Trait Theory of Leadership is based on the assumption that people are born with inherited traits and some traits are particularly suited to leadership. The theory aims to discover specific leadership & personality traits and characteristics proven to predict the likelihood of success or failure of a leader.
The trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical areas in the study of human personality and is focused on differences between individuals. The trait approach was one of the first systematic attempts to study leadership. The combination and interaction of various traits forms a personality that is unique to each individual. Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these individual personality characteristics known as Traits.
Traits: Also called dispositions, Traits can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion. Traits are relatively stable over time, differ across individuals and influence behavior. Traits are external behaviors that emerge from internal beliefs and processes.
Trait Theory of Leadership is based on the assumption that people are born with inherited traits and some traits are particularly suited to leadership. People who make effective leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of traits and great leaders has some common personality characteristics. Trait theories help us identify traits and dispositions that are helpful when leading others. This theory as described by Kelly (1974) attempts to classify what personal characteristics such as physical, personality and mental, are associated with leadership success. Trait theory relies on research that relates various traits to the success of a leader.
“Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint.” - Lewis H. Lapham
“The screenwriters I know share a few personality traits and one of them is anxiety.” - Tony Gilroy
“I think in the end, when you're famous, people like to narrow you down to a few personality traits. I think I've just become this ambitious, say-whatever's-on-her-mind, intimidating person. And that's part of my personality, but it's certainly not anywhere near the whole thing.” - Madonna Ciccone
“The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory” - Thomas Jefferson
Early research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the day, which was of people having inherited characteristics or traits. The trait theory of leadership focused on analyzing mental, physical and social characteristic in order to gain more understanding of what is the characteristic or the combination of characteristics that are common among leaders. There have been many different studies of leadership traits and attention was 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.
The trait theory is naturally pleasing theory and gives constructive information about leadership. Lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory and it can be applied by people at all levels in all types of organizations. Managers can utilize the information from the theory to evaluate their position in the organization and to assess how their position can be made stronger in the organization. It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be assessed and individuals can get an in-depth understanding of their identity and the way they will affect others in the organization. This theory makes the manager aware of their strengths and weaknesses and thus they get an understanding of how they can develop their leadership qualities. It gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the leadership process.
A lengthy list of traits has been made to describe an effective leader in terms of certain characteristics. Given below is outcome of studies on leadership traits and characteristics with reference to timelines in terms of years:
Many arguments are made against the leadership theory of traits and it has some inherent limitations as during the 1930s the field of Psychometrics was in its early years. The greatest argument is that if particular traits are key differentiator of leadership, then how do we explain people who possess these qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.
These characteristics according to some people are considered valid indicators of successful leaders, but if you compare leaders by various physical personality and intelligence traits, you may find very little agreement on these. Some findings point out to the fact that leaders are intelligent individuals. But they do not provide any clue as to whether leaders are brighter than their followers or are as close to them in intelligence.
This theory is quite complex and there is bound to be some subjective judgment in determining who is regarded as a ‘good’ or ‘successful’ leader and many of these factors are situational related factors. The followers have a significant effect on the job accomplished by the leader. Trait theory completely ignores the followers and the situations that also help a leader to be successful. To be more objective, traits of the person as well as demand of the situation together determine the effectiveness of the leader.
Some of the personality traits are overlapping with each other. Therefore, you need to be cautious in stating, personality or any other characteristic as a cause of successful leadership. You must ask the questions: Who is a successful leader? Is he far superior physically? Is he far brighter? Is he more mature as a person? Is he more motivated to achieve his goal? Does he have more consideration for his followers? Etc.
Moreover the list of possible traits tends to be very long and personality traits measurement weren't reliable across studies. More than 100 different traits of successful leaders in various leadership positions have been identified. These descriptions are simply generalities and there exists disagreement over which traits are the most important for an effective leader. This theory does not offer explanations between the relation of each characteristic and its impact on leadership. Some of the traits may describe a successful leader but predicting successful leaders on the basis of traits alone is not a correct approach.
Stogdill in 1948, suggested that no consistent set of traits differentiated leaders from non-leaders across a variety of situations implying that an individual with certain traits who has been successful in one situation might not be as effective in another situation and this led to researchers concluding that traits were to be considered as relative to the requirements of the situation.
According to the three-skill approach of Katz, the individual's leadership abilities vary depending on where leaders are in a management hierarchy. The practical implication of skills approach to leadership is that leaders can improve their capabilities in leadership skills through training and experience.
In emergent leadership, the leader is not appointed or elected to the leadership role but emerges as the leader as he is perceived by others over time as a result of the group's interaction. A person steps up as the leader over time by taking on tasks voluntarily, helping others complete their tasks better, and building consensus among groups.
The Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX), also called the Vertical Dyad Linkage Theory is a relationship-based approach that focuses on the two-way (dyadic) relationship to get the best from all team members. How leaders maintain their position in groups and develop an exchange with each of their subordinates. How leaders and members develop relationships that can contribute to growth or hinder development.
Process & Stages of Creativity
Creative ideas do not come just like that. There is a process to it. There are a number of techniques of creativity to support the generation of ideas but the widely practiced ones are brainstorming and lateral thinking. Most innovations are not so much the product of sudden insights as they are the result of a conscious process that often goes through multiple stages. The creative process can be divided into four stages of preparation, incubation, evaluation, and implementation.
McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y
McGregor created Theory X and Theory Y of human work motivation and explained two styles of management known as authoritarian (Theory X) and participative (Theory Y). Theory X management assumes most people will attempt to avoid work whereas Theory Y managers trust their people to take ownership of their work.
Investment Theory of Creativity
Sternberg in the year 2006, proposed the investment and confluence theory focused on understanding creativity. According to the investment theory, creativity requires a confluence of six distinct but interrelated resources known as intellectual abilities, knowledge, styles of thinking, personality, motivation, and environment. It emphasizes that creativity is not about one thing, but about a system of things.
The four theory of leadership was formulated after studying hundreds of leaders and the model includes four basic dimensions of effective leadership - support; interaction; facilitation; goal emphasis, and work facilitation. This model was tested as a predictor of an organization's effectiveness.
There are four major factors in leadership called Leader, Follower, Communication, and Situation. The success of the leader is dependent on how the leader is effectively able to communicate and motivate followers to perform desired tasks using the appropriate leadership style best suited for the given situation. Interdependencies and dynamics of these four factors of leadership must be considered by a leader to be effective.
The cognitive resource theory states the influence of the leader's resources on his or her reaction to stress. The cognitive resources of a leader are experience, intelligence, competence, and task-relevant knowledge. Stress is common in resource managing situations, and this cognitive theory emphasizes how intelligence and experience are each best under different stress situations. This theory is the reconceptualization of the Fiedler model.
The great man theory of leadership is a 19th-century idea that states a person is either a natural-born leader or not. Some people are born with the necessary leadership attributes that help them create a great impact on society, politics, or the military. The theory focuses on identifying the innate qualities and characteristics possessed by great men.
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