leadership theories
theories advanced to explain the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of leaders. The main types include trait theories of leadership, which focus on such characteristics as supervisory ability, intelligence, self-assurance, and decisiveness; behavioral theories of leadership, which focus on the task-based and relationship-based activities of the leader; contingency theories of leadership, which attempt to describe what type of leadership style is most effective in different situations; and cognitive theories of leadership, such as leader categorization theory or the attribution theory of leadership, which describe the way subordinates’ perceptions of their leaders influence leadership effectiveness. See also implicit leadership theories.