Toward a General Theory of Leadership

This paper presents a theory which is intended to integrate existing knowledge in the field of leadership behavior. Prominent concepts, theories, and research evidence in the literature are synthesized to form a theoretical framework comprising five models of leadership. Each model specifies the conditions of task technology and subordinate motivation for which a particular style of leadership is congruent, thereby resulting in leadership effectiveness. This framework is generalized to derive three propositions which form a tentative general theory of leadership: (1) leadership effectiveness is positively related to congruence; (2) there is a tendency toward congruence and (3) there is a tendency toward evolution.