Great Man Theory or Great Man of Leadership Theory, was established on 19th century by Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher, Historian, Satirical Writer and Essayist. (Perhaps you can see one primary fault with these theories, just from their name: they assumed only half the world’s population could even be considered for leadership.) The Great Man Theory is the theory of leadership that was popularised during the 19 century. Even with all the great qualities, it's not assured that you would be a great leader. In contrast to the Great Man theory, LMX assumes that leadership is always an interactive process between at … Early studies of leadership often focused on those who were already great leaders, such as Gandhi, Churchill, Jesus and Mohammad. Despite the many opposing arguments, the Great Man Theory remained popular until the mid-20th century. Just like him, the Great Man theory was inspired by the study of influential heroes. leadership. all of them showed that great leaders are born but are not created in the society. This is the Great Man Theory of leadership which asserts that leaders in general and great leaders in particular are born and not made. Furthermore, the belief was that great leaders will rise when confronted with the appropriate situation. The great man theory is one of the earliest ways to look at leadership. He was one among the significant social commentators of this time and has presented many lectures during his lifetime. Leadership qualities can be acquired through isolated observation, learning, and practice. It is a form of interpersonal attraction of a leader that inspires support and acceptance from others. Leadership Member Exchange Theory (LMX): Leadership seen as an interactive process. The myths of many leaders were the inspiration of this theory like Abraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. The Great Man Theory believes that the inherent traits that one is born with contribute to great leadership. Charismatic Leadership Theory: Charisma is a leadership trait that can influence employees to take early and sustained action. This theory sees great leaders as those who are destined by birth to become a leader. These attributes separate them from the masses and make them reach the position of power and authority. Situational Theory recommends leaders to adopt a leadership style depending on the situation at hand, while the Behavioral Theory is all about the learning the skills necessary to … It states that some people are born with the traits of a leader; they have the gift of unique qualities. The theory was popularized by Thomas Carlyle, a writer and teacher. The purposes of this paper are to contrast the Great Man Theory of leadership with the more interactive theories of leadership, and to explore my unexpected attraction to act like a GM. Charismatic leadership theory, also called great man theory by some, can be traced back to ancient times. Although it brought attention to traits and characteristics associated with leadership, it primarily focused on men and left women altogether excluded. The LMX theory is not entirely new (Graen, Uhl-Bien 1995), but is still quite popular. Originating in the 1800s as a means to study figures in authoritative positions, the Great Man Theory focused on traits and characteristics that were thought to be attributed to great leaders. 1) Great Man Theory of Leadership: Leaders are born, not made. 2. The earliest theories of leadership were the Great Man Theories, which emerged in the late 1800s.