Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 68

Leadership - Essay Example The style of leadership chosen by an individual is reflective of their nature. Douglas McGregor pointed out that leadership is dominated by human nature, which can be explained using the X and Y theories. While theory X portrays the average person as lazy, lacking in ambition, and always waiting to be directed, theory Y perceives human beings as active, ambitious, and ready to take responsibilities (Stewart, 2010). Accordingly, although most people would want to identify with theory Y, the truth is that a majority of people are not that self-motivated and need to be prompted into action. This observation makes theory X more realistic than theory Y in the relationship between leaders and followers. Transformational leadership is a leadership model advanced by Kouze & Posner (2010), who in their first two chapters provide real life examples of managers whose personalities transformed their organizations. Essentially, Kouze & Posner (2010) perceive leadership as a relationship rather than a position by stating that leadership is not only measured by being in charge of others, but also by being credible. Transformational leadership encourages the leader to create away that will stimulate a common vision, challenge daily undertakings, motivate others to act, and even inspire them (Kouze & Posner, 2010). Considering that it took 20 years of intensive research in real organizations to come up with this model, the transformational leadership model is very important in understanding the concept of good leadership. The only problem with the transformational leadership theory is that it may give too much power to narcissistic individuals who might end up abusing such