The Psychology of Leadership

This chapter aims to explore the psychology of leadership by reviewing key models of leadership. The type of leaders required to drive innovation has been the study of many disciplines, psychology among them. Dominating many fields of psychology throughout the 1950s and 1960s, behaviourism offered a new perspective to the leadership debate. Path-goal theory explores whether particular leadership styles are more effective in some situations than others. The situational approach to leadership provides a valuable contribution in recognising the role of context in understanding of leadership. Transactional and transformational leadership styles were originally identified as part of universal leadership theories identifying three core leadership styles; transactional, transformational and laissez-faire. Authentic leadership is in the early stages of development, and aspects of theory require further clarification and research. Leaders need to determine the characteristics and modify their leadership style accordingly whether coaching, delegating or using some other leadership style.