Leadership Skills and Styles
Essay title: Leadership Skills and Styles
Student Name
Aysha Tariq
Subject Name
Unit 14 .Working with and Leading people
Assignment Title
Assignment based on Leadership skills and styles
Question & Answers
Q.1 – Mention all the leadership theories and styles in brief and present a comparative study of all these leadership theories and styles.
Answer: – In general terms, it is defined as the ability to influence people. Some of the bases of influence are legitimate, coercive, reward, and expert. Two main theories of leadership: theory X and theory Y are the elements of leadership. It has been observed that the substitute of leadership is group factors. In addition, various types of leadership have also been highlighted
Over time, a number of theories of leadership have been proposed. Here are some of the main ideas.
Trait Theory
Assumptions
People are born with inherited traits.
Some traits are particularly suited to leadership.
People who make good leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of traits.
Description
Early research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the day, which was of people having inherited characteristics or traits. Attention was thus put on discovering these traits, often by studying successful leaders, but with the underlying assumption that if other people could also be found with these traits, then they, too, could also become great leaders.
Stogdill (1974) identified the following traits and skills as critical to leaders.
Traits
Skills
Adaptable to situations
Alert to social environment
Ambitious and achievement-orientated
Assertive
Cooperative
Decisive
Dependable
Dominant (desire to influence others)
Energetic (high activity level)
Persistent
Self-confident
Tolerant of stress
Willing to assume responsibility
Clever (intelligent)
Conceptually skilled
Creative
Diplomatic and tactful
Fluent in speaking
Knowledgeable about group task
Organised (administrative ability)
Persuasive
Socially skilled
McCall and Lombardo (1983) researched both success and failure identified four primary traits by which leaders could succeed or derail:
Emotional stability and composure: Calm, confident and predictable, particularly when under stress.
Admitting error: Owning up to mistakes, rather than putting energy into covering up.
Good interpersonal skills: Able to communicate and persuade others without resort to negative or coercive tactics.
Intellectual breadth: Able to understand a wide range of areas, rather than having a narrow (and narrow-minded) area of expertise.
Behavioural Theory
Assumptions
Leaders can be made, rather than are born.
Successful leadership is based in definable, learnable behaviour.
Description
Behavioural theories of leadership do not seek inborn traits or capabilities. Rather, they look at what leaders actually do.
If success can be defined in terms of describable actions, then it should be relatively easy for other people to act in the same way. This is easier to teach and learn then to adopt the more