The term leadership is usually a word that ignites excitement in people. Leaders are often thought of as strong individuals capable of inspiring big change and what many aspire to be. They can also cause a wide range of other emotions, one of those being fear. There are many leadership styles covering those that inspire to those that intimidate. Two main approaches to leadership are transactional, popular in the 1950s through the 1970s, and transformational, more recently noted (Ott, Parkes, & Simpson, 2008). Over the years, study of these approaches, and leadership in general, discuss giving orders (Follett, 1926), functions of leaders (Barnard, 1984), the Contingency Model (Fiedler, 1966), what makes a leader and their character …show more content…
When researching leaders in organizations, the cultural influences must not be overlooked or underrepresented. An example of this lean management which was a Japanese management idea influenced by American theories (Parkes, 2015). Other cultures can provide valuable information on leadership success and failures. Researchers have also pointed out that when quantifiable data is required then valuable variables are threatened to be lost (Baden & Higgs, 2015). Subjectivity should not always be ignored or treated as unimportant. Another problem researchers may encounter is knowing which type of leader is needed in a variety of situations. Different leadership styles have their place and do not fit well in any or every circumstance. A few questions to ask is if assumptions of leaders are correct, if they understand an organization’s value, and if how much they value corporate culture’s significance (Tichy & Ulrich, 1984). Strong definitions always play a role in how accurate a leader’s or organization’s understanding is, so have a set of standard definitions allow researchers and organizations to come to the same or similar …show more content…
This is a topic that has seen greater interest in recent years because organizations realize how much of a role emotional intelligence plays in their present and future success. Even the Mother of Management observed that the way orders were given made a difference in how individuals would respond (Follett, 1926). Leaders must also have strong communication skills in order to share information so that it is well received and understood (Barnard, 1968). When people are able to effectively communicate with each other the organization is more likely to experience success and high