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Essays on trait theory of leadership
Ideal leadership traits
Ideal qualities of a leader
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My definition of leadership is being able to follow your ambitions and desires without worrying about any consequences. Supporting this statement would be because managers and leaders have similar qualities such as being responsible, flexible, and have good communication. Though the difference between them is that managers tend to be consistent and keep things in order without any changes but a leader tend to create for the future and motivate others to accomplish what is set out for the future. In order for this to be accomplished the leader must have great motive and purpose in what they are doing. This means you have to take initiative to make changes instead of be consistent and stay the same, when staying consistent that means the leader is falling into the management category.
You have to have your own idea and follow through without too much hesitation but at the same time they need to be smart with their actions. I feel this way because
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The thought of that the way leadership is being made based on characteristics is called, “Trait theory of leadership”. The leader as a person needs to be creative, original, and inspired behind the movement of the company. By doing this it can further help the leader as a person have new ideas and create more contributions to the organization the leader is in charge of and while having these characteristics they should be able to be organized, dependable, and be an achiever. Their personality should also be talkative, very social, and outgoing; this will help them move forward the most. Finally, another point that helps me from my definition of a leader is most of all a leader needs to be trustful, tolerant, kind and this will help them be a great person to get along with. Without trust in the leader nobody will follow someone who cannot be trusted because the leader will look as if they will not accomplish
Leadership is the ability to influence employees to voluntarily pursue organizational goals. Leadership is vision, enthusiasm, love, trust, passion and consistency. Management is to pursue organizational goals efficiently and effectively by integrating the work of people through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizations resources. Leadership and management are not the same. They are not interchangeable. Leadership is coping with change and management is coping with complexity (Williams 444).
Management is defined as the act or manner of managing, handling, direction, or control (dictionary.com). Leadership is defined as an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction (dictionary.com). They do not mean the same thing; however, it is thought that a manager should have leadership skills to be able to manage an organization. Not all managers have great leadership skills and just because a manager does not have these skills does not mean he or she is a bad manager.
There are lots of definitions and interpretations for the term LEADERSHIP. One is “A relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people” (Mullins, L.J. 2002, Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th Edition, FT Publishing, p904). Another popular definition would be, “the process of influencing an organization or groups within an organization in its efforts towards achieving a goal” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2005, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th Edition, FT Prentice Hall, p.519)
A leader can look like many different things. They can be tall, short, female, male, young, old, light skin, or brown skin, you see someone physical appearance does not qualify them to be a leader. A person education level does not make them a leader nor does a person age qualify them to be a leader. You see being a leader means that you exhibit certain qualities. Anyone can be a leader I don’t believe that you are born a leader, instead I believe that you are taught to be a leader. In my opinion leadership is about inspiring and motivating people. Leading people towards a common goal while mentoring and coaching them. Leadership is about setting a good example for others to follow. Leadership is learning how to work well with different people and their temperaments. Leadership is a form of servitude. leadership takes a leader who can listen to others and empower them. Leadership requires you to be creative and innovative, and sometimes it requires you to step out of you comfort zone. These are the qualities that describe leadership. There are two critical incidents that have helped influence my definition of leadership. The first incident was my Leadership class that I took in high
Reflecting on my career, I believe it would be hard for me to imagine my current positions, rank and responsibility in both the fire service and the Coast Guard when I started in 1998. Over the years I have had several great teachers who have shaped my perceptions and guided my actions. My parents garner much of the credit of my successes as they raised me with a baseline of values which serves me today. Those values, my mentors, and my experiences have worked to construct my definition of leadership. To me, leadership is the practice of taking people to places (real or figurative) they would not likely go on their own. While this is a crude explanation, it is one which I have rallied around in my career. It distinguishes itself from that of a position of management where the parameters and rules for success are generally known. When encountering the unknown, or the uncharted territory, those who pioneer practice leadership.
Leadership is influenced by power, this influences the way they excel to accomplish specific goals (Alimo-Metcalfe, 2001). What differentiates leadership roles from management is that leaders are responsible for supervising, managing managers and training staff to ensure skills are improved. A manager is an individual who operates as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) within an organisation or business, they undergo immense training to ensure each individual is able to reach their level in the trade. Although an institute or organisation has one CEO, large organisations can have multiple managers from Managers, to sub managers, assistant managers, financial managers, service managers, etc. (deMoville, 2007).
Now that a manager has been defined, what is a leader? According to Kruse (2013), “Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.” This is a great definition because it does not refer to power or authority over anyone, rather social influence. The other factor to this definition is that it does not have any mention of a specific style or traits associated with it because leadership can come in many different styles and traits. It also talks about maximizing the efforts of others, which is more of an influence and motivation.
The most important quality that differentiates a leader from other people is the ability to think strategically. Vision is the most important aspect that drives a leader’s strategy. It is all about where you want to be. Other qualities include Decision making, problem solving, time management, self-motivation, emotional intelligence and many more. Once we know the type of leadership, it is easy to find what leadership skills we have and which we need to develop which is explained in the book “Leadership: Theory, application, skill development (5th ed.) by Lussier and Achua.” Also, Keirsey Style Sorter personality type helps to knowing our temperament type, and work on our weakness and to emerge out as a good leader.
Leadership and management are two words that are commonly mistaken; the relation and the differences between them are often unclear. Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or a set of goals." Managers are there to plan, organize, lead and monitor employees' activities. Leaders also have to be able to guide an organization through change. As we will see later, vision is a crucial component in the success of this task.
The character traits of leadership begin with the authenticity of the leader who wants to inspire or motivate others to follow him or her. Without trust, a leader cannot be successful in influencing others to follow. Therefore, good leaders should know who they are and have a clear understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. They must lead with honesty and purpose convincing others that they are worthy of being followed. Real leaders stand on principles and are unwilling to compromise those principles for power, money, or status.
Although, that is the definition of leadership is important, the characteristics that make a person a leader are just as important. A leader must be inspiring, they must be able to invite and welcome others. They need to make those around feel like they can get things do and that they know the right way to get these things done. This personality trait is one of the most important for leaders to have. As a leader you should be charming and convincing, someone who others are willing to follow, you can lead if you have no one following you. No matter what cause your leading you must be able to other to not only follow but believe in you and your cause. Inspire then so that they see the same goal/dream as you. You can invite other in by being genuine, original, new, or having the ability to put a fresh spin on old issues. No one wants to hear the same old solution for every problem. People are willing to try new and daring thing if they have the right leadership, this is why inspire so vital to good leadership.
What is leadership? Leadership is defined as a process by which a individual will influence others to obtain goals. Leaders will guide, direct motivate, or inspire others. Leadership is defined by not only traits but actions as well. Leaders are inspirational, trustworthy and charismatic. Many people may think a manger is leader. Although leadership and management go hand in hand, they are not the same. Everyone has their own beliefs about what characteristics an effective leader should have. To me, communication skills, critical thinking skills, and having a vision are few characteristics of becoming an effective leader. A leader is not only born, but made. Some are born as leaders or some are made to be leaders.
A manager is someone who is accountable for directing and planning the work of individuals, constantly watching their work and work need, monitoring their actions and taking appropriate action when necessary. A manager takes up various activities in an organisation like monitoring the employees, supervising them, setting up goals which are in favour of the organisation and set tasks that help accomplish these goals. A leader is a very important part of the organisation; an organisation can not work effectively without a leader. Leadership is defined as “The art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals” ( Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich).
Leadership is a very important and most beneficial skill that one can have. It is the position that comes with many responsibilities. A great leader is the one that influences positive changes, help make an organization strong and recognizable, coach and build an efficient team and motivate people. Some people are born leaders while others learn how to become a leader. According to me, I am still learning and trying to become a great leader. For me, the most important characteristics a leader should have is the ability to set herself/himself as an example and whom people remember for his/her good deeds. I want to be a leader who brings positive changes and make an organization move forward successfully with accomplished goals.
Leadership and management are two fundamental concepts which are involved in the effective management of organizations. Leadership in my opinion is a complex concept, which includes association of human qualities and the result of their activities. To be a great leader means not only following own visions, but also work towards company’s goals.