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Trait theory in leadership
Personality traits and leadership styles
Leadership is a person or group of people who have taken on the position of assisting others through motivation, good decision making, and a strong co...
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Recommended: Trait theory in leadership
Leadership is the sum total of the individual, social interactions, and characteristics that are inherit in the exchange. The first step to understanding leadership is to acknowledge the different types of leadership styles. Prior to this course, it was my understanding that leadership was one unified category. At this point it is obvious that there are several aspects that are operating in a leadership. It is comprised of a specific style, traits, and the social context in which is occurs. In leadership, a person must identify various strengths and challenges to determine the best fit in a given situation (Eriksen, 2006). This self-analysis allows the leader to gain insight into personal and the perceived qualities of others. To obtain a …show more content…
The most difficult part is to discover which qualities should be improved or mastered. According to Colbert, Judge, Choi, and Wang (2012), the trait theory of leadership is highly explanatory of the personality and leadership relationships. There are certain characteristics of the leader that are conducive to leading others. Cunningham, Salomone, and Wielgus (2015), suggested that a leader is most successful when exhibiting a strategic and democratic style. Once one is able to identify their characteristics with the social identity tool, they can begin to relate a leadership style. This leadership style can be flexible enough to adapt to different situations. Self-identity is an important aspect of being a successful leader as it entails introspection of to move others forward. According to CCL (2013), there is value in self-identity as it links the leader to the follower. This connection is conducive to a cultural environment that is based on a mutual respect based on a three layer philosophy that includes given, chosen, and core …show more content…
The key points are presented for establishing my leadership style. With this, I am able define my personal leader style, identify personal factors and social qualities necessary to be a successful leader. A leader is someone who is able to guide others to obtain goals in various situations. It is a joint effort that operates for the overall success of the company. A leader can also adapt to the needs of their followers by building relationships and sustaining connections using the three layers of social identity.
References
Eriksen, K. (2006). The constructive developmental theory of Robert Kegan. Family Journal, 14(3),
290–298.
CCL Ethiopia (2013, September 4). Social Identity [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/73779806
Colbert, A. E., Judge, T. A., Choi, D., & Wang, G. (2012). Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success.
Leadership Quarterly, 23(4), 670-685. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.03.004
Cunningham, J., Salomone, J., & Wielgus, N. (2015). Project Management Leadership style: A team member perspective. International Journal of Global Business, 8(2),
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
The role of leadership has become increasing valuable for organizations to be successful. According to Huber (2014), Leadership can best be defined as method utilized to ensure that an objective is completed. There are many different types of leaderships that can be found within each organization. In this paper I will highlight an example of a specific leadership style that we come across in healthcare settings. I will review my leadership self-assessment results and discuss the impact of leadership on staff and groups.
The assignment for week four is to assess and review results from the Authentic Leadership Self Assessment Questionnaire. The ALQ was created to provide a means to assess the parameters of authentic leadership and to allow for opinion on the behaviors that encompass Authentic Leadership Style (Northouse, 2013). Basically, the questionnaire and the model allows and individual to understand how followers or people perceive leadership authenticity.
Being a successful and effective leader can be difficult because it does not have exactly patterns for them to follow. On the other hand, effective leaders are also difficult to define because it heavily depends on different job descriptions, situations, tasks, etc. Furthermore, management literature shows that there’s no consensus on how to behave is the right leaders (Kevin, 2013, para. 1). Although certain leaderships can offer leaders to use, sometimes it is difficult for them to choose leadership styles to utilize. Therefore, there is a framework that might be useful for leaders to use. For instance, leaders should figure out what their strengths are and choose leadership styles that the best fit for their situation and strengths. Subsequently, provide some basic needs for their followers in order to become an efficient leader. To put it simply, not only should leaders know their
Leadership is an important aspect for every individual as it improves confidence, gives a better identity and enables better management of people. This paper deals with analysis of my leadership style and its effectiveness with relevant categories. This self - analysis paper will certainly help to plan things in a better way and also to identify weakness and convert them into strengths to utilize leadership in the best manner. The paper will also comprise of varied examples from my personal experiences to justify the points.
The most the common aspect of this theory are that successful leaders all over the world and all over history are born with essential qualities such as personality traits, social traits, ability traits and physical traits. Stodgil (1948) sketches eight traits namely intelligence, alertness, insight, responsibility, initiative, persistence, self-confidence and sociability in his first investigation. The theory is very useful to differentiate the leaders from followers, effective from ineffective leaders and the higher class from the lower class leaders. The theory focuses exclusively on the role of the leader in leadership and hence has been able to provide a deeper and more intricate understanding of how the leader and his or her personality are related to the leadership process (Mat, 2008). However, Trait theory is criticized for the various reasons. The most substantial problem is that even though for decades numerous research on trait theory has been conducted, there is no standard list of traits introduced which can be used to define the leadership effectiveness. The second failure is the inability of the trait theory to limit itself to a list of traits. Thirdly, it is linked to the assumption that a leader is born, if a person has certain traits, he is a leader. In this theory, the determination of leadership effectiveness is solely dependent on the list of trait and not on the situation. This makes it difficult to predict leadership effectiveness based on the pre-defined list of traits in different situations (Mat, 2008). Northouse (2013) states that unsuitable leadership styles can directly affect the performance and retention of workers in modern organizations. Industrial practitioners have long recognized the substantial role of employees in the realization of organizational goals. In an attempt to achieve these goals, organizational managers strive to develop,
Northouse, P., G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.
Leadership style is important. It indicates a method that is taken by a certain leader. It can be considered as being directive or even being commanding or even having a collaborative or participative elegance. However, we must know that some leaders tend to be motionless and use a style through different situations that can or will occur in the near future. It is important for the leaders to know what their main style and preferences are (Warner, 2012, para.2). It makes evaluation easier due to the effectiveness of the different styles with a great amount of circumstances that can enhance outcome and positivity. There are many qualities that increase leadership. The many qualities that can easily increase leadership are demonstrated
Leadership is a subject studied for many years in the pursuit to understand the topic. It is a complex phenomenon, better studied across a wide array of scholarly fields. No matter what one believes or understands about the subject, the reality about understanding leadership is that it is a multidimensional subject that is best viewed or studied from the theory perspective rather than from the maxim. Leadership is a process, which involves influence, which occurs within a group context and it involves goal attainment. These components are used to define leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. These four components provide direction to understanding leadership theory. This theory provides the best approach to understanding the subject because it is grounded in the use of scientifically collected data that is used to create an explanation and then recommendation for leaders and or leadership situations. One should recognize that the theory is based on the examination of the topic from the standpoint of an empirically based explanation, grounded in scientific evidence and theory.
Leadership according many theories can be defined using differing dimensions, as a trait, a process, an emergence, ascribed leadership etc. I have come to understand leadership as a process which requires certain traits whether innate or learned to carry out responsibilities for the achievement of business or agreed goals. As defined by Pasmore (2009), leadership is a culture (behaviour) which is defined by the collective actions of formal and informal leaders towards achieving the set organizational goals. This implies that leadership is about the leaders themselves and the relationship they share amongst them and their followers.
I now focus my philosophy on the idea that a leader becomes a leader through mastery of skills, not by being born a natural leader. The first step to mastering leadership skills is having a foundation of leadership theory. I feel that once one is introduced to the dense, contradicting leadership theories it becomes easy to apply the teachings in actual life situations. The theories presented simultaneously question and support each other, much like leaders and followers do in their interconnected relationship. An effective leader-follower relationship depends on a leader’s self-understanding. The leader of a group must know his or her strengths, style, and tendency to focus more on tasks or relationships. I believe that our actions are guided by intrinsic tendencies to be task or relationship oriented. Yet, I feel that the effective leader is aware of his or her tendency to be task or relationship oriented, and holds the ability to adapt to the situation at hand. The ability to adapt to the situation requires an understanding of oneself and variances in follower behaviors. I agree with Astin and Astin (2000) that the college classroom is the ideal environment to produce leaders who are authentic, self-knowledgeable, and responsive to diversity because this idea fully supports my leadership philosophy. My leadership philosophy acknowledges that leaders arise from developing personal skills through the process of recognizing strengths and weaknesses and inclinations to respond to task completion or maintaining personable relationships. In order to accomplish this, the leader must remain consciously aware of situational leadership with the ultimate goal being to bring about positive
Leadership is trait that is extremely important in any society. Leadership is known as the way people attempting to make a difference in a situation. However, I believe that it is better said to be a way of influencing others actions. Leadership is usually connected to a great leader that affected his or her followers in a dynamic way. Throughout the semester for my leadership class, I have expanded the knowledge in numerous ways. I now have fully understanding of the purpose and process of leadership to a society. Being a leader one must maintain an image of being the role model. I believe that this is leader should be who is someone who has the ability to influence, encourage, listen, and nurture. They are able to inspire, stimulate, persuade, shape, and have an effect on others.
In a business organization, a leadership role is often characterized by a person who has the core ability to plan, implement, delegate, oversee, influence, and empower other employees toward a specific company goal. The character of a strong leader should have dominant personality traits to execute taught skill sets. For someone to take on a leading title they must not only be capable of taking on highly important responsibilities, but on average a successful leader is only eligible for the task when they can also easily influence others to follower their direction. A person must be able to persuade and influence people naturally, and the person is much more successful when they have confidence in themselves, and in their ideas and ability, all of which are visible. Additional skills are obtained through training to enhance the talent of instructing others in an effective manner.
Research has shown that leadership style “influences the team members’ execution and performance, as well as motivates the team to reach the organization’s goal(s)” (Cunningham, Salomone, & Wielgus, 2015, p. 28). The leadership styles
Many people associate leadership with a specific job title or form of power within an organization. However, through personal experience, I have concluded that leadership can come in many forms and position as well as from multiple sources of roles and job titles both with and without power. Based on the definition of leadership, anyone can be considered a leader as long as they have the ability to influence people to achieve a particular result or goal which benefits the organization or group as a whole. Individuals with a secure sense of self and understanding, acceptance of diversity within an organization tend to be the strongest leaders that not only make others want to follow, but they also encourage other leaders to gravitate to their