following categories depending on the leadership styles it acknowledges:

Task-focused managers

Leaders who put people first

Apathetic leaders

Effective leaders

Dictatorial authorities

Current authorities

Reliable leaders

Shrewd businesspeople

Daddy-like bosses

Heads of Country Clubs

It is simple to assess the style of leadership of construction professionals, team leaders, or indeed any skilled leader using the behavioral theory.

8. Behavioral Theory

Behavioral leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders and holds that other leaders are able to imitate similar actions. Because it is sometimes known, the design theory contends that successful leaders could also be developed through teachable conduct rather than being born with it. The behaviors of a pacesetter are extensively emphasized in behavioral theories of leadership; this theory contends that observing a leader's behavior is the best indicator of how successful their leadership will be. The behavioral learning hypothesis emphasizes behavior instead of traits. Consistent with this idea, observable patterns of conduct are classified as "styles of leadership." Task-oriented leaders, club leaders, people-oriented leaders, dictatorial leaders, status-quo leaders, and more are some samples of leadership styles.

9. Functional Theory

The functional theory of leadership emphasizes how employment or organization is being led rather than who has been formally designated as the leader. Within the functional leadership approach, the power to get things done is supported by a collection of people's behaviors rather than one individual.

10. Integrated Psychological Theory

Integrative leadership may be a new style of leadership that encourages cooperation across a variety of barriers in order to advance the common good. It combines leadership theories and techniques that have their roots in five important societal spheres: industry, government, nonprofits, the media, and the community.

Why Are Leadership Theories Important?

Theories of leadership describe how and why particular people develop to be leaders. They lay emphasis on the actions and character characteristics that folks might adopt for improving their leadership skills. Top qualities that leaders cite as essential to effective leadership include: Strong moral principles and ethics

It is not necessary to overemphasize the importance of leadership. Any organization's success may be a result of its leadership. Due to its leadership, even the state has achieved independence, expansion, prosperity, and power. Effective leadership is another thing about the success and expansion of a business or industrial organization.

What Are Leadership Styles?

Following are the five sorts of leadership according to the Personnel Research Board at Ohio University.

1. The bureaucrat

2. The autocrat

3. The diplomat

4. The expert

5. The quarterback

Applying Leadership Theories at Workplace

10 methods to point out leadership at the office

Become a thought leader

Join a corporation for professionals

Consider the large picture

Think proactively and with positivity

Listen to others and pick up tips from them

Connect with a goal in mind

Look for a mentor

Accept diversity

Bottom Line

As you can see, leadership theories are based on different ways of thinking. Some focus on traits and qualities, while some touch upon the importance of situational aspects that influence how leaders behave. Like many other behavioral concepts, leadership is highly multi-dimensional, and there are numerous factors that go into filling the shoes of a leader. Because the human side of the business is one of the most - if not the most - important elements that determine the success and failure of an organization, leadership will always remain the most prized skill in the business world.

If you want to up your managerial performance and boost your leadership capabilities, Simplilearn's Master Of Business Administration (MBA) with IU, Germany can get you there. The state-of-the-art program prepares professionals (both aspiring and experienced ones) wjth the skills needed to succeed today as a the modern leader in businesses across industries. Boost your career with a Degree from London South Bank University & study in Bad Honnef or Berlin. This 12 month program covers all the in-demand business management skills and offers 4 specializations - Digital Marketing, Business Analysis, Design Thinking, Digital Transformation. Explore the program today.

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10 Major Leadership Theories Every Manager Should Master in 2023

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Theories of leadership explain how and why specific individuals become leaders. They emphasize the character characteristics and actions that people might adopt to improve their leadership skills. Top qualities cited by leaders as essential to effective leadership involve: Strong moral principles and ethics Excellent organizational abilities Competent learner Encourages employee development Encourages affiliation and connection These qualities are thought to be the most crucial by leaders all across the world, according to research.

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ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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Leadership Practices of School Counselors

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Leadership Practices of School Counselors