Organizational Leadership: Doctoral Theory and Practice

Leadership attracts significant attention from researchers in a variety of fields. Researchers have developed a variety of theories to explain the nature and practice of leadership. Of course, no one theory exists in a vacuum. Each theory draws on the work of previous researchers. Moreover, researchers routinely revise older theories based on research completed after the initial theories were developed. For instance, research on charismatic and transformational leadership draws on earlier research on trait theory. In addition, trait theorists develop new theories that address the role of situation in leadership. These new theories are a direct result of the subsequent development of situational theory. As a possible contributor to the field of leadership research, you should have an understanding of and appreciation for the breadth and depth of leadership research and the relationships among the various theories.

To prepare for this Assignment, review this week’s Learning Resources and select four leadership theories. Search the Walden Library for additional peer-reviewed, scholarly resources about your selected leadership theories. You should use both the articles in the Learning Resources and additional scholarly resources in your evaluation.

By Day 7

Submit an evaluation of at least four leadership theories in the form of a properly formatted, APA-compliant taxonomy table. For each of the theories you select, you should include the following:

• The name of the theory
• The year the theory was introduced
• The theorist/author
• Key components of the theory

For each theory presented, be sure to include a minimum of two references to peer-reviewed, scholarly resources, as well as appropriate in-text citations.