Leadership Theories

The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory focuses on the leaders behavior towards the group as a whole and also towards the individuals on a personal basis. The LMX theory works to build behaviors such as trust, open communication and mutual respect. These behaviors build a stronger team and one that is more committed and supportive of their leader. The pitfall can come in a blurring of the lines of authority and the possibility of someone feeling left out if they do not receive as much personal attention.

Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory is based on the concept that a manager should consider an employee's psychological and job maturity before deciding which behaviors are most important. Depending on the employees psychological maturity the behaviors of trust, performance or maintenance may or may not fit the situation. The same is true with job maturity. The theory works on the basis that the maturity level dictates which behavior to focus on. A high maturity employee will respond best to the trust behavior knowing they are believed in to get the job done. A moderate maturity level employee will respond best to the maintenance behavior whereas low maturity level employees will respond best to the performance behavior. The challenge for managers is in analyzing the employee and determining the behavior that will bring about the best results.

The Path-Goal theory is concerned with how leaders influence employees perception of their goals and the path they must use to achieve the goals. This theory depends on the leaders ability to provide good direction and coaching to make the path easier to travel so that the employee will experience as little frustration as possible. The leader also needs to develop a reward system to compensate employees for reaching their performance goals. With the Path-Goal theory leaders need to be keenly aware of outside factors that could cause problems for the employee. If the leader is not on top of and proactive to remove or reduce these outside factors the employees can become frustrated feeling that they have been given an impossible task.

Looking at these three theories there are situations where one may work better than others. The task of leaders is to know your staff, know your situation and know yourself. You need to have a grasp on the personalities of your staff to know how to motivate them without discouraging them. The situation you are leading in may require a the tools of one theory over another and knowing the benefits of each will help you to apply them correctly. Lastly, know yourself and your abilities. Don't try to lead in a style that you are not comfortable and knowledgeable in.