Leadership theory in context: finding new insights from an older time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the gap between the context of historical leadership theory and today's students and teachers highlighting the challenge for leadership educators in teaching theory. Design/methodology/approach This article draws on the life experience of a 97-year-old woman to illustrate components of two leadership theories and discusses the importance and value of historical context in understanding leadership theory. Findings The gap between current leadership educators and historical theory is growing at the same time as the gap widens between leadership educators and current students. Originality/value As a young field of study, we still could capture and understand the original contexts of our theories. These contexts are important in illustrating the evolution of leadership theory. We can learn from the past to lead our future.