Abstract
The psychological theories of leadership have a great deal to offer today's organizational leaders. Four of these theories—transactional, transformational, authentic, and servant leadership—are complementary in style, aiming to serve the self-actualization of employees as well as the greater good of the organization. This chapter explores the similarities and differences between these leadership styles, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of their basic principles and assumptions, especially as pertains to the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practitioners in educational settings. This chapter examines the benefits of integrating these theories, along with some newer and lesser-known theories, into a multimodal approach that can be effective for managers coaching team members toward greater organizational equity. A brief case comparison illustrates how the principles of DEI leadership can be applied.
TopTheoretical Overview Of Leadership
Leadership definitions, theories, and approaches abound. In a literature review on leadership theories and styles, for example, Khan et al. (2016) highlighted the following seven theories that have shaped many corresponding leadership frameworks: (a) great-man theory, (b) trait theory, (c.) contingency theories (situational), (d) style and behavior theory, (e) process leadership theory, (f) transactional theory, and (g) transformational theory. These authors also supplied a comparative analysis of transformational leadership and transactional leadership theories. Northouse (2019) mentioned as many as 65 classifications systems used over the decades to define leadership styles.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Servant Leadership: An approach to leadership that emphasizes the leader intentionally serving the follower(s).
Authentic Leadership: An approach to leadership that emphasizes self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, empathetic engagement, and relational trust.
Equity Leadership: An approach to leadership that emphasizes fairness and justice.
Radical Inclusion: An approach to leadership that deemphasizes the leader and stresses the need for power sharing, trust, and confidence building among followers and participants. AU43: Reference appears to be out of alphabetical order. Please check
Transactional Leadership: An approach to leadership that is based on understanding social interactions as a series of agreements between the leader and follower(s).
Inclusive Leadership: An approach to leadership that emphasizes responding to diverse scenarios with a nonjudgmental mind, humility, and awareness of both one’s own and others’ bias.