The three most common paradigms used to develop leadership prescriptions are the empirical, biographical, and ideological. The empirical paradigm is subdivided into quantitative and qualitative versions. Similarly, there are two forms of the biographical paradigm: historical and autobiographical. The ideological paradigm involves an appeal to religious, spiritual, or ethical principles sometimes contained in a revered text. Understanding leadership prescription paradigms is useful to instructors and trainers because it makes explicit the underlying assumptions and limitations on practical applications.