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personality traits of a leader
evolution of leadership theory
What is the impact of leadership?
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Leadership has been described as "a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task", however there are alternative definitions of leadership. Leadership is a major way in which people change the minds of others and move organizations forward to accomplish identified goals. According to Fry et al (2004) stated that, “leaders must exhibit high levels of courage with a willingness to listen to others in order to collect and analyze information”.
Second, if there is a leader there must be followers. Behavioral theories of leadership are classified as such because they focus on the study of specific behaviors of a leader. For behavioral theorists, a leader behavior is the best predictor of his leadership influences and as a result, is the best determinant of his or her leadership success.
Leadership Models:
In the Innovators DNA, disruptive and innovative leadership is essential for progress and growth. In Dyer’s research, the use of real world examples of great companies such as Apple where their motto is to “think differently” which is what disruptive DNA portray (Dyer, et. al, 2011). According to Doyle and Smith in their article “classical leadership”, basically there have been four main ‘generations’ of theory which are trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories, and transformational theories. The most common leadership theories include:
The Great Man Theory is where theorists continue to argue whether a leader has a natural ability to lead or if they are molded into leadership through extensive training and developmental procedures. I believe that individuals can be transformed into leaders’ however; this conversion does not guarantee ...
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...ixed with a good sense of how to balance employee relationships, leaders can obtain the DNA characteristics necessary to become extraordinary (Dyer, et. al, 2011).
Self-Evaluation-Strengths and Weaknesses:
I believe the strongest areas I possess as a leader is embracing new challenges and not being afraid to take risks. I do believe that these strengths could also be weaknesses in a organizations that enforcing demanding guidelines. I am great at multi-tasking and completing tasks to the end. I understand that this strength could to also be a weakness and can be taking to others as being overzealous and vain.
Overall, the combined discovery and delivery score identifies some great areas of improvement where I could become stronger and be more innovative by changing some behavioral skills and improving some of my cognitive abilities through study and hard work.
In the Leadership Challenge, 4th edition, it is Kouzes & Posner (2007) intention to present a road map for individuals to follow on their leadership journey. The authors stress that “leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance.” Leadership they assert is “an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us” (p. 23). They make clear that the “great person” theory of leadership is “plain wrong.” Leaders are our everyday heroes who do extraordinary things on a regular basis (p. 23).
First, trait theory of leadership development holds that a person is either born with, or without leadership qualities. According to this approach, it is the inherited cognitive ability that will enable
Assertiveness – Leaders are not afraid to let others know where they stand, confront others on their mistakes, set high expectations, and demand better performance.
The leadership is a result of a combination of traits, with special emphasis on the personal qualities of the leader, which he should possess certain personality traits that would be special facilitators in leadership performance. This theory shows that leaders are born as such, there is no likelihood of 'making' them later with personal development techniques.
My own personality traits and characteristics effect my ability to lead others, and acknowledgment of my own strengths and weaknesses help me to become a stronger, more effective leader. There is an extensive list of traits which contribute to the leadership process and effectiveness of the leaders, however, six are considered to be key traits: intelligence, confidence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity. (Northouse, 2015) Of these six traits, I consider intelligence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity to be my strongest, and while I am very confident, I tend to question myself occasionally. Therefore, I would consider confidence to be my weakest trait in the
While it is clear that leadership is about influencing others, what has been the subject of theoretical debate has been what creates a leader. Is a leader born, is it learned, or is it a matter of circumstance? Perhaps, better yet, since leadership is about influence, then leadership is a matter of relationships. Although there are many leadership theories, three theories set out to explain leadership development: trait theories, behavioral theories, and relationship theories.
As an overview, leadership theory consist of firstly, Great man theory that is leaders who have been born with qualities and are meant to lead (Bolden, Marturano & Dennison,
Some people believe leadership and management are one in the same; however, this is not true because management involves planning, staffing, directing and controlling and, a manager is a person who performs these functions (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009). The term manager is a formal title given to a person who has authority by virtue of his or her position or office. (Leadership Theories and Studies, 2009) Leadership, by contrast, is about influence; leaders use factors other than just their formal authority to influence subordinates. There are three major leadership theories developed from the 1930s to the 1970s which attempt to explain why some leaders are better than others, these theories are: trait leadership (1930s and 1940s), behavior leadership (1940s and 1950s), and contingency leadership (1960s and 1970s).
As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest, competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful leaders.
As Yukl (2010) indicates, such factors (e.g. personality, values and capacities) attributed to a leader. Normally it is widespread acknowledged that someone is born to be a lead...
This paper describes about my leadership strengths and areas for growth/future study. It also included how these qualities are used in my daily work routine, self-assessment results and a brief explanation on Individual style in leadership.
We can divide the theories that deal with leadership in 3 chronological groups. First were the trait theories. Until the 1940's, research in the field of leadership was dominated by these theories. Second came the behavioral theories which were very influent until the late 1960's. Finally, contingency theories are the most modern theories about leadership.
The behavior approach refocuses the interest from the traits to the leaders ' behavior. Leaders ' behavior becomes more important than their physical, mental or emotional traits. Ohio State University and the University of Michigan developed the two main studies of this approach in the late 1940s and 1950s. The studies have recognized two main behaviors: people-oriented and production-oriented behavior. According to the leader behavior approach, there are several behaviors that would be invariably effective for leaders, but empirical research does not show a strong relation between task-oriented or person-oriented leader behaviors and leader effectiveness.
The primary leadership theory I believe in comes from John Maxwell and speaks to the dual nature of leadership: leaders are both born and made. I believe that some individuals are born with innate leadership qualities and that those characteristics, though infantile, if cultivated, evolve through lifelong experiences, training and development. Maxwell asserts that born leaders require cultivation: “Leadership is developed, not discovered. The truly “born leader” will always emerge; but to stay on top, natural leadership characteristics must be developed”(Maxwell, 1993 p. viii). Maxwell indicates that individuals who want to become leaders fit into one of four categories: the leading leader, the learned leader, the latent leader or the limited leader.
Another aspect of leadership includes leadership traits such as being influential and inspirational. There also different contexts of leadership, e.g, leading oneself, leading other individuals, leading groups, leading organizations. Some traits that are often associated with being an effective leader include a measure of intelligence, high energy, self confidence, dominance, and a need for achievement. An effective, charismatic leader must lead by example. That leader must be able to know what is going on, the job or task that is being accomplished, and be able to lead the group into performing the task at hand successfully.