Research the following five leadership theories and provide
Research the following five leadership theories and provide examples:
Trait theories of leadership
Behavioral theories of leadership
Contingency models of leadership
Skills approaches to leadership
Situational methods of leadership
Solution
Trait theories of leadership - These theories identify certain traits that make the individuals successful leaders and differentiates them from the less effective ones. These traits include Achievement drive, motivation, honesty and integrity, cognitive ability, self confidence, charismatic personlaity etc. There are many examples of leadership traits like Steve Jobs and Mahatma Gandhi.
Behavioural Leadership Theory - This theory examines a specific behaviour of a leader and attribute it to the leadership influences and subsequent success. An example is the risk taking ability of a leader that has attribute to his success.
Contingency models of leadership - This indicates that there is no one best style of leadership, but the leadership depends upon both the personality of the leader and the situation. AN example is thr military success of a army unit because of the successful tactics of the commander.
Skills approaches to leadership - It takes into account the knowledge and abilities the leader has. Such skills can be learned with time and can be utilized for self improvement as a leader. The skills are usually of three types, Technical, Human and conceptual. Example are many techno commercial leaders like founders of HP and IBM who became successful leaders with help of these skills.
Situational methods of leadership - This theory emphasizes on the ability of leader to adjust his style to fit the development level of followers and manage and lead them effectively. An example is a political leader working with cadres having different educational, social and hierarchial background, whom he has to manage in different ways to optimize the outcome.
