Peter G. Northouse, in his book "Leadership Theory and Practice" sets about giving pragmatic and practical focus to the difficult to define concept of leadership. He addresses this problem on page 2 of the book when he says, "It is much like the words democracy, love and peace. Although each of us intuitively knows what he or she means by such words, the words can have different meanings for different people" (Northouse, 1997, p. 2). Suggesting that in the past 50 years, there have been at least 65 official theories of leadership expounded, he then begins pointing out how he plans to introduce us to nine of them.
Each of nine chapters will share a common structure: the definitional parameters of the theory establish the theme, and a second section of the chapter will show that theory in actual practice.
Section 2: Analysis of the Strengths
The book deals with nine major "schools" of leadership theory: 1) Trait School, 2) Style School, 3) Situational School, 4) Contingency School, 5) Path-Goal School, 6) Leader-Member Exchange School, 7) Transformational School, 8) Team Leadership School, and 9) Psychodynamic School. Each of these schools comprises a separate chapter, and by choosing the trait approach as the first chapter, it is apparent that the book will be in chronological order. This is an excellent organizational pattern designed to give some focus to an unwieldy subject.
Northouse's writing style can best be described as narrative, in that it attempts to relate not only what happened, but what impact that happening had. Consider these examples.
"The trait approach is also used for personal awareness and development. By analyzing their own traits, managers can gain an idea of their strengths and w
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