Developing the Leader in You - Transforming Your STEM Career Through Leadership and Innovation - page 95

responses” that are consistent with leadership behavior. The responses in this
theory are outward manifestations or actions in response to the leadership need.
This theory focuses on the actions of leaders not on mental qualities or internal
states, and the evidence of leadership is the demonstrated activities.
Participative Theories
Participative leadership theories assume that the input of many minds results
in better leadership than a single decision maker. This theory espouses that the
ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account. These
leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and
help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making
process.
Transactional Theories
This theory states that people work for reward as well as working to minimize
the likelihood of punishment. In this theory, successful completion of the work
is rewarded whereas unsuccessful completion is punished. The focus in transac-
tional theory is on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance
toward the attainment of the goals.
Relationship Theories
Relationship theories (i.e., transformational theories) focus upon the connec-
tions formed between leaders and followers. This theory assumes that through
vision and passion a leader can achieve by inspiring and injecting enthusiasm
and energy into a group. Transformational leaders motivate and inspire people
by helping the group members see the importance and greater good of the vision
and each associated task. These leaders are focused on the performance of the
team but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential. In these situa-
tions, the result is a transformation of the group or organization that moves them
toward attainment of the shared vision.
These theories are ultimately translated into implementable methods to
infuse the desired leadership traits into an individual.
Several “positive” leadership theories have surfaced and include empower-
ment, transformation, charismatic, servant, spiritual, authoritative, and authentic
leadership theories, to name a few. An article by Avolio and Gardner [3] com-
pared authentic leadership to five other positive leadership theories: transfor-
mation leadership theory, behavioral theory, self-concept based theory, servant
leadership theory, and spiritual leadership theory. In this article, the primary
components of the leadership theory for authentic leadership were compared to
determine the degree to which the other theories focused these same elements
( Table 5.1 ).