IMSA Leadership Education and Development
“No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the
biography of great men.”
- Thomas Carlyle
Historical Snapshot
The Great Man Theory of leadership is centered around the ideas of prominent
historians of the 19th century. The literature of the century, including Frederick Adam
Woods’s book
The Influence of Monarchs: Steps in a New Science of History
and many like it,
analyze the influence of major rulers primarily in the Western world. The Great Man Theory
thrives on the notion that most of history can be explained by the influence of male leadership
figures. These men often appeared to rise to power out of nowhere and lead their people to
success, and their “greatness” was often derived from military leadership. While they weren’t
exactly sure what traits contributed to their success, scholars of the era attributed leadership
to something inherent that Great Men were born with, thus founding the theory. Great Man
Theory reigned as the most popular theory of explaining leadership well into the mid-20th
century, supposedly explaining the influence of big names such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius
Caesar, and Alexander the Great.
Facilitation Notes
- Link to slideshow with supplementary images and videos
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lO0azkw2AJWUAAO7U__y9y-UYeD0xQyEd
uG-NzSTVhY/edit#slide=id.g5df4e2eb33_0_0
1. Be sure to emphasize that this theory was developed in the early 20th century and that
its the first theory associated with conceptualized leadership, so it is largely unaccepted
today but still holds merit in analyzing leadership developments over time.
2. Because this theory doesn’t have any activities, it can get a little too lecture-y and bore
people. Make sure you do a little extra research on the people to include some aspects
of the leaders that we haven’t included here that are more interesting, fun-fact type
things. Make them sound really cool, and encourage a lot of discussion!
3. In discussion, play devil’s advocate! Try to counter what your students say from
another perspective (when appropriate).
4. Utilize the slideshow to supplement your speaking. Strictly verbal facilitation can be
Revised July 2019
