Running head: THEORY & PRACTICE OF LEADERSHIP 1

Leadership – Theory & Practice of Leadership Recap

Eva Runco

OGL300: Theory & Practice of Leadership

Professor Jules Klagge, Ph.D.

10/3/2022
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Leadership – Theory & Practice of Leadership Recap

Throughout this short but informative course of the theories and practices of leadership

we have reviewed and taken a deep dive into eleven different practices of leadership including:

trait, skills, behavior and situational approaches, path-goal and leader-member exchange

theories, transformational, authentic, servant, and adaptive leadership styles. Each approach,

theory and style brings forth their own unique tools for leaders to be successful and bring the

team success in achieve whatever their goals may be.

Within the traits approach we reviewed the major leadership traits such as intelligence,

self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability. These traits are thought to differentiate

leaders from the pack, leaders are built different, they were born with gifts that help motivate and

influence the followers. The trait approach depends on solely the leader within the leader-

follower relationship (Northouse, pg. 27).

The skills approach also utilizes an emphasis on the leader’s role within the team,

however, the skills approach takes the stance that key leadership traits are skills that can be

developed over time and experiences. This approach focuses on the three-skills approach,

technical, human, and conceptual skills; each set of skills will fluctuate depending on the role,

group, and position the leader finds themselves in amongst the team (Northouse, pg. 56).

Behavior approach identifies that the behavior of the leader, how they act, what they say,

influences the team. There are two broad kinds of behavior, task behaviors and relationship

behavior, depending on the task or the need of the team, where relational or actionable with task

influence the leader in how they approach the situation and the team to help influence progress

towards the overall team goal (Northouse, pg. 85).

The situational approach is similar to the behavioral in that depending on the situation the

leader will have to be flexible in how the communication is delivered to the team. Leadership

within this approach requires the leader to adapt their form of leadership as it sees fit for progress

of the team’s goals. There needs to be an understanding from the leader of the individual

follower’s competencies, as the level of support or directive from the leader will vary depending

on the unique follower (Northouse, pg. 110).

Path-goal theory emphasizes the path of the team towards the goals. Leaders define the

goals, clarify the path towards the goal, removes any obstacles that hinder the team from

achieving the goal, and the leader also provides support along the way. Leaders use their

influence and their vision of the end goal to motivate the team. It’s important that the leader

understands their followers, the culture of the organization, and determine what style of

leadership is best suited for the team (Northouse, pg. 132).

Leader-member exchange theory focuses on the interaction between leaders and

followers (Northouse, pg. 157). There is a dyadic relationship between the two and leaders need

to understand that within the team, due to the relationship emphasis nature, there will be

members of the team that are considered out-group members. The relationship between leader

and follower can be broken down into three phases, phase 1 stranger, phase 2 acquaintance, and

phase 3 mature partnership (Northouse, pg. 153).

Transformational style of leadership leans into the thought that leaders, if the relationship

of trust is built up enough, can push followers further than they thought was possible. Due to the

nature of the relationship with the leader and follower there are several areas to consider for

motivation such as, emotions, values, ethics, standards, and treatment of the team (Northouse,

pg. 185). Characteristics of the leaders influences the behaviors and effects the followers. The
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key is for the leader to understand when and where to push to help motive the team, as individual

followers and as a unit.

The authentic leadership, again, focuses on the relationship with the leader and the

follower. Is there trust between the two, do the followers feel that the leader is willing to do what

is right by them and the team? The leaders with this approach tend to have a passion for what

they do, who they are, and a clear sense of purpose (Northouse, pg. 224).

Servant leadership is where the leader approaches the team as servicing the needs of the

team and individuals, above and foremost themselves. There is a need for the leader to have a

sense of community within the team and develop the followers into whatever progress the

followers determine they want. With this leadership relationship it is self-motivation for the

team, and they return produce and go above the initial asks of the team (Northouse, pg. 253).

The adaptive approach brings to light the need for a leader to coach and encourage

followers to adapt to needs and changes that are within the workforce and goals of the team as

time continues. Leaders with this approach understand that they will not always be the person

leading the team or the individual and nurturing the team and individuals progresses the cause

further for the better of the organization (Northouse, pg.285).

Two Approaches Most Natural to Me

The two approaches that I feel are the easiest for me to understand and implement are

servant and adaptive leadership. Though they are very similar, I feel that helping others to

become who they want to be and nurture them into something they didn’t necessarily think they

could become is self-rewarding. Every day in work I am focusing on the relationships and skills

of my team members, looking for ways that some may think they are outsiders, or that they

aren’t fully engaged in the team. Understanding what my strengths are, which include empathy,
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connections with people, and building relationships, I’d like to use my strengths to help others

who don’t understand there is a path, they just need to clear the way. Assisting others in

understanding that change isn’t bad, that change is important part of life, without change we

would be standing still is another reason I feel that adaptive leadership is natural to me. Putting

people first is one way that I achieve what I need to at work. I certainly do not know all or even

most of the answers, it’s not my responsibility to know them, but it is my responsibility to

understand, trust, and know who does have the answers. People would rather help someone who

doesn’t have the answers when that leader has put the followers needs above their own time and

time again. I also understand that it’s critical that followers feel empowered to make decisions

and to bring awareness to any given situation.

Two Approaches for a Struggling Subordinate

One approach that could be used with a struggling subordinate could be the leader-

member exchange theory. The reason why I like this theory for this situation is that there could

be any number of ways and reasons the subordinate is struggling. Building the relationship

between the leader and the follower helps both to understand the exchanges of the relationship.

Through the phases of the relationship between leader and follower, time allows growth to come

into play. The beginning will be rough, that is to be said for most relationships that are to be

made in life. But once there is a common understanding and a bond created through the storming

of the relationship accomplishments can be made. Another approach I would suggest is the path-

goal theory. This is very linear on the relationship aspect between leader and follower. If a

follower is struggling it may be best to focus the relationship strictly on completing the project

and achieving the goal with the deliverables. The best that the leader can do is focus on the

motivation the follower needs to get the goal complete. Within this approach the leader has
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several options with their behavior including directive, supportive, participative, and

achievement oriented (Northouse, pg. 140). The key for the leader is to understand the struggle

that is causing the follower to struggle and supporting them as needed, the way the follower

needs.

Two Approaches for Recent and Long-term Employees

One of the approaches that I feel is useful with developing a team that has short- and

long-term team members would be the behavior approach. My main reasoning is that the leader

has the option to choose between task and relationship focuses. Long term employees, while they

are most likely strong in the work load front, understanding the needs of the organization and the

requirements of tasks with little guidance needed; shorter employed followers will need more of

a focus on the relationship and the task aspect of the organization.

Biggest Take-Ways for Future Applications

The important items for me to take away from this course is there is never a hard and

center approach towards leadership. Leading is something that I believe people can grow into,

understanding the traits and characteristics of oneself is important for progressing yourself into

the leader you wish you had in moments that you hadn’t.
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References

Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and practice, 9th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications, Inc.