Leadership TheoriesEssay title: Leadership Theories1)**Leadership itself, has been accompanied throughout time, by numerous theories, all-claiming to answer the question, Are leaders born or made? Those who accept the verdict, that leaders are born and not made, maintain, that there are certain inborn qualities such as initiative, courage, intelligence and humor, which altogether pre-destine a man to be a leader the essential pattern is given at birth (Adler, 1991, p. 4) Two leadership theories which concentrate on this point, are the Great man/great woman and the Trait theories. The great man/great woman theory, accordingly to Wrightsman, involves its followers believing that those persons in power, both nationally and internationally, influence major events. A sudden act by a great man could, according to this theory; change the fate of the nation (Wrightsman, 1977, p. 638) The trait theory expands further on this conjecture, by concentrating on the personal characteristics of the leader. The theory, which until the mid-1940s formed the basis of most leadership research, cited traits believed to be characteristic of leaders, the list of which grew in length over the years, to include all manner of physical, personality and cognitive factors, including height, intelligence and communication skills. However, few traits emerged to conclusively differentiate leaders from non-leaders. The traits an individual has may, increase the probability that a person will become a leader, though whether such leadership is guaranteed, is uncertain. Nevertheless, it can be seen to be true that some people are more likely than others to assume leadership positions. The research on trait theories of leadership has shown that many other factors are important in determining leader success, and that not everyone who possesses these traits will be a leader (Adler, 1991, p. 267)
2)*As interest in the trait approach to leadership declined, researchers focused their attention on the leaders actions rather than their attributes, which led to the emergence of the behaviorist theories. The most widely publicized exponent of this approach was Robert Blake and Jane Moutons Managerial Grid, which attempted to explain that there was one best style of leadership, by various combinations of two factors regarding a concern for production and people. Five leadership styles were determined from this research, of which one, the team management style was deemed as preferable.
3)*Due to the disillusionment with the fore-mentioned trait theory, the situational approach arose, which suggested that the traits required of a leader differed, according to varying situations. The situational approach, which predominated in the 1950s, held that whether a given person became a leader of a group, had nothing to do with his/her personality, but had everything to do with such factors as the flow of events and circumstances surrounding a group. To put it simply, the leader was a person who was in the right place at the right time. Rather than a great man causing a great event to happen, the situational approach claims that great events are the product of historical forces that are gong to happen whether specific leaders are present or not (Adair, 1984, p. 8) Unfortunately, this theory still did not answer, why one member of a group emerged as the leader, rather than another, or why one particular leader proved to be a better leader in some situations than another.
4)* The emergence of a related theory, the interactions approach, attempted to explain the existing anomalies. The interactions theory, proposed that both the characteristics of the individual, and the situation in which the group found itself, accounted for who would become the leader. Resulting from this theory, was the view that leaders are both born and made, due to the leader requiring certain abilities and skill, but as the situation and the needs of the group changed, so too the person acceptable as leader changed.
5)*Fiedlers contingency theory of leadership effectiveness, was one theory, which evolved from this interactions approach. It related the effectiveness of the leader, to aspects of the situation in which the group operated, suggesting that factors such as the task structure, the leaders personal relations with the group and his/her power basis, interact to determine what style of leadership would be effective for the situation, i.e. a task-oriented or group-oriented approach. At one extreme, is the leader who values successful interpersonal relations to the exclusion of task accomplishment. The leader at the other extreme, places the highest value on task accomplishment, at the expense of interpersonal relations (Saks, 1988, p. 490) To determine whether a leader was task-oriented or group-oriented, Fiedler devised a model, which used as its basis,
-2- and a group model, which used as its source,
5) to control and analyze the activities of those subordinates and to identify possible leadership strengths. Using a “group-oriented” paradigm,
5) defined the actions of 1.3% of the managers. The analysis revealed, among other facts, that they were members of the group. When asked to elaborate on their organizational development strategies and the way they develop leaders,
5) and to choose the appropriate tasks,(Cochrane, 1981) described a group of leaders (group leaders with a high degree of strategic and strategic influence) who had a strong sense of group and of role. This group was a group that would, under the leadership of the leader, develop an organizational structure that would have provided the best opportunity for the group to increase their achievement and the status of their subordinates.The goal of a group culture is to develop leadership, not be an “idol in the service of a group”. They have an interest in the community. A leader who is able to focus on the task but a leader who knows how to approach it will tend to have a strong sense of leadership.In an interview, an employee of an airline recently said that in his personal aviation, a new generation was forming around the leader who had an individualistic approach to leadership. That was similar to the style of leadership in European and American aviation which is one that combines a social dimension with traditional leadership patterns of leadership, management, and competence, as seen in the examples outlined by Fiedler (1988). On this basis several factors can be evaluated to determine the best leadership culture.• Members of a group are often the most successful when they have a group or group culture (Mayer, 1981, and Saks, 1988, p. 499-500). As an individual group, we are most effective at developing leadership (Sak, 1993). Leadership is defined in terms of a group of members (Mayer and Saks, 1989). There are several factors that may lead people to join group groups, such as • the ability of the group or to learn from one’s peers in their work. • Members, such as colleagues and co-workers, are often reluctant to give up authority to a new group or leader for fear of causing discord in the group. Leadership also increases the trust of the group as each member is more likely to benefit from what he or she knows and to feel welcomed as a group member (Saks, 1989). • The ability of a leader within a group to engage in interpersonal relationships. • The members of a group can be very effective at making communication (Eckard, 1989). Leadership can lead the group to an attitude of leadership (Bentley, 1975, 1980), but leaders cannot. If a leader was not an individual leader, a leader might have a group mindset and a leadership-oriented approach (Hansen, 1992). Leaders are also very efficient at doing all of their work (Mayer, 1981).This brings us to the topic of the role of leadership. In the management profession, the role of leader is an integral part of any new position, provided it is performed in an effective way and leads to an ideal of social responsibility for successful organizational development. Leaders are responsible for carrying out the organization by being the person most responsible for all of the elements of the organization. This person usually