SHS Web of Conferences 120, 02023 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202112002023
BUSINESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2021
Leadership: from classic theories to the 21th
century’s challenges
Stanca Ionela1∗
1Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of
Craiova, 13 A.I. Cuza street, Craiova, Dolj 200585, Romania
Abstract. Permanent changes, the globalized economy, the universality of
information have increased the level of competitiveness between countries
in general and organizations in particular. What could be the reason why
organizations competing in the same market, with similar technology and
comparable resources, differ significantly from each other in terms of
performance? The most limited resource in any organization is an efficient
and trained person. Finding the right people for each position is critical to
the company's success. Technological variations force us to learn, to adapt
and to change our mentality. In order to survive, organizations need
flexibility and the ability to adapt to change. It is and will be a necessary
condition for employees to be the tools that provide the necessary answers
that allow organizations to remain in the markets successfully over time.
Leadership is the most vital, challenging and mysterious phenomenon in an
organization for which researchers have worked tirelessly to explain how
the best leaders perform. This article aims to review and synthesize the
existing literature from the beginning to the 21th century’s challenges to
find the best solution for an organization’s success.
1 Introduction
"We argue in this paper that in the age of complexity, change, big business and national
states, leaders are more important than ever" [1].
The leadership process is probably the most important issue existing in an organisation,
being a highly topical issue with multiple implications for the management practice and
theory. It is the process that has the most extensive and decisive impact on the organisation,
with the most far-reaching and conclusive consequences for organisations, on which the
development, survival or disappearance of an organisation depends. In today's highly
competitive environment, organisations are expanding globally and face a myriad of
challenges in achieving their goals, aiming to be as successful as possible, with leaders
playing a key role in achieving these goals. Facing the challenges of today's uncertain
business environment makes it difficult for organisations to survive and struggle to face
competitors. The success, performance and competitiveness of any organisation depends, to
∗ Corresponding author:
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
, SHS Web of Conferences 120, 02023 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202112002023
BUSINESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2021
a large extent, on the content and quality of management, as we know that an organisation's
competitive advantage lies in its people.
Organisations differentiate themselves through the people they integrate, the knowledge
these people possess to be increasingly effective and better at their tasks and the way they
strive to reach their full potential. In any organization, the scarcest resources are effective
and well-trained and educated people; finding the right people for each position is critical to
the company's success. It is not difficult to improve the technical skills of employees, what
is not easy to change is the basic attitude and the way each person deals with problems and
responsibilities. Caring and concern for employees is not an altruistic attitude, it is a
necessity to give preference to the people who work in the organization so as to create a
lasting competitive advantage.
Now, you may be wondering: How do we get employee commitment? Commitment
means individual dedication and devotion, employees should be proud to work for that
company. If a leader is only respected for the hierarchy he or she has in the company's
organizational structure and not for his or her ability to motivate, guide and encourage
employees to follow him or her, he or she is not a leader but simply a boss. The widespread
acceptance that leadership plays a vital role as a competitive advantage for organizations
has led to enormous amounts of spending on leadership development and training programs
[2].
2 Methods
The literature review process is a key tool used to manage the diversity of relevant
knowledge, using a comprehensive, pre-planned strategy to locate the existing literature,
assess its contribution, analyse and synthesise the results and report the evidence to enable
conclusions to be drawn about what is known and what is not known
Researchers and theorists have developed many different theories and approaches in
their attempts to explain leadership. It has been noted that until the twentieth century,
leadership research was not based on scientific inquiry [3]. The following sections include a
review of the most popular leadership theories and approaches.
The Great Man Theory
Early research on leadership attempted to identify those traits that differentiated great
people in history from the general masses [4]. The concern of 18th and 19th century
philosophers focused on great people rather than situations [5]. The Great Man Theory
assumes that leaders have unique qualities not found among the masses. It also assumes that
leaders are born, not made. [6]. This theoretical perspective is considered to be the simplest,
earliest and most widespread notion of effective leadership. The theory ignores the previous
achievements of an organization and magnifies the greatness of the executives in the
organization. In other words, the theory implies that an organization's success depends
entirely on the greatness of its leadership cadre.
Within this theoretical tradition, three major reviews [4, 7-8] and two later more
contemporary reviews [9-10], have explained the multiple traits considered as explanations
of leadership in the early decades of development. Common traits in these reviews were
intelligence, self-confidence, honesty, integrity, and interpersonal sensitivity. Age, weight
or height were not found to be related to leadership. Throughout history, great figures have
lived, each, not necessarily with the same defining characteristics that leaders must have
and those who do not have them are not leaders. Each character has their own qualities.
Character traits approach to leadership
2
BUSINESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2021
Leadership: from classic theories to the 21th
century’s challenges
Stanca Ionela1∗
1Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of
Craiova, 13 A.I. Cuza street, Craiova, Dolj 200585, Romania
Abstract. Permanent changes, the globalized economy, the universality of
information have increased the level of competitiveness between countries
in general and organizations in particular. What could be the reason why
organizations competing in the same market, with similar technology and
comparable resources, differ significantly from each other in terms of
performance? The most limited resource in any organization is an efficient
and trained person. Finding the right people for each position is critical to
the company's success. Technological variations force us to learn, to adapt
and to change our mentality. In order to survive, organizations need
flexibility and the ability to adapt to change. It is and will be a necessary
condition for employees to be the tools that provide the necessary answers
that allow organizations to remain in the markets successfully over time.
Leadership is the most vital, challenging and mysterious phenomenon in an
organization for which researchers have worked tirelessly to explain how
the best leaders perform. This article aims to review and synthesize the
existing literature from the beginning to the 21th century’s challenges to
find the best solution for an organization’s success.
1 Introduction
"We argue in this paper that in the age of complexity, change, big business and national
states, leaders are more important than ever" [1].
The leadership process is probably the most important issue existing in an organisation,
being a highly topical issue with multiple implications for the management practice and
theory. It is the process that has the most extensive and decisive impact on the organisation,
with the most far-reaching and conclusive consequences for organisations, on which the
development, survival or disappearance of an organisation depends. In today's highly
competitive environment, organisations are expanding globally and face a myriad of
challenges in achieving their goals, aiming to be as successful as possible, with leaders
playing a key role in achieving these goals. Facing the challenges of today's uncertain
business environment makes it difficult for organisations to survive and struggle to face
competitors. The success, performance and competitiveness of any organisation depends, to
∗ Corresponding author:
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
, SHS Web of Conferences 120, 02023 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202112002023
BUSINESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2021
a large extent, on the content and quality of management, as we know that an organisation's
competitive advantage lies in its people.
Organisations differentiate themselves through the people they integrate, the knowledge
these people possess to be increasingly effective and better at their tasks and the way they
strive to reach their full potential. In any organization, the scarcest resources are effective
and well-trained and educated people; finding the right people for each position is critical to
the company's success. It is not difficult to improve the technical skills of employees, what
is not easy to change is the basic attitude and the way each person deals with problems and
responsibilities. Caring and concern for employees is not an altruistic attitude, it is a
necessity to give preference to the people who work in the organization so as to create a
lasting competitive advantage.
Now, you may be wondering: How do we get employee commitment? Commitment
means individual dedication and devotion, employees should be proud to work for that
company. If a leader is only respected for the hierarchy he or she has in the company's
organizational structure and not for his or her ability to motivate, guide and encourage
employees to follow him or her, he or she is not a leader but simply a boss. The widespread
acceptance that leadership plays a vital role as a competitive advantage for organizations
has led to enormous amounts of spending on leadership development and training programs
[2].
2 Methods
The literature review process is a key tool used to manage the diversity of relevant
knowledge, using a comprehensive, pre-planned strategy to locate the existing literature,
assess its contribution, analyse and synthesise the results and report the evidence to enable
conclusions to be drawn about what is known and what is not known
Researchers and theorists have developed many different theories and approaches in
their attempts to explain leadership. It has been noted that until the twentieth century,
leadership research was not based on scientific inquiry [3]. The following sections include a
review of the most popular leadership theories and approaches.
The Great Man Theory
Early research on leadership attempted to identify those traits that differentiated great
people in history from the general masses [4]. The concern of 18th and 19th century
philosophers focused on great people rather than situations [5]. The Great Man Theory
assumes that leaders have unique qualities not found among the masses. It also assumes that
leaders are born, not made. [6]. This theoretical perspective is considered to be the simplest,
earliest and most widespread notion of effective leadership. The theory ignores the previous
achievements of an organization and magnifies the greatness of the executives in the
organization. In other words, the theory implies that an organization's success depends
entirely on the greatness of its leadership cadre.
Within this theoretical tradition, three major reviews [4, 7-8] and two later more
contemporary reviews [9-10], have explained the multiple traits considered as explanations
of leadership in the early decades of development. Common traits in these reviews were
intelligence, self-confidence, honesty, integrity, and interpersonal sensitivity. Age, weight
or height were not found to be related to leadership. Throughout history, great figures have
lived, each, not necessarily with the same defining characteristics that leaders must have
and those who do not have them are not leaders. Each character has their own qualities.
Character traits approach to leadership
2
