Houghton and Neck (2006) described self-leadership as a normative concept that
leads to a prescribed application rather than a descriptive interpretation; they explained
that "descriptive theories seek to explain the basic operation of various phenomena, but
generally stop short of providing specific normative advice for managing a particular
process" (p. 275). Houghton and Neck argued, "Self-leadership is a normative concept
that provides certain behavioral and cognitive prescriptions while operating within and
through the theoretical contexts provided by self-regulation, social cognitive, self-control
and intrinsic motivation theories" (p. 276).