Trait theories of leadership explain the leadership traits that have been studied to determine what makes certain people great leaders. The practical application of the theory is looking at how the leader‟s behavior affects their subjects.
The trait approach is very different from the other leadership approaches as it concentrates on the leader and not on the situation or the followers or other circumstances or factors. This approach emphasizes that having a leader with a certain set of traits is critical for a leader to be effective.
We have already discussed some shortcomings of the trait theory of leadership in the previous article. In spite of these limitations, the trait theories provides valuable information about leadership and can be practically applied by professionals at all levels and in all types of organizations to perform a self-assessment and compare you traits with those who are successful in a specific career. Most of the assessment devices that result from trait theory are self-report type tests. The person being tested responds to questions and these responses may or may not be accurate.
A great deal of research has gone into the determination of traits that are helpful in specific types of jobs and there exists many career type assessment measures that look at personality traits and compare your traits with those who are successful in a specific career. The rationale behind these tests is the assumption that if most successful and happy professionals possess specific traits (example are conscientious, agreeable, understanding) and based on the assessment you conclude that you also have these same traits, one could conclude that you are likely to succeed as a professional in same career field.
If you look at the assumptions and theoretical conclusions that were made under the Trait Theories of Leadership, you may start to notice some commonalities. Please refer to the Trait Theory Development Timeline in one of the previous article where in the table we have listed various traits by various researchers as they evolved over the timeline. Many different researchers, from different schools of thought have studied the aspects of personality and traits and they concluded that there exists several interesting similarities. While different theorists may use different terminology, some common factors or personality traits have shown up in a rather consistent pattern.
Given below is the list of some practical applications of the trait theory of leadership:
Various organizations use a various types of questionnaires to measure individuals’ personality characteristics or traits. Given below are some commonly used standard personality measures that are used to gather valuable information about individual’s unique attributes for leadership roles and to analyze the best fit for individual in the organization.
We have created a small quiz as an example that can be used to assess your personal leadership characteristics. This quiz measures an individual’s traits and points the individual to the areas in which that individual may have special strengths or weaknesses. By taking this quiz you can gain a quick understanding of how trait measures are used for leadership assessment. This quiz will also give you a flavor of personality tests that are used by employers to measure/judge leadership traits of the potential hires.
Team leadership theory is a recent leadership theory that does not discriminate between the leader and the other team members. The approach considers contributions from each team member to be critical for organizational success. This approach focused on the overall team effectiveness and team problems are diagnosed and action is taken to remediate weakness. This approach provides for taking corrective action when the leader deems necessary.
Transactional Theory of Leadership
Transactional leadership theory is based on the concept of rewards and punishments. The transactional management approach assumes that the desires of the leader and follower are different and leaders give followers something in exchange for getting something they want. Transactional leaders expect followers to be compliant and focuses on structure, instruction, monitoring, organization, or performance to get tasks completed on time.
In the field of communication studies, there are numerous models. No one model is suitable for all purposes and all levels of analysis. Some common models are known as Lasswell Model, George Gerbner Model, David Berlo Model, Shanon and Weaver Model, Osgoods Model, and Schramm Model. All these describe the four components of the communication process, namely, the source (communicator), the message, the channel, the receiver (audience).
The skills approach to leadership suggests that certain skills are important for effective leadership. Skills are what leaders can learn and develop, whereas traits are innate characteristics. The main skills needed for leadership, according to one such theory, are technical, human, and conceptual.
Leadership Participation Inventory (LPI)
Kouzes and Posner introduced the Leadership Participation Inventory model of Transformational leadership. This model is also known as Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Challenge Model. They identified five practices of exemplary leadership - Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enabling Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart.
Humanistic theories of Leadership
Humanistic leadership is an ethical philosophic approach that recognizes the dignity and worth of each and every group or team member. This approach is based on building a leadership culture of trust, ethics, and empathy. Humanistic leadership is a set of principles founded on humanism with vision, mission, values, and expected behaviors. It is value-driven leadership based on principles such as humility, accountability, positivity, and love.
The psychodynamic approach to leadership has its roots in the work done by Sigmund Freud. These involved psychological theories of personality development and explaining leadership using psychoanalytic concepts. It tries to define a person is in terms of personality traits. Personality structured into three parts (i.e., tripartite) - the id, ego, and superego.
Early studies on leadership were done at Ohio State University using the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire to identify the leader's observable behaviors. Ohio State study on leadership found two behavioral characteristics of leadership - people-oriented (consideration) and task-oriented (initiating structure) leadership style.
Management theories are the recommended management strategies that enable us to better understand and approach management. Many management frameworks and guidelines were developed during the last four decades.
University of Iowa Studies was the first leadership study to analyze leadership using scientific methodology. The study was conducted by Lewin, Lippitt, and White and worked on different styles of leadership. The studies explored three leadership styles - authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-fair leaders. This early study was very influential and established three major leadership styles.
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