The Great Man Theory of Leadership

你有没有听过这句话，“伟大的领导人出生，没有制造”？这句话总结了伟大的领导理论的基本宗旨，这表明领导能力是天生的。根据这个理论，你要么是自然的领导者，要么是不是。术语“伟人”被使用，因为当时，领导was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.

History of the Great Man Theory

The great man theory of leadership became popular during the 19th century. The mythology behind some of the world's most famous leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Alexander the Great, helped contribute to the notion that great leaders are born and not made.

In many examples, it seems as if the right man for the job seems to emerge almost magically to take control of a situation and lead a group of people into safety or success. Historian Thomas Carlyle also had a major influence on this theory of leadership. He stated, "The history of the world is but the biography of great men." According to Carlyle, effective leaders are those gifted with divine inspiration and the right characteristics.

Some of the earliest research on leadership looked at people who were already successful leaders. These individuals often included aristocratic rulers who achieved their position through birthright. Because people of a lesser social status had fewer opportunities to practice and achieve leadership roles, it contributed to the idea that leadership is an inherent ability.

即使在今天，人们常常描述突出的领导者，拥有正确的质量或人格。这意味着固有的特征是使这些人有效的领导者。

Arguments Against the Theory

Sociologist Herbert Spencer suggested that the leaders were products of the society in which they lived. In "The Study of Sociology," Spencer wrote, "you must admit that the genesis of a great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown…Before he can remake his society, his society must make him."

One of the key problems with the Great Man theory of leadership is that not all people who possess the so-called natural leadership qualities actually become great leaders. If leadership was simply an inborn quality, then all people who possess thenecessary traits最终会发现自己是领导力的角色。

研究已经发现，领导力是一个令人惊讶的复杂主题，并且很多因素会影响如何成功了一个特定的领导者may or may not be. Characteristics of the group, the leader in power, and the situation all interact to determine what type of leadership is needed and the effectiveness of this leadership.