Leadership Theories Of The Great Man Theory

The trait leadership theory suggested by Ralph M. Stogdill, Trait theory is one of the early methodologies in leadership. Leadership trait theory suggests that leaders are innate rather than prepared. It places highlighting on the individual qualities of persons as signs of leadership success and with definite abilities that will make them shine in leadership parts. Such as cleverness, sense of charge, inventiveness and other values places them in the shoes of a good leader.

The next big era of leadership theories was the Rational Management era. When the previous era failed to determine exact traits that could consistently be identified in great leaders, a shift occurred to begin looking at how these leaders behaved, and what made them into great leaders, rather than who they were in a specific sense. This was a major shift from thinking that people were born leaders, to now considering that perhaps leaders could be made, or trained to become leaders. The first of these theories, beginning in the early 1950’s, were the behavior theories. The focus of these theories was to study what these leaders do, and

For centuries leaders have been analyzed in order to determine what the traits and characteristics of a successful leader are. Leadership, as defined by Koontz and Weihrich (2008) is “the art or a process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals” (p. 311). Leadership plays an important role in employee’s participation, creativity, recruitment to an organization, their commitment to the organization, and productivity levels. Over the years, there have been a number of theories surrounding leadership such as the “Great Man” theory, which, according to Riaz and Haider (2010), “assumes that leaders are born and have innate qualities, therefore, leaders

The paper begins with a description of leadership trait theory, a theory that concerns itself solely with leader characteristics. Following this,

Trait Approach consists of leadership theories looking to identify what qualities great leaders possess so future leaders can be identified based on these qualities. These theories have been referred to as the “Great Man” theories because the traits were based from research of readily identifiable extraordinary leaders (Northhouse, 2016, p. 19). Researchers believed all great leaders must share certain qualities, which makes them able to distinguish themselves above all others. This seemed like a logical approach, however it became apparent determining an absolute required set of traits for leadership proved difficult. Traits which make one an effective leader may only work in certain situations or with certain followers. Intensive studies were conducted during the 20th century with several theories identifying varying sets of traits

The traits theory of leadership relies on the assumption that people are endowed with certain qualities or

The theories or concepts of leadership such as the Great Man theory, collective leadership, and scholar-practitioner are ideas that transformed the way leaders lead. The comparisons of the leadership styles illustrated that direction does not change. Within the comparisons, leadership links from one theory or concept to another. Each theory or idea is a building block for what a leader needs to be successful. The Great Man theory depicts a person of great need that possesses the characteristics of a leader from birth. A leader has the features or traits of a great leader without

To ensure leadership effective, several leadership theories are put forward and are adopted by different organizations. Some widely accepted theories include Trait Approach, Style Approach, Situational Approach, New Leadership Approach and Post-charismatic & Post-transformational (Western, 2013). Beyond doubt, they have their pros and cons, and they could play their role to guarantee the effectiveness of leadership as long as they are applied in an appropriate condition.

Trait theories were first of the four most common leadership theories. The foundation of trait theory is; leaders are born with the innate ability to lead. In essence, leadership traits are inherent in the genetic makeup of an individual and are natural, not learned predispositions. On the contrary, current research has found leadership traits to be external behaviors emerging from development of cognitive discipline and knowledge growth.

Trait theories were first of the four most common leadership theories. The foundation of trait theory is; leaders are born with the innate ability to lead. In essence, leadership traits are inherent in the genetic makeup of an individual and are natural, not learned predispositions. On the contrary, current research has found leadership traits to be external behaviors emerging from development of cognitive discipline and knowledge growth.

These leadership theories are grouped in trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories, and power and influence theories. Trait theories focus on the traits and skills that successful leaders must have. Initially, these theories state that these skills are innate, but research shows that individuals can also develop such skills and become leaders. Behavioral theories focus on other issues, like the behavior of leaders within their teams, in relationship with stakeholders, and within society. In accordance with these theories, these are several leadership styles, like autocratic or authoritarian, democratic, participative, laissez faire, and other styles. These theories state that the behavior of leaders significantly influences their and their teams' performance.

The Trait Approach was the 1st systematic attempt to study leadership. In the 20th century it was known as the “great man” theory. This approach takes a look at the leaders personal attributes such as but not limited to: motivation, energy, intuition, creativity, persuasiveness and foresight. Some of the traits that are essential to this list include: intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability. Thus it focuses mainly on the leader and not on the followers or situations. The strengths of the Trait Approach includes: 1) it is intuitively appealing, 2) it has research to back it’s theory, 3) it highlights the leader, 4) it identifies what the traits of a leader should have and whether the traits we do

There are eight major leadership theories that were developed to identify the characteristics that made a leader. The Great Man theory declares that leadership is a natural and ingrained trait in an individual. This theory is based on the premise that great leaders are born

This theory is based on the premise that there are certain personality characteristics that are essential for a person to possess in order to be a leader. The main emphasis is on what the person is in terms of a constellation of personality traits. This theory searches for that set of universal leadership traits that will assure success. Numerous traits have been suggested: courage, integrity, loyalty, charisma, ambition, intelligence, honesty, clairvoyance, persistence, arrogance, health, political skill, confidence and vision.

Trait theories assume all leaders share a number of common traits. This theory identifies traits or characteristics that are essential when being a leader. Traits like assertiveness, good decision making, empathy, integrity, and confidence are some examples of traits of successful leaders; however, there is no magic combination of traits that will guarantee someone to be a successful leader. Traits are based on our inner thoughts and beliefs. Many different studies about leadership traits agree only in the general righteous qualities needed to be a leader. Those traits are known as core traits. The core traits include