Trait Theory of Leadership
Trait Theories of Leadership
Before I briefly explain my topic it is necessarily to define the term ' 'leadership ' '. Many authors until now have defined or tried to define leadership, but the most common and useful definition is given by Gary Yukl (2010), who defines leadership as the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives. Theories of leadership are developed to enrich professional knowledge of the leadership phenomenon and enable future leaders to acquire skills and traits in order to succeed in a dynamic environment. Before World War II, leadership theories and researchers focused on identifying the personal traits of leaders that distinguish them from followers. A leadership trait can be defined as personal characteristic that enables and guarantees sustained leadership effectiveness across different situations, and such kind of trait distinguishes leader from followers. For example, Steve Jobs, the chairman and CEO of Apple Inc., was known for his charisma. He was able to passionately demonstrate his visions and made people want to follow his lead. Some other examples of traits that make an effective leader are intelligence, dominance, self-confidence, level of energy and activity, and task-relevant knowledge.
This paper focuses on trait theory of leadership and tries to explain the most essential aspects of trait leadership theory. The trait approach to leadership is rightly considered as one of the oldest leadership theories created by humans. At the beginning of the twentieth century, historian Thomas Carlyle said that the world’s history was made by great men’s biographies (Judge et al., 2002). Human beliefs about leaders and leadership gave rise to the development of trait leadership theories (Judge et al., 2002). The first trait theories were developed to explain the connection of
Before I briefly explain my topic it is necessarily to define the term ' 'leadership ' '. Many authors until now have defined or tried to define leadership, but the most common and useful definition is given by Gary Yukl (2010), who defines leadership as the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives. Theories of leadership are developed to enrich professional knowledge of the leadership phenomenon and enable future leaders to acquire skills and traits in order to succeed in a dynamic environment. Before World War II, leadership theories and researchers focused on identifying the personal traits of leaders that distinguish them from followers. A leadership trait can be defined as personal characteristic that enables and guarantees sustained leadership effectiveness across different situations, and such kind of trait distinguishes leader from followers. For example, Steve Jobs, the chairman and CEO of Apple Inc., was known for his charisma. He was able to passionately demonstrate his visions and made people want to follow his lead. Some other examples of traits that make an effective leader are intelligence, dominance, self-confidence, level of energy and activity, and task-relevant knowledge.
This paper focuses on trait theory of leadership and tries to explain the most essential aspects of trait leadership theory. The trait approach to leadership is rightly considered as one of the oldest leadership theories created by humans. At the beginning of the twentieth century, historian Thomas Carlyle said that the world’s history was made by great men’s biographies (Judge et al., 2002). Human beliefs about leaders and leadership gave rise to the development of trait leadership theories (Judge et al., 2002). The first trait theories were developed to explain the connection of
References: Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ ; London : Pearson Articles Arvey, R. D., Rotundo, M., Johnson, W., Zhang, Z., & McGue, M. (2006). The determinants of leadership role occupancy: Genetic and personality factors. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(1), 1–20. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.10.009 Bai, X., & Roberts, W Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 765–780. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.87.4.765 Judge, T Kirkpatick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: do traits matter? The Executive, 5(2), 48–60. Schafer, J. A. (2010). Effective leaders and leadership in policing: traits, assessment, development, and expansion. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 33(4), 644–663. doi:10.1108/13639511011085060 Dissertations Brown, O. (2008). Business and IT Leaders’ Behavioral Affects on Alignment and Project Outcome: A Comparative Leadership Study. ProQuest. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books Websites Great Man theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Man_theory Trait Theory of Leadership [ 2 ]. Trait Theory of Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/trait-theory-of-leadership.htm