Leadership Theory, Theory And Theory Of Characteristic Theories

Leadership is an influential factor in the success and failure. If an organization is failing, look at the leader, not the economy; not the market; look at the leader. The movements and influence of a leader determines the fate of those under her or him. The importance of leadership cannot be underestimated. The importance of leadership has constantly been debated and a part argumentative discussion. There is no one approach to leadership, however leadership theories try to make sense of various approaches to leadership. James G. Clawson is considered an authority in leadership theories. His Level III leadership theory is about managing energy, first in leader, and then in those around the leader.

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 outcome of this constructive conservation was a list of 1,800 items describing various facets of leader behavior. Afterward, the different items were assigned, and a questionnaire was composed consisting of 150 questions for describing leader behaviors, the so-called “Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ)”, (p. 76).

Leadership is a very broad topic; I never knew just how many different traits and skills that it takes to become an effective leader. Some of which I was familiar with, and others that I was not aware of, but now from taking this course, they all seem to be necessary for the role of leadership. The attached paper, will explain of some of the important theories and concepts that I thought were most important to be able to become and effective leader.

Transformational leadership is currently the dominant leadership theory (Barling, 2010, p. 1). Transformational leaders facilitate transformation within an organization. They are driven by a strong set of values and a sense of mission. They are described as expressive, empathetic, extremely charismatic, deeply inspirational, and immensely visionary. In fact, their enthusiasm permeates an organizations culture and inspires and motivates followers to perform at optimal levels.

The interest in the study of leadership has expanded over the past years. There are a great number of leadership theories, styles and models that have been presented to describe precisely why and how certain individuals become to be such great leaders (Northouse, 2013). People have often wondered the questions such as what accurately makes an exceptional leader as well as the certainty of personality traits that could make people better-fitted for leadership roles (Northouse, 2013). With the interest in leadership throughout history, there have recently been a number of leadership theories that has emerged (Northouse, 2013).

According to the trait-based theory of leadership, certain integrated patterns of personal characteristics develop the ability to lead a group of people effectively. (Zaccaro 2007). Here the word ‘trait ' is defined as "The distinguishing personal characteristics of a leader, such as intelligence, honesty, self-confidence and even appearance" (pg 612, Samson & Daft 2014). Trait-based leadership is based on the idea that people born with certain qualities and characteristics are more suitable for leadership. It was achieved by identifying the traits of many leaders, both successful and unsuccessful, and looking into their physical, emotional, and cognitive traits that made them who they were. (Derue, D. S., Nahrgang, J. D., Wellman, N., & Humphrey, S. E. 2011). By studying the likes of leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and even controversial leaders like Hitler, researchers interpreted

Leadership is a process whereby individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2013, p. 5). So, to better understand the fundamental principles preceding leadership philosophy, we have to understand the theory of leadership development and its essential characteristics. The leadership theories that are greatest associated with my personal developmental plan are the theory of relationship and transformational leadership. The transformational leadership theory is allied with my personal development plan because it is also known as the transformational leadership model, which emphases on the influences that inspires both the leader and the followers. According to this theory, the main elements or fundamental base is created on vision, trust, power, authenticity, motivation, and communication.

People have long been interested in leadership throughout human history, but it has only been relatively recent that a number of formal leadership theories have emerged. Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while subsequent

The first week’s topic was the history of leadership theories that explained the evolution of leadership theories in different periods of time. The leadership theories have ten theories. The first theory is the great man theory; a leader must born to be, cannot change and make, such as Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Abraham Lincoln. The second theory is the trait theory; leaders should have characteristics and personalities such as honesty, self-confidence, independent, optimism, responsibility and have interpersonal skills. They can improve, change and develop those characteristics and personalities to be better in the future. The third theory is the skill theory; a person who is a leader must have three skills, which are technical skills, conceptual skills and human skills. For the technical skill, a leader should have an experience and an expert to do and to perform tasks. The conceptual skills, a leader must have an ability to think critically and analytically (cognitive thinking). The last skills are human skills, a leader must have an ability to work with others. The next theory is the style theory that concentrates on what a leader does in organizations, not on a leader position. The leader styles have three styles; an autocratic, a democratic and a laissez faire leadership style. For the autocratic leader style, a leader has a power to dictate employees, have a centralized authority, and limited employee participation. For the democratic leader style, a

In Andy’s paper, article claims every theory has an effect on that time. (Andy T, 2011) leadership theory will help us understand how to analysis leadership and summary efficient leadership.

The true task of leadership involves the ability to make change happen. To understand the behavior and traits of a leader, one needs to look at their innate characteristics. The concept of leader traits and attributes is indeed an old one, predating the scientific study of leadership and reaching back into antiquity, across several early civilizations. Although leadership has many definitions and varied criteria for success, it is defined by the assumption that it is an influence process that in many cases is situational.

The first research on leadership in 1910 gave rise to the notion those there certain individuals that have traits that they are born with that make them great leaders. That is natural born leaders as other are not born with such traits, however; much research followed to verify the 1910 conclusion. Max Weber identified charismatic leadership as a theory on leadership that was new and emerging, As per Max, charisma is a personal magnetism or charge in the sense that leaders are those that can attract others to them. While other concluded that leaders are not born, they are made (Malphurs, 2003).

Thomas Carlyle said that the history of the world was the biography of great men that lead the trait theory of leadership. The trait theory assumed that leadership depended on the personal leader qualities but does not assume that leadership is for a few people (765). Personality traits investigations relating to leadership have been unreliable and unsatisfactory. Many literature reviews have found that the trait approach aged out. All these literature reviews exposed that there are some traits that are related to leadership effectiveness.

Leadership theories are implemented in order to help increase the organizations productivity. There is not one right leadership theory, it varies depending on the organization and what job need to be done. Most managers use a combination of multiple theories depending on the job at hand. There are numerous theories that exist, however the three main fall under early leadership theories, contingency theories, and contemporary theories.