Here are ten traits that make a truly successful modern leader:

There are four major theories in the need-based category: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, ERG theory, Herzberg’s dual factor theory, and McClelland’s acquired needs theory

Key Takeaway Contemporary approaches to leadership include transformational leadership, leader-member exchange, servant leadership, and authentic leadership

• Resilience: Leaders must be able to bounce back intellectually, physically and emotionally
• Vision:
• People-centred:
• Optimism:
• Innovative and challenging:
• Courage:
• Communicate openly:
• Culturally sensitive:

The theories are grouped according to the research approaches that characterize them The six categories are the trait, behavioral, power and influence, situational, charismatic, and transformational approaches

Five Leadership Theories and How to Apply Them

• Transformational Leadership
• Leader-Member Exchange Theory
• Adaptive Leadership
• Strengths-Based Leadership
• Servant Leadership

10 Leadership Theories

• The Great Man Theory (1840s)
• The Trait Theory of Leadership (1930s – 1940s)
• The Skills Theory of Leadership (1940s – 1950s)
• The Style Theories of Leadership (1940s – 1950s)
• The Situational Leadership Theory (1960s)
• The Contingency Theory (1960s)
• Transactional Leadership Theory (1970s)

Leadership theory is a discipline that focuses on finding out what makes successful leaders excel in what they do Leadership style focuses specifically on the traits and behaviors of leaders

Behavioral leadership theory argues that the success of a leader is based on their behavior rather than their natural attributes Behavioral leadership theory involves observing and evaluating a leader’s actions and behaviors when they are responding to a specific situation

Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment Behaviorists believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our actions 1

Behaviorism emphasizes the role of environmental factors in influencing behavior, to the near exclusion of innate or inherited factors This amounts essentially to a focus on learning We learn new behavior through classical or operant conditioning (collectively known as ‘learning theory’)