Leadership Theory, 2nd Edition

5Production‐Driven Theories

“Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people—they manipulate them.”

—PAULO FREIRE (2000)

Production‐driven theories are grounded largely in management and emphasize the purpose dimension of leadership. Of primary interest is how positional leaders, particularly those with formal authority, engage in social coordination (e.g. supervision, project management) to most efficiently and effectively achieve organizational outcomes. The concern here is production and how best to maximize it. Style theory, situational leadership, and path‐goal each attempt to identify the specific leader behaviors that contribute to this, offering prescriptive advice on the most ...