Topic 2:

Theories of Leadership

1. Great Man Leadership Theory

2. Trait Leadership Theory
Introduction

 Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early
leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and
followers, while subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational
factors and skill levels.

 There are many different ways of thinking about leadership, ranging from focusing
on the personality traits of great leadership to emphasizing aspects of the situation
that help determine how people lead.
 Introduction

 Like most things, leadership is a highly multi-faceted subjects and it is a mixture of

many factors that help determine why some people become great leaders.

 Learn more about some of the things that make people strong leaders is one way of
potentially improving your own leadership skills.
 Leadership Theories

 Leadership theories seek to explain how and why certain people become leaders.
Some theories focus on the characteristics of leaders, but others attempt to identify
the behaviours that people can adopt to improve their own leadership abilities in
different situations.

 In other words, these theories proposed that certain people were simply "born
leaders." But some more recent theories propose that possessing certain traits may
help make people “natural-born” leaders, but that experience (skills) and situational
variables also play a critical role.
Theories of Leadership

 Great Man Theory

 Trait Theory
 Behavioural Theory
 Contingency Theory
 Situational Theories
 Participative Theories
 Transactional (Management) Theories
 Transformational (Relationship) Theories
 1. Great Man Theory of Leadership

 The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality,
especially in terms of military leadership. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and
destined to rise to leadership when needed.

 According to this theory, great leaders are simply born with the necessary internal characteristics such as
charisma, confidence, intelligence, and social skills that make them natural-born leaders or alternatively
described as “born to lead”.

 Great man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent (or innate)—that great leaders are born, not
made. Such theories suggest that people cannot really learn how to become strong leaders. It's either something
you are born with or born without. It is very much a nature (as opposed to nurture) approach to explaining
leadership.
 History of the Great Man Theory 

 The great man theory of leadership became popular during the 19th century. Historian Thomas Carlyle (1849)
had a major influence  on this theory of leadership. He stated, "The history of the world is but the biography of
great men." According to Carlyle, effective leaders are those gifted with divine inspiration and the right
characteristics. 

 The mythology behind some of the world's most famous leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar,
Mahatma Gandhi, and Alexander the Great, helped contribute to the notion that great leaders are born and not
made. 

 In many examples, it seems as if the right man for the job seems to emerge almost magically to take control of
a situation and lead a group of people into safety or success.
 Critiques of the Theory

 One of the key problems with the Great Man theory of leadership is that not all people who possess the so-called
natural leadership qualities actually become great leaders. If leadership was simply an inborn quality, then all people
who possess the necessary traits would eventually find themselves in leadership roles.

 Research has instead found that leadership is a surprisingly complex subject and that numerous factors influence how
successful a particular leader may or may not be. Characteristics of the group, the leader in power, and the situation all
interact to determine what type of leadership is needed and the effectiveness of this leadership.

 Sociologist Herbert Spencer suggested that the leaders were products of the society in which they lived. In "The Study
of Sociology," Spencer wrote, ”… the genesis of a great man depends on the long series of complex influences which
has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown…Before he can
remake his society, his society must make him."
2. Trait Theory of Leadership

 This is one of the earliest theories of leadership, which can be traced back to Thomas Carlyle’s (1849).
However, the popularity of trait theory has come and gone over the years. Up until the early 1950s, it was really
the only theory of leadership that was considered valid.

 Early research on leadership looked at what distinguished leaders from followers, on the assumption that those
who had emerged as leaders were likely to have more leadership traits than their followers.

 It is the idea that there are certain inborn traits that make people more likely to succeed as leaders: in essence, it
states that leaders are born, not made.
Theoritical Assumption of Trait Theory

Similar in some ways to Great Man theory, trait theories assume that people inherit
certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership.

Leadership trait theory says that there are defined personality traits that distinguish
leaders from followers. In other words, leaders are different types of people from
followers.

Trait theories often identify a particular personality or behavioural characteristics

shared by leaders. For example, traits like extroversion, self-confidence, and courage
are all traits that could potentially be linked to great leaders.
Leadership Traits

According to the researchers on leadership traits, those traits most commonly associated with great
leadership include:

 Adaptability and flexibility: Effective leaders don't get stuck in a rut. They are able to think
outside of the box and adapt quickly to changing situations.

 Assertiveness: A great leader is able to be direct and assertive without coming off as overly
pushy or aggressive.

 Capacity to motivate people: A great leader knows how to inspire others and motivate them to
do their best.
Leadership Traits

 Courage and resolution: The best leaders are brave and committed to the goals of the group. They do not
hide from challenges.

 Creativity: Perhaps most importantly, great leaders not only possess their own creativity, but they are also
able to foster creativity among members of the group.

 Decisiveness: A great leader is capable of making a decision and is confident in his or her choices.

 Eagerness to accept responsibility: Strong leaders take on responsibility and don't pass the blame on to
others. They stand by their success and take ownership of their mistakes.
 Leadership Traits

 Emotional stability: In addition to being dependable overall, strong leaders are able to control
their emotions and avoid over-reactions.

 Intelligence and action-oriented judgment: Great leaders are smart and make choices that
move the group forward.

 Need for achievement: Strong leaders have a need to succeed and help the group achieve goals.
They genuinely care about the success of the group and are committed to helping the group reach
these milestones.
 Leadership Traits

 People skills: Excellent interpersonal skills are essential for leading effectively. Great leaders
know how to interact well with other leaders as well as with team members.

 Perseverance: Strong leaders stick with it, even when things get difficult or the group faces
significant obstacles.

 Self-confidence: Many of the best leaders are extremely self-assured. Because they are confident
in themselves, followers often begin to share this self-belief.
 Leadership Traits

 Task competence: A great leader is skilled and capable. Members of the group are able to look to the
leader for an example of how things should be done.

 Trustworthiness: Group members need to be able to depend upon and trust the person leading them.

 Understanding their followers and their needs: Effective leaders pay attention to group members
and genuinely care about helping them succeed. They want each person in the group to succeed and
play a role in moving the entire group forward.
 Controversy and Critiques

 If particular traits are key features of leadership, then how do we explain people who possess those
qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain
leadership.

 There are masses of people who possess the personality traits associated with leadership, yet many of
these people never seek out positions of leadership. There are also people who lack some of the key
traits often associated with effective leadership yet still excel at leading groups.
 Controversy and Critiques

 There are obvious flaws in the trait-based theory. Early studies on leadership focused on the differences between
leaders and followers with the assumption that people in leadership positions would display more leadership traits
than those in subordinate positions. What researchers found, however, was that there were relatively few traits that
could be used to distinguish between leaders and followers. For example, leaders tend to be great communicators.
Leaders also tend to be higher in traits such as extroversion, self-confidence, and height, but these differences
tended to be small.

 While proponents of trait theory suggest that certain traits are characteristic of strong leaders, but those who
possess the traits don't always become leaders. Some have suggested that this may due to situational variables in
which leadership skills only emerge when an opportunity for leadership arises (such as in war, during a political
crisis, or in the absence of leadership).
 Controversy and Critiques

 Meanwhile, others have taken a contingency approach to leadership in which certain traits can be more effective in
some situations and less so in others. Opinions vary on what those traits are and to what degree they can predict
success, if at all.

 More controversial yet is the contention that some people don't have the traits to become leaders. Such a belief
inherently overlooks social and economic inequities that limit, if not entirely erase, a person's potential to lead.

 It also overlooks the changing economy and how leadership is defined when connections are today made both
online and offline. In other words, as outlets for leadership continue to change (such as with social media and e-
commerce), the traits needed to succeed are different simply because there are fewer intermediaries. Within this
realm, the ability to influence is arguably more important than the traits to lead.
Conclusion

 While traits are often linked to effective leadership, it is important to note that few leaders possess
all of these traits.

 Generally, a strong leader will have many of these qualities or traits, but aspects of the situation
also play an important role in determining if people are able to lead well. In many cases, it is the
interaction between these traits and the situation that determines leadership quality.