Leadership Theories PDF

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This paper discusses the concepts of leadership theories and how they affect organizational leadership....

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Leadership Style

Leadership Style Southern New Hampshire University

Identifying leadership styles will help determine the strengths and weakness in potential leaders. There are certain styles needed for particular organizations that are looking for certain leadership approaches. There are different perspectives and factors to Southern New Hampshire University pg. 1

Leadership Style consider, there is no single answer to how leadership is defined (Hughes, 2009, pg.6) According to the text leadership is basically "the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals"(Hughes, 2009, pg.6) The test discussed three myths that relate to leadership they are; Good leadership is all good common sense, leaders are born not made, and the only school that you learn leadership from is the school of the hard knocks. (Hughes, 2009, pg.14-17) A leader does have to use common sense, some decisions and choices have to be made using good ethics and personal options. I do believe that a true leader is born and not made. Experts agree that successful leaders must be flexible and capable of adapting to new conditions, open to novel alternatives, and willing to take greater risks (Lamb, 2004). Every leader has their own leadership style, so there are several effective leadership styles. Some examples of leadership styles would be the Director’s Approach, Coaching Style, Facilitating Style, Delegating Approach, Self-confidence, Decisiveness, and Resilience. The most interesting styles of leadership are Coaching Style, Selfconfidence, and Decisiveness. Coaching Style leadership is One of the things these leaders do best is to help employees identify both their strengths and weaknesses, and it's always helpful to have another person share their opinion. (Kouzes, 1987) Self confidence is a very important element in any leadership, because when a leader feels confident in them they spread it to the employees that work for them. Decisiveness is a leader that makes good judgment. These leaders make well informed decisions. These leaders make effective and timely decisions. .

Southern New Hampshire University pg. 2

Leadership Style When leadership was first analyzed the focus was on an individual’s qualities in which made them leaders or followers. Now there are leadership theories that characterize individuals as to what leaders they are. These theories are Trait Theories, Behavioral Theories, and Contingency Theories. The Leadership trait theory assumes that individuals are born with qualities that make them a potential leader. This means that a person can identify particular characteristics in an individual to determine weather or not they can be leaders. The characteristics that a person would look for in a leader would be their personality from birth to adult hood. This theory assumes that a learner is born a leader. The Behavioral theory assumes that leaders are based on actions. These leaders are not based on mental qualities or internal states. This means that leader are developed through education and observations. Unlike the Trait thoerey, the behavioral theory belives that a leader is not born, but taught to be a leader. Behavioral Theories of leadership are based upon the belief that leaders learn to be leaders and the gift is not inherited. (Bass, 1990) The Contingency theory shows that depending on the situation, there are different styles of leadership that will make the employee more effective. Some leaders may lead according to their preferred style of leadership. That contingency theory focuses on the class of behavioral and a situational theory. This proves that there are styles of leadership that may be successful in some situations and not so successful in others. In order to practice the best leadership evaluation management, must evaluate the leaders and it’s followers. This can be done by giving performance rating and employee interviews or surveys. Contingency Theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the

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Leadership Style environment that might determine with particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation. (Ivancevich, 2007) Leadership can be developed through both formal education and experience. (Hughe, 2009) Some leaders are individuals who have taken college courses about leadership, workshops and training on how to become a successful leader. Other leaders are born with leadership inside of them or they have worked as a leader for many years and developed leaderships skills through trial and error. “The characteristics of a leader come through in our day to day interactions with those around us. Leaders come in all shapes, styles, and forms. (Coach4Growth, 2010, pg.1) People can lead to be leaders, by following their managers. They can also discuss with the supervisors as to the processes involved with making decisions. A potential leader can also use personal life experience to help them become good leaders. I believe that the best way to become a leader is to often volunteer to lead projects especially ones with short and critical deadlines. There are many characteristics of a person’s background that would make them predisposed to be a leader. When the person trusts their own option in the act of a situation they are showing signs of a potential leader. Regardless if the results are good or bad they are up for taking chances, because they have so much confidence in themselves and they trust their own judgment. A leader puts trust in the other people within the organization and the people in the organization trust them. A leader can see the how the people around them can benefit the organization and set them accordantly. My personal style would be Coaching Style leadership. I am a leader as well as a teacher. I also have the trait of a leader. I was born a leader. I have always had the qualities of a leader since birth. I continue to learn good traits. I am a person that is prone

Southern New Hampshire University pg. 4

Leadership Style to being honest, but if I am influenced by the wrong management I could early become prone to being dishonest. I am a person who has always taken risk. This is what makes me a good leader.

Reference: Bass, Bernard (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18, (3), Winter, 1990, 19-31. Southern New Hampshire University pg. 5

Leadership Style

Coach4Growth, . (2010). The Characteristics of a Leader: Demonstrating Good Leadership Skills (pp. 1-3). , AL: Coach4Growth. Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2009). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., Matteson, M. (2007). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Kouzes, James M. & Posner, Barry Z. (1987). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Lamb, L. F., McKee, K. B. (2004). Applied Public Relations: Cases in Stakeholder Management. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Routledge.

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