Behavioural Leadership Theories

Behavioural leadership theories form the subject of this video, which is part of Unit 5OS06 – Leadership and Management Development at CIPD Level 5. The content addresses Assessment Criterion 1.3, focusing on the contrasting styles and characteristics of leaders and managers through four major theoretical frameworks: trait theory, situational leadership, contingency theory, and path-goal theory. Rather than treating leadership styles as fixed categories, the video works across this range of behavioural approaches to show how each conceptualises the relationship between leaders, their personal qualities, and the contexts in which they operate.

The theorists and models covered include Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership model, Fred Fiedler's contingency theory, and Robert House's path-goal theory, alongside the earlier foundations of trait theory. Situational leadership introduces the concept of follower readiness and the four associated leader behaviours — telling, selling, participating, and delegating. Fiedler's contingency model brings in the variables of leader–member relations, task structure, and position power as determinants of situational favourability. House's path-goal theory introduces directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership behaviours, each linked to specific follower needs and task characteristics.

Trait theory's historical claim that leaders are "born, not made" sits alongside the more adaptive positions taken by the contingency and situational models, and the video addresses how contemporary thinking has revisited that original assertion. The distinction between leaders having relatively fixed styles, as contingency theory proposes, and the expectation of continuous style adjustment in situational leadership represents one of the conceptual contrasts the video draws out. Path-goal theory's focus on removing obstacles and clarifying the route to rewards adds a motivational dimension that connects leader behaviour directly to follower outcomes — a distinction relevant to AC 1.3's requirement to differentiate between leadership and management characteristics.