Leadership Theories and Practice - Essay Example

?QUESTION: IQ and technical skills are "threshold capabilities"; that is, they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.  Using examples of (past and present) leaders and with reference to theories and leadership practice, what makes a leader? Introduction Both primary and secondary search for a definition to leadership would result in many different definitions being put forward by different scholars and people, depending on the direction from which a person may be viewing leadership from. This is to say that there is no one clear-cut definition of who is leader is or what leadership is. There could however be a general idea in the minds of every other person who tries to define leadership. At least every one may be thinking of the practice of heading a group of people. With this basic knowledge, McCrimmon (2010) defines a leader as “a larger-than-life individual in charge of some group - team, company or country.” Quite related to what McCrimmon (2010) states, the Team Technology (2011) posit that “leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, that is: a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.” One factor that continues to make the acquisition of a single definition to leadership and who a leader is impossible is the fact that different leaders lead their people and run leadership with different styles and theories. This is to say that there seem not to be a single way in which all leaders go about leadership. Leading on, this unevenness and differences in leadership styles and theories bring out a realization that it is extremely difficult to point out to who a good leader is. This paper therefore attempts to show: by the use of examples of past and present leaders that the most effective leaders are those who are able to apply the most appropriate leadership styles and theories at the right time to get a leadership decision successfully implemented. This stand is taken against the position that effective and good leaders must be judged or identified by virtue of the possession of certain qualities and technical skills. In a book by Daniel Goleman (1995), it was put forth that the traditional qualities associated with leadership- such as intelligence, toughness and possessing certain skills – are required for success, but are insufficient in accurately conveying the abilities of a true leader. There are complex components that have been found to be more crucially associated with effective leadership that go beyond intellectual abilities and technical skills and these components are exactly what this paper seeks to reveal. Different Theories, Different Leaders Theories of leadership have evolved over the years to describe the different ways in which different leaders have ruled and led their people. The diversities associated with these theories point to one fact and that is, there are different leaders. Two of these leadership theories are discussed in this section to proof that effective leadership cannot be generalized but must be based on the kind of leadership theory at use. Trait Theory Debate in literature on whether or not leaders are born continues unabated. In trait theory, Cherry (2011) points out that the trait theory functions on the assumption “that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership.” For this reason, trait theory sees leadership and for that matter effective leadership from a viewpoint, where leaders are supposed to possess certain behavioral and personality characteristics in order to be judged as effective or good. Trait theorists would there look for people with certain skills and attributes to take up leadership positions rather than training ordinary persons to take up leadership positions. Some of the traits attributed to great leaders with reference to the trait theory are dominant (desire to influence others), energetic (high activity level), persistent, self-confident, tolerant of stress, adaptable to situations, alert to social environment, ambitious, assertive, cooperative, decisive, dependable and willing to assume responsibility (Warillow, 2011). Because trait theorists believe that leaders are born, leaders in world history who did not actually receive any special training but rose suddenly to leadership position are regarded as examples of trait leaders. Those of these leaders whose actions were fuelled by the some of the traits mentioned earlier are regarded as great leaders. An example is Martin Luther King Jr. who was not born into power (Zhu, 2008). From the viewpoint of trait theory therefore, a great and effective leader is a leader who was born with the traits mentioned and displayed the traits in his or her leadership role. Situational Approach Unlike trait theory, situational approach or situational theory “proposes that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variables” (Cherry, 2011). The basis for judging whether or a leader is a good and effective using the situation theory therefore has to do with how tactfully a leader handles a situation at hand. This brings to discussion, the different forms of leadership styles because “the situational leadership theory holds that the difference between the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of the leadership styles is the appropriateness of the leader's behavior to the particular situation in which it is used” (Waller, Smith and Warnock, 2002). Authoritarian or autocratic, Participative or democratic and Delegative or Free Reign are mentioned as the three major leadership styles at the disposal of a situational leader (Clark, 2011). Depending on a situation that arises, a leader is supposed to take decisions all alone, involve team members in decision making or leave decision making in the hands of team members. There are other researchers who have coiled variables out of possible situations that are likely to arise and therefore judge a leader’s competence based on the application of these variables. Yukl (1989) identifies six of such variables which are: i. Subordinate effort: the motivation and actual effort expended. ii. Subordinate ability and role clarity: followers knowing what to do and how to do it. iii. Organization of the work: the structure of the work and utilization of resources. iv. Cooperation and cohesiveness: of the group in working together. v. Resources and support: the availability of tools, materials, people, etc. vi. External coordination: the need to collaborate with other groups (Changing Mind, 2011). From a situational approach, an effective leader will therefore be said to be a leader who applies the right leadership style at the right time to achieve a desired goal. Qualities that determine an Effective Leader In answering the question ‘what makes a leader?’ it is very important to discuss specific qualities in addition to the leadership theories. This will help in giving a transpersonal approach to finding out on who an effective leader is. The qualities to be looked at are briefly discussed below. The IQ and Technical Skill Factor in Good Leadership Intellectual intelligence and technical skills and for that matter cognitive intelligence have widely been associated with leadership. In view of this, Fehd (2010) asserts that “Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is by far the most commonly known and widely recognized measurement of intelligence in the world.” An evidence of the adoration given to intelligence quotient in defining a great leader is seen in the requirement of candidature in the eyes of the ordinary voter for the leadership position of president of many democratic countries including the United States. Though not constitutional, it is common knowledge that most presidents of the United States had some level of College education. These arguments not withstanding, there are critics of intelligence quotients who claim that “Research suggests that IQ as a definition of intelligence is too narrow in the context of leadership performance” (Fehd, 2010). The Emotional Intelligence Factor Modern debaters seem to favor a quest for emotional intelligence as against intellectual intelligence and technical skills in identifying a good leader (Goleman, 1998). Emotional intelligence is judged as skills that “contribute to a person’s ability to manage and monitor his or her own emotions, to correctly gauge the emotional state of others and to influence opinions” (Caudron, 1999; Goleman, 1998). Emotional intelligence seem to go down well with a lot of reviewers in explaining who a great leader is because it is argued that emotional intelligence offers the leader the task of leading or managing him or her self through the display of high level of emotional competencies. Emotional intelligence therefore reigns on the wings of leadership by example. Bazerghi (2002) identifies a lot of tasks that are well performed with the display of emotional intelligence as against intellectual intelligence. His concerns are displayed in the diagram below. Source: Fehd (2010). From the graph, it can be seen that in most management situations, leaders need a lot of emotional intelligence than cognitive and technical skills to make good decisions. Goleman (1998) identifies a model of f dimensions for every leader to possess as emotional intelligence competence. These dimension are given as 1) Self-awareness 2) Self-management or self-regulation 3) Motivation 4) Empathy 5) Social skills. Goleman (1998) holds the view that a good leader is judged by how the leader is able to manage all of these emotional competences to achieve a desired goal. Conclusion To conclude, the question of ‘who a leader is’ and by extension, ‘who a great leader is’, will be answered by stating that effective leadership is an integrated phenomenon and that a great leader cannot be defined by only one model: be it in terms of leadership theory, IQ, technical skills or emotional intelligence. As every leadership theory has its own advantages and disadvantages, a great leadership will therefore be a leader who uses all dimensions of a specific leadership theory in the midst of the application of leadership qualities of intellectual intelligence, technical skills and most importantly emotional intelligence to accomplish a given task. REFERENCE LIST Caudron, S. (1999). What Emotional Intelligence Is…and Isn't. Workforce, 78, p 62. Changing Minds, 20110, ‘Situational Leadership, accessed October, 2011 Clark D, 2011, ‘Leadership Styles’, accessed October 10, 2011 December. P’s 93-102. Fehd L, 2010, ‘The Influence of Non-Cognitive Intelligence on Leadership Performance’ accessed October 10, 2011 Goleman, D. 1998, ‘What makes a leader?’ Harvard Business Review, November – McCrimmon M., 2010, ‘Leadership Defined’, accessed October 10, 2011 Team Technology, 2011, ‘Leadership and Management’ accessed October 10, 2011 Waller D.J., Smith S.R., and Warnock J.T., 2002, ‘Situational theory of leadership’, American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, Vol 46, Issue 11, 2335-2341 Warillow S, 2011, ‘Trait Theory of Leadership’, accessed October 10, 2011 Yukl, G. A. 1989, ‘Leadership in Organizations’, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Zhu A, 2008, ‘Leaders are Born Not Made’, accessed October 10, 2011 Read More