In this video, I answer two questions, to kick off our series on Leadership: what is leadership, and why do we need it?

Leader-Member Exchange Theory is deeply problematic. In fact, I don’t like it. But it may be a model you want to adopt. It is certainly a theory you need to understand, so you can avoid its Dark Side.

There are many conflicting models of leadership. How can you reconcile them all – they cannot all be right. Can they? <b<br/>r/>

In fact, they approach leadership in different ways.

There are many approaches to modeling leadership. But, perhaps the oldest assumes that leaders are people born with a specific set of qualities, or traits. Today, we still recognize that there are some traits that can make us better...

In the middle of the 20th Century, researchers turned their attention from how leaders are, to what to what they do. With a suitable behavioral theory of leadership, we can more easily train leaders. They found the key concepts are task...

Roles-based approaches to leadership focus not on the leader’s traits nor their behavior. Instead, they focus on their functions: what they need to do, to lead. And none is better, nor more accessible, than John Adair’s Action Centered...

We’ve seen models of leadership based on personal traits, individual behaviors, and the roles we need to fulfill. Another approach relates to the way we lead: that is, the style we adopt.

Transformational leadership is a story in three parts. But those parts are closely integrated, so buckle up for a longer video than usual.

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton took the idea of task versus relationship focus and turned it into a full-blown model of five leadership styles: their Leadership Grid.

Visionary leadership is transformative. We could argue that it is one aspect of transformational leadership. But I want to consider it as a specific style, because we find many leaders who seem aim for this style as their default.

Charismatic leadership combines charm, interpersonal skills, and persuasiveness to motivate and influence others.

Authentic leadership is still a relatively new and under-researched topic. It first came to wide attention with the 2006 best seller, ‘Why Should Anyone be Led by You’, by British academics, Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones. But it goes back...

In his book, The New Leaders, Daniel Goleman and his co-authors set out 6 leadership styles for team leaders.

In his book, Culture’s Consequences, Dutch cultural psychologist Geert Hofstede, brought the term Organizational Culture into common use. His original work at IBM identified 4 dimensions of national culture. Later, he extended this to 6...

Charles Handy's Federal Organization model is highly centralized – but highly decentralizing. What on Earth can we make of this apparent contradiction?

Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron created a model of four organizational cultures. The Quinn and Cameron model is known as a “competing values framework” because it starts from two pairs of competing values.

Max Weber was a professor of political economy at the University of Freiberg. But he is known as the ‘Father of Organizational Theory’.

A democracy is simply a system of government where the citizens directly exercise their power and have the right to elect government representatives who collectively create a government body for the entire nation (like a parliament). In...

Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during the Second World War, Dwight D. Eisenhower had a duty to serve for the common good. On the eve of D-Day, the responsibility fell on his shoulders to wait – or to strike.

The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent federal agency dedicated to the preservation of historic government records. With storage facilities across the United States, NARA's contents give us an insight into our...

Huey Long's rise from rural Louisiana to U.S. Senator was marked by immoderation, as promises turned to power grabs and corruption, ultimately leading to his downfall.

Aaron Burr's ambition led him from political prominence to infamy. Fueled by hubris, he dueled Hamilton and plotted treason, showcasing the perils of unchecked pride.

The interracial marriage of Harriet R. Gold and Elias Boudinot transcended racial taboos of the 1800s, leaving a lasting impact on both the Cherokee and Cornwall communities.

Benedict Arnold's once-valiant reputation soured as he betrayed the American Revolution for greed. His name now represents dishonor and the dangers of lost trust.