Understanding Leadership Theories-A Review for Researchers Khan Zubair Ahmad*, Bhat Sameer Jan**, Hussanie Irem*** *Research Scholar, The University of Kashmir, India. zubair.scholar@kashmiruniversity.net **Research Scholar, The University of Kashmir, India. sameerjanbhat@gmail.com ***Research Scholar, The University of Kashmir, India. rmhussanie@gmail.com Online published on 12 May, 2017. Abstract Leadership is, “the process of influencing others to accomplish group or organizational goals” with the traits of Intelligence, Drive, Integrity, Honesty, Knowledge of the business, Emotional stability, Cognitive ability, Desire to lead and Self-confidence.”Strong leadership is indispensable for an organization. Leaders create the vision, support the strategies, and are the catalysts for enhancing the individual bench strength to take the organization forward. So developing the leaders to their highest potential is one of the big challenges for present organizations. The significance of leadership is evidenced by the huge money spent on leadership development each year. The present study begins with a review of leadership theories and tracks their evolution over the past century from the “great man” concept of heroic leaders, through trait theories, behaviourist theories, situational leadership, contingency theory and on to transactional and transformational leadership. These theories offer some comprehensions about the qualities of successful leaders, but there has been a shift in focus from the generic characteristics and behaviours of the individual to recognition of the importance of responding to different situations and contexts and the leaders' role in relation to followers. The purpose of the review is not to propose a framework of criteria for providing direction in organizations, but to draw together a diverse yet comprehensive set of information to act as a reference for those charged with this task. The content provided is intended to contribute as a “first step” towards the development of a new set of professional standards and it is intended that its results should lead directly into further fieldwork, discussion and consultation. Top Keywords Leadership, theories, behaviour, organization, leadership style. Top |