ISSN 2736-1578
African Journal of Gender and Women Studies ISSN 2516-9831 Vol. 1 (4), pp. 028-036, October, 2016. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Theoretical models of leadership and feminist theory that are pertinent to women leadership
Moven C. Ndlovu1* Edgar Hoffman Tekere1 and Robert H. Gibbs2
1University of Huelva, Spain.
2International Centre for Development of Entrepreneurial Communities, Zimbabwe.
E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 10 June, 2016
Abstract
This paper seeks to capture the characteristics that prevail in the leadership styles of women leaders paying special attention to their individual leaders’ journeys. The study reviews the theoretical models of leadership and feminist theory that are particularly pertinent from the discussion of women leadership. A narrative approach is adopted for analyzing two women leaders’ journeys –Mary Kay and Mother Teresa– who succeeded in very different contexts. The stories exemplify some of the most important attributes that have been highlighted to play a focal role in current leadership research. The findings suggest that women lead teams and organizations through an authentic leadership and a genuine position of service, once they have become masters in self-leadership.
Key words: Leadership, gender, women, transformational leadership, servant leadership, self-leadership.