Leadership Theories: Great Man theory vs Contingency theory vs Behavioral theory

Leadership Theories: Great Man theory vs Contingency theory vs Behavioral theory. Discussing their Motivational elements and and their application

	Great Man theory	Contingency theory	Behavioral theory
Leadership elements	This theory purports that great leaders are born and not made. They possess specific characteristics that are common in great leaders and do not need to be taught in any formal setting (Carragher et al., 2017). These traits include intuition, courage, judgement and intelligence, among others.	Contingency theory l sees leadership as a question of appropriate behavior rather than of personality or being in the right place at the right time. The theory believes that leadership effectiveness depends on the relationship among the leader’s task at hand in terms of the requirements to accomplish the task (Crombie & Garland, 2016). However, there are critical factors which must be considered in the above relationship.	The behavioral theory purports that leaders are successful when they learn a particular set of behaviors. According to this theory, the success of a leader depends on their behavior and not their natural attributes. It is based on the belief that leaders are made and not born (Ozluk et al., 2018). The theorist believes than anyone can become a leader only if they learn and practice specific behaviors.
Motivational elements	The unique physiological nature of the individual is the defining factor of being a great leader. The motivational element for great man theory is the individual physiological characteristics. Great men are. Great men are independent of their social environment (Stanley, 2016). Leaders develop certain features, such as weight, height, knowledge, judgement, and dominance. According to the theory, a leader behavior is motivated by the role expectations of the group.	In contingency theory, the approaches to motivation are in congruence with the idea that circumstances play a vital role in the leadership style. The leader understands the various circumstances. Motivation involves context analysis of what those being led are going through (Crombie and Garland, 2016). According to this theory, a reward is connected to work and effort. Staff will, therefore work believing that there will be a reward for every positive action.	According to the behavioral leadership theory, employees are motivated when the leader sets a positive example. The leader encourages and supports the employees to achieve various needs according to priority. In this theory, the leader applies the Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs and assists employees to accomplish the diverse needs as well as self-actualization (Ozluk et al., 2018). Thus the motivational elements are the employee needs.
Application	Great man theory is applied when leaders are chosen from people with specific unique physical characteristics which are aimed at capturing the attention of masses. Initially, leadership was associated with men because of their physique. Nurse leaders share unique intellectual characteristics as well as specific intellectual characteristics such as knowledge. Most leaders have dominant and aggressive personalities.	Nurse leaders must pay attention to the happenings in the surrounding. The leader can understand the specific situation at hand. For example, if the nurse manager is faced with a problem, the manager considers its challenges and encourages an adaptive leadership style to understand the issue being faced. The nurse manager assesses each situation and determines appropriate action based on the staff involved.	According to the behavioral theory, the nurse manager must identify the needs of the staff and motivate them by providing a conducive environment to achieve their needs according to the hierarchy. The manager ensures the physiological, safety and psychological needs of the staff members are met to motivate them, for example, providing a safe work environment.

References

Carragher, J., & Gormley, K. (2017). Leadership and emotional intelligence in nursing and midwifery education and practice: a discussion paper. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(1), 85-96.

Crombie, A., & Garland, G. (2016). 2 NURSING LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS. The Essentials of Nursing Leadership, 31.

ÖZLÜK, B., & MsN, R. N. (2018). Evaluation of Clinical Manager Nurses According to leadership Theories by Nursing Students. In 7th International Nursing Management Conference (INMC 2018) ISBN: 978-975-491-476-4 (p. 38).

Stanley, D. (Ed.). (, 2016). Clinical leadership in nursing and healthcare: Values into action. John Wiley & Sons.

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