The great man theory is an early approach to understanding leadership that holds that leaders are born, not made, and that history is shaped chiefly by exceptional individuals whose innate traits, intellect, and force of will set them apart from ordinary people. Popularized in the nineteenth century, notably through the writings of Thomas Carlyle, the theory framed leadership as an inherent quality possessed by a small number of extraordinary men rather than something that could be taught, developed, or produced by circumstance. It has been widely challenged by later leadership research, including trait theory and situational approaches, but is still referenced in management literature as the historical starting point from which more systematic theories of leadership developed.
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