Leadership Theory Essay

A colleague of mine recently made a statement that got me thinking; he said that ‘Leadership is achieved through the state of mind of the leader and the followers. By state of mind, John proposed that leadership should be situational because only then can the right theory or approach be applied to bring about the right result. John also mentioned that if leadership is situational, flexibility becomes attained as and when change or modification is required.

Understanding the factors or elements that make a good leader is important but not as important as the situations that define the leader. It is when situations arise and people or a person take ownership and accountability either as conferred or by choice, to make the best of the situation

this approach makes me understand leadership as being able to manage oneself and being able to manage others (emotional intelligence), while working towards achieving set goals. Also, I will agree that individuals who possess some or most of the traits as proposed by this theory tend to make people believe in their abilities, whether assumed or observed. These traits make leadership easier for those who possess them to thrive well on leadership positions but with conscious efforts to learn and succeed as against dwelling on their innate characteristics which might not be sufficient in certain situations. Some critics see this theory as being ambiguous since there are no definitive traits or characteristics that can be seen as ‘must haves’ for every leader, this is because some leaders lead well without having some of these traits while others fail at leadership even while possessing some of these traits. I will agree with this line of criticism because nothing makes leadership

In my opinion, all theories of leadership have been thought out well and will work in different peculiar situations and environments. I would recommend that for effective leadership, leaders must first of all understand themselves, their environment, their followers and lastly every situation at hand as they all come differently. Situations that demand the skills and abilities approach should attract that approach. I have also come to understand that being situational is sometimes difficult for leaders who have fixed beliefs in what leadership should be about especially if these beliefs were formed through successes while using particular leadership