4 Summary of Week 3
Person-based views of leadership hold that it is the personality of those in formal positions of leadership that counts most. Leadership, from this view, is the property of an individual. Transformational leadership tries to identify the characteristics of leaders that make them appealing to the feelings of followers. Authentic leadership tries to identify what makes leaders ethical role models. Both theories are plagued by significant flaws with racial implications. However, it is possible to extract some value from them. Exploring the flaws of these theories highlights the importance of focusing not on who a leader is but on what people do together to generate more inspirational and ethical leadership. This process view will be the focus of the next two weeks of study.
You should now be able to:
- understand how the ‘leadership as person’ perspective holds value for your practice in relation to inspiration and ethics
- identify the strengths and weaknesses of transformational leadership theory, so that you can practice more inspirational leadership
- identify the strengths and weaknesses of authentic leadership theory, so that you can practice more ethical and responsive leadership.
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