Leadership Theory Paper

Throughout this course, we have explored various psychological theories of leadership and approaches to the psychology of leadership. This assignment requires you to explore and integrate the concepts learned throughout this course. Submit a 3500 - 4200 word or 10 - 12 page paper (excluding the title page and reference pages) in which you select three distinct psychological theories of leadership and evaluate each one in terms of its foundational philosophical assumptions and values. Finally, reflecting on each theory's underlying principles, identify one that you feel would be particularly important to your career (current or future).

This paper should be a minimum of 3500 - 4200 words or 10-12 pages long (excluding title and references pages) and include a title page, introduction, conclusion, and references page. APA formatting should be used for the paper. Utilize at least 5 sources, 3 of which should be recent (within the last 5-10 years) scholarly, peer-reviewed research articles as references for this paper, and cite them accordingly. The other 2 references may be from the course-assigned texts or other relevant sources.

Be sure to include each of the components below:

• Present a clear overview of three specific leadership theories/approaches.

• Explain the foundational philosophical assumptions and principles of the selected leadership paradigms.

• Briefly discuss the limitations and strengths of each leadership theory/approach selected.

• Thoroughly examine the rationale for why each leadership theory/approach is important to the study of leadership psychology and/or the field of organizational psychology.

• Discuss the relevance of one particular leadership theory/approach to you and your career path

Journal

Learning Outcomes and Course Reflection

In this final reflection journal, read through the below course outcomes for this class and reflect on your learning. How has your perspective changed about leadership?

1. Explain the historical, philosophical, and empirical foundations of the field of organizational psychology and the psychology of leadership.

2. Summarize the major tenets of pre-modernism, modernism, and post-modernism as they apply to the field of psychology.

3. Evaluate how the history of organizational psychology has helped to shape important contemporary psychological theories and issues of leadership and leading organizations.

4. Discuss the relevance of issues of diversity as they are related to the history of the psychology of leadership, with particular emphasis on how diversity issues have been handled historically and how people from diverse backgrounds have struggled in gaining influence in the field.

5. Compare and contrast psychological theories of leadership in order to determine their foundational philosophical assumptions and values.

6. Develop critical comparative skills in order to determine important similarities and differences in the various approaches to the psychology of leadership.

Additionally, reflect on your experiences in this course. What were your most desired and least desired assignments? Discuss ways you have developed in your understanding of the psychology of leadership. If you could change one thing about this class, what would it be?