University of Phoenix Material
University of Phoenix Material
Theory Definition/Characteristics Examples
Trait Leadership The trait theory is also known as the disposition theory. It is an approach to the study of human personality. Therefore, trait theorists are interested in the measurement of human traits that are classified as habitual patterns, emotions, and thoughts. According to the trait theory of leadership, there are certain natural qualities of an individual that shape and develop good leaders (Derue et al., 2011). However, the possession of certain qualities does not qualify a person to be a good leader. For example, some leaders may be excellent communicators or listeners, but this doesn’t mean that every good listener or communicator can be a good leader. The trait approach attempts to identify demographics (education, age, and socioeconomic background), physiological (height, appearance, and weight), intellective (decisiveness, intelligence, knowledge, and judgement), social characteristics (cooperativeness and sociability), task-related (initiative, achievement, and persistence) with leader emergence and effectiveness. Also, the leadership theory focuses on personality, aggressiveness, and self-confidence for leaders.
The main characteristics of trait leadership include:
Honesty and integrity – The trait approach emphasizes on leaders to be characterized by reliability, openness, and transparency.
Achievement drive – Leaders need to have high levels of ambition, effort, energy, and initiative.
Self-confidence – leaders need to believe in oneself, their ability, and ideas.
Leadership desire – The trait approach emphasizes that leaders need to have an intense desire to lead others so that they can achieve shared goals.
Emotional maturity – Leaders need to be well-adjusted and don’t suffer from severe psychological disorders.
Cognitive ability – Good leaders need to be capable of emphasizing good judgement, develop conceptual skills and also develop strong analytical abilities to help them in decision making
Business knowledge – Leaders are not only in the political arena but also in a profit-oriented organization. Based on this, a good leader is required to have knowledge of the industry as well as other technical matters relating to business to help in achieving the shared goals.
Other major characteristics of the trait leadership theory include flexibility, creativity, and charisma. An example of the trait leadership can be found in the late Steven Jobs, who was known for his charisma. He had the ability to articulate his visions passionately and this made him a great leader.
Behavioral
Leadership Behaviorism is a theory of learning which is based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning, in this case, occurs through environmental interaction (Phillips & Phillips, 2016). According to scholars, individual responses to the environmental stimulus is what shapes the action of a person. Based on this approach, not all people are born to be leaders, but there are certain traits that can be learned through conditioning to make a person an effective leader. The approach of behavioral leadership is relevant and makes more sense in that many leadership programs have helped many people to become great leaders. Since there are relevant skills taught in these leadership programs, the behavioral perspective of leadership has proven that leadership is not only for specific people, but anyone can be a leader provided they can properly demonstrate leadership behavior. Behaviorism depicts leadership in a more positive light and, therefore, helps individuals to take leadership in a more open-minded approach. There are various behaviors that are associated with great behavioral leadership.
They are grounded in ethics and integrity – Behavioral leaders are committed to doing the right things and for the right reasons, even when it is difficult to stay on course.
Building trust – Trust is not inborn but can be earned. Behavioral leaders take actions that are aimed at granting them more respect.
Bringing others, along with them- Behavioral leaders are always willing to help other people grow and achieve. Based on this, they also act as coaches and teachers to help others become great leaders and thus are an inspiration to many.
Reward achievement – Everyone likes to see their hard work and accomplishments recognized. Behavioral leaders are aware that behaviors are learned, and thus, rewarding achievements helps in motivating their employees.
Encourage innovation – Great behavioral leaders encourage employees in their organizations to be creative and innovative as they understand the significance of training people to be more innovative through observation, questioning, networking, and experimenting.
An example of behavioral leadership includes rewarding employees who perform better to increase their motivation. Also, punishing poor performance is an example of behavioral leadership.
Contingency
Leadership The contingency theory of leadership focuses on specific situations that affect the effectiveness of a leader as well as the ability of the leader to adapt to the important tools in the workplace. According to the contingency theory of leadership, the effectiveness of a leader is contingent on whether or not their style of leadership style is suitable for the specific position (Jansen et al., 2016). A person can be an effective leader in one situation and also be ineffective in another situation. There are a dozen of factors in the workplace that can affect the effectiveness of leadership, and some of them include the size of the team, the expected delivery date of the results as well as the scope of the project. It should be noted that different leaders do possess unique leadership styles, and therefore, they will respond to each of the factors differently. According to the contingency leadership theory, no matter how successful a leader has been in some tasks, there will always be a specific situation that will cause a lot of challenges to them. Therefore, a contingent leader must be willing to acknowledge the fact that their success is dependent on the current circumstances as well as on their skills. Based on this, contingent leaders that may include supervisors and managers are required to adapt their leadership styles to the present situation or delegate some of their leadership responsibilities to a junior employee so that they can be effective as leaders.
Situations in a contingency leadership theory are defined by three factors, that is, leader-member relation, task structure, and positional power.
Leader-member relation – this factor is a measure of leadership acceptance between the organizational hierarchies. If the junior leaders have trust, confidence, and adequately feel motivated by their superiors, the leader-member relation tends to be positive, and this increases the chances of the leader being effective.
Task structure – The factor is a measure of the clarity of the activities, methods, and output.
Positional power – The factor is a measure of the amount of authority possessed by the leader to enable them to influence the productivity of the followers. Positional power defines whether a leader can punish or reward employees.
An example of contingency leadership is delegating simple tasks to junior leaders to help ease the delivery of a service in a shorter time.
Skills
Leadership The skills leadership focuses on the leader’s knowledge and abilities. The approach suggests that knowledge, skills, and abilities are essential for a leader to be termed effective, and these can be acquired through learning and further developed to make a leader more competent. Many people can be potential leaders, but they lack the essential skills required to be enhanced through training and experiences to make a leader more effective. Training, experiences, involvement, as well as exposure to specific activities, can help in shaping an individual for a leadership position. There are two major models of skills leadership that include the Katz model and Mumford models. Katz’s model is the most influential and identifies three different abilities that are essential for a leader and which include technical skills, conceptual skills, and human skills (Holmberg-Wright & Hribar, 2016).
Technical skills – These are the knowledge and expertise that are essential for the completion of a particular task. They include the need for specialized knowledge applicable for specific methods, techniques, and procedures such as advancing computer software skills that can be developed through vocational training as well as through on-the-job training programs.
Human skills – They are te people skills required for effective work with peers, followers, and superiors. Human skills include the ability to motivate others, verbal and non-verbal communication skills as well as the ability to create a positive team spirit. Based on this, a leader with high human skills is aware of their behavior as well as how they can affect others.
Conceptual skills – They are the skills required by a leader to allow them to think through and work with ideas, concepts, and hypotheses. Leaders who possess excellent conceptual skills are good at working with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations. Some of the essential conceptual skills for good leaders include creativity, deep strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making.
It is essential that leaders possess all the three skills; conceptual, technical, and human skills. However, depending on where they are positioned in the management structure, there are skills that are more important than others.
An example of skills leadership is a leader using certain computer software packages to advance their technical skills effective for performing a programming task.
Situational Leadership The situational theory of leadership refers to the type of leaders who adopt various leadership styles according to the present situation and the development level of their team members (Meier, 2016). Situational leadership is an effective way of leadership as it adapts to the needs of the team and also helps set a beneficial balance for the entire organization. The situational leadership theory posits that the leader’s leadership styles and the follower’s maturity or levels of preparedness are two key elements that need to be matched appropriately. Four main approaches are identified by the situational theory of leadership as defined by Blanchard and Hershey, and they include telling, selling, participating, and delegating.
Telling and directing – In this style of situational leadership, the leader is required to provide specific guidance, support, and close supervision. The telling and directing leaders tend to make decisions and direct actions through interaction and communication. These leaders are closely involved and use a top-down approach, implying that the employees obey the directions provided by these leaders.
Selling and coaching – These kinds of leaders are open to the employees’ input and thus encourage them to submit their ideas and suggestions to improve business activities. The leaders effectively sell their concepts to the groups and aim to recruit their cooperation through debate and collaboration. However, the final decision is made by the leader.
Participating and supporting – These kinds of leaders provide fewer directions and leave the decision to be made by others. However, these kinds of leaders may be involved in overseeing operations; they expect others to make appropriate choices.
Delegation – These kinds of leaders tend to limit participation and leave most of the responsibilities to the group. However, they are consulted now and then, but decision making and project direction are primarily left to the group members.
An example of situational leadership can occur when an organization has a lot of work, such as hiring. During this time, lots of applications are made, and this may overwhelm the leaders. Since they cannot tackle all the applications, they may delegate the responsibilities to the junior groups, giving them the mandate to make final decisions. However, they might make consultations to their leader.
Leadership Theories Matrix
Complete the following sections using the provided matrix template.
Develop a leadership theories matrix that describes the definition and characteristics of various leadership theories and approaches to leadership (trait leadership, behavioral leadership, contingency leadership, skills leadership, and situational leadership).
Provide one or more examples to support the definition or characteristics of each form of leadership.
Write out your explanations in each section; each section should contain about 350 words.
Format your matrix consistent with APA guidelines.
References
Derue, D. S., Nahrgang, J. D., Wellman, N. E. D., & Humphrey, S. E. (2011). Trait and behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta‐analytic test of their relative validity. Personnel psychology, 64(1), 7-52.
Holmberg-Wright, K., & Hribar, T. (2016). Soft skills–the missing piece for entrepreneurs to grow a business. American Journal of Management, 16(1).
Jansen, J. J., Kostopoulos, K. C., Mihalache, O. R., & Papalexandris, A. (2016). A socio‐psychological perspective on team ambidexterity: The contingency role of supportive leadership behaviours. Journal of Management Studies, 53(6), 939-965.
Meier, D. (2016). Situational Leadership Theory as a Foundation for a Blended Learning Framework. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(10), 25-30.
Phillips, A. S., & Phillips, C. R. (2016). Behavioral styles of path-goal theory: An exercise for developing leadership skills. Management Teaching Review, 1(3), 148-154.
