The Characteristics Of Stephen Zaccaro's Leadership Theory

Are leaders born or created? Do they manifest in certain situations and not others? Does it depend on the dynamic or even demographics of the followers? In every society there are leaders, people who stand out from the crowd. Such a peculiar role and instrument of human interaction has been the subject of research for centuries. Leader’s use wisdom to guide other or manipulate social situations to gain followers. Over the years, new research promotes new ideas of leadership. Beginning with the trait theorists and Great Man concept through behavioral and situational ideologies, leadership theory is constantly evolving.

When conceptualizing leadership theory it is easy to acknowledge what sets each school of thought apart. To illustrate a deeper

Zaccaro defines leader traits as, “relatively coherent and integrated patterns of personal characteristics, reflecting a range of individual differences, that foster consistent leadership effectiveness across a variety of group and organizational situations (Zaccaro 2007, pg 7). This definition can be broken down into three components. Zaccaro believes it is only when certain traits work together rather than as distinct traits is there a recipe for leadership. That does not guarantee leadership, only predicts its possibility. Leadership traits when isolated from one another do not foresee leadership. Zaccaro continues that multiple traits are necessary but the focus must be on how each of these traits affect one another shape capability. “Leadership processes, in turn, reflect the combined influence of social appraisal, problem-solving skills, and expertise” (Zaccaro 2003 page 123). He argues it is situational and varies based on external

To elaborate, Zaccaro believes a leader must have distal attributes. These innate, stable traits are similar to early trait theory, however where he differs is that all three must work together. These traits are the “foundational qualities that promote core effectiveness across most generic leadership situations” (Zaccaro 2007). It is within this combination that leadership can begin to surface. The next set of traits Zaccaro categorizes as proximal. These traits are more situationally influenced and therefore can be mediated by the “Leader’s Operating Environment.” Zaccaro cites his earlier work: situational influences then, moderate the effects of specific proximal attributes on leadership processes and the effects of processes on leadership outcomes. The quality and level of these proximal skills, however, are fundamentally defined by more universal distal traits (Zaccaro