Leadership Theory Essay Example For Students

Leadership Theory Essay According to Nathan F. Iannone, leadership can be defined as the art ofinfluencing, directing, guiding, and controlling others in such a way as toobtain their willing obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation inaccomplishment of an objective. Leaders are not bornsure there are somegifts-traits-attributes, natural endowments that affect relative abilitiesbutthey are not born, they are made. Any reasonably intelligent person with enoughforcefulness to develop his/her ability to inspire others to follow him can earnleadership status. Remember that we have both formal and informal leaders. Being a Captain /Sergeant doesnt make you a leader! Classic LeadershipTheory: Common Traits of Leaders. Booher and Watson refer to classic leadershiptheory because it describes an approach to understanding leadership that by andlarge is out of style. Nonetheless it is clear that one can learn a great dealby studying the important personal ingredients in the leadership equation. Studying the traits of great leaders became unpopular because it was and isassociated with the great man theory of leadership. This approach wasespoused in the 19th. and early 20th. Centuries, and asserted the leadershipqualities are largely inherited. This was called trait theory. Researcherssuch as Mann and Stodgill found no consistent correlate between particulartraits and leadership. Later research, particularly more recent and moresophisticated work has found a consistent and strong relationship betweencertain traits and leadership. Possessing these core traits simply makes it morelikely that a person will take the appropriate action leading to leadershipsuccess. Overhead #2 The Art of Leadership. What is the nature of leadership,leadership is an art! As with any form of artistic expression, painting, music,leadership is an art form in that it: ? Is an expression of theindividual within the social and environmental context. ? Reflects theindividuals personality. ? Can be easier to demonstrate and developwhen one has a talent for it. ? Can be learned-you may have a talent forit, you may not, either way, anyone can still become an effective leader. ? Is greatly enhanced through a disciplined regimen of learning andfeedback. Through science, we can study the elements of leadership and providevaluable understanding into its nature. This enables us to determine where tofocus our leadership skills and abilities, as well as measure to some extent,our effectiveness. However, the act of leading itself is largely unscientificand is far more akin to practicing an art form than studying scientificvariables. Understanding both facets of leadership is crucial to yourdevelopment as a leader. For you as a leader, remember that leadership is anart; your leadership is always a work in progress. OH #3 Leadership Styles. Manypeople believe that there is one type of leadership that is most effective, andif they can only develop that style, they would be effective as a leader. Someleaders have one style, and honestly believe that it is best to stick with whatcomes naturally. As with any art form, one has a number of tools at onesdisposal. In leade rship, these tools are different leadership styles. Althoughcertain situations call for specific styles, most situations call for acombination of styles. The four general styles of leadership are: 1. Autocratic. 2. Participative. 3. Laissez-faire. 4. Variable. Autocratic also known asauthoritarian leadership is rule by authority. As a manager or supervisor, aperson is endowed with a level of authority, which is expected to be obeyed. Anautocratic leader rests on this fact, expecting his subordinates to comply. Participative leadership is often referred to as democratic although democraticprocesses (voting etc.) need not be present to constitute participativeleadership. Laissez-faire leadership (really non-leadership) is a hands offapproach. If the groups goals are being accomplished under the management ofa LF leader, it is because the group members are self-motivated, demonstrateeffective teamwork, and exhibit expertise in their field. Variable leadership, aprecursor to situational leadership draws from a combination of the abovestyles. Whether this form of leadership is effective depends on how each styleis applied at what time. The styles of leadership help us understand how peoplego about practicing the art, the question how does our individual traits affectour ability to do so? OH #4 Leadership Traits. Traits can be described as ourgeneral orientation (paradigm) toward people and things. Regrettably we tend toview ourselves, as the way people ought to be. That is problematic. This clo udsour judgment of ourselves and others, hindering our ability to ascertainweaknesses, and objectively evaluate and develop upon our strengths. Traits aresuch a fundamental aspect of our personalities that they lead us to displayconsistent behavior across different situations. (Each of us can be described interms of our personal traits.) There are certain traits that are associated witheffective leadership. They are so critical, yet difficult to pinpoint, that forcenturies, volumes have been written in an effort to define and describe them. Alexander the Great EssayThe third quadrant describes that which is neither known to us that we hide orkeep private from others. Keeping things private is both expected and necessaryOH #10 E-Cubed. Lets talk about how all these traits and principles fittogether. First, we propose that integrity of character and moral courage arethe foundation or basis of principled leadership. After the foundation ofintegrity and courage, we turn to what is called e-cubed which describessome leadership fundamentals. Extraordinary leaders enable their followers. Thatis, they set them up for success by ensuring that they have the rightexperiences, skills and resources. They also actively remove obstacles orbarriers to success. In order to enable their people, leaders must beprofessionally competent, have the smarts to make right decisions, and have athrough knowledge of the strengths, limitations, and preferences of theirfollowers. Extraordinary leaders empower their followers. In other words theysha re information, power, and authority to make decisions and take action. Howdo these traits and principles come into this? Emotionally stable leaders do notallow their strong desire to lead to lure them into hoarding power, actingcapriciously, developing cliques or playing favorites. These leaders understandthat sharing information and power leads to better performance and moremotivated followers. Extraordinary leaders energize their followers. They excitetheir followers by challenging them to met difficult goals, expressingconfidence in their ability to meet the goal, and setting the example by theirown enthusiasm, energy, and hard work toward the goal. OH #11 When Do You KnowYou Are a Great Leader? If people continue to write about your effectiveleadership 50 years after your death, thats a pretty good sign that you werea great leader. For everyone else, its very difficult to tell. Some of us,whom have adoring followers, have failing organizations. Some of us who havesuccessful org anizations have burnt out and bitter followers. Few of us haveboth for a sustained period of time. When we do, it is easy to become with ourleadership qualities. We suggest we should seek to raise our art to an evenhigher form, constantly seeking to become, and help others become, betterleaders. With this view, we never become so enamored with ourselves that we say,Yeah, I am a great leader. Instead, one recognizes that many factorscontribute to leadership success, No small measure of our success is due theefforts, smarts, and tenacity of our followers. And, as the environment in whichwe do business change, so too must our leadership skills grow and expand. ThreeLessons in Leadership: People from top to bottom in most organizations exerciseleadership. It does not require charisma; it is not mystical or mysterious. Whatis Leadership? Leadership is the process of giving meaningful direction tocollective efforts. ? Giving meaning. ? Setting a direction? Willing support and cooperation. Leadership vs. Management: ?Planning vs. Setting a Direction ? Organizing and staffing vs.. AligningPeople ? Controlling and problem Solving vs. Motivating People. ThreeLessons in Leadership or 3Es ? Envisioning. ? Energizing. ? Enabling. The Three Es of Leadership. ? Articulating aCompelling Vision. Set the direction. ? Setting High Expectations. Encourage excellence. ? Modeling Consistent Behavior Walk the talk. TheThree Es of Leadership. Energizing: Demonstrating Personal Excitement:Enthusiasm is contagious. Expressing Personal Confidence: Confidence inspires. Seeking, Finding, and Using Success: Celebrate and leverage success Enabling. Expressing Personal Support: back people up. Empathizing: Understand othersfeelings. Expressing Confidence in People: believe in them and they willbelieve. Leadership Competencies: ? Action oriented. ? Buildingteam spirit. ? Command skills. ? Ethics and integrity. ?Interpersonal savvy. ? Managing vision and purpose. ? Motivatingand inspiring others. ? Problem solving and decision quality. ?Results orientation. ? Strategic agility.