Assessing the Trait Theory of Leadership - Essay Example

The Search for Leadership Good leadership is essential to the survival of any company or business, whether small or big. For this reason, the process of selecting a leader is very crucial as it may lead to the downfall of an organization should a wrong leader be chosen. Following the retirement of the past present of my corporation, it falls upon me, as the CEO of the corporation, to find a new president for the organization. Finding the perfect candidate will help the organization go through a smooth transition seeing as the previous leader served for 25 years. Having served for that long, they left a legacy, and some practices behind that may need re-evaluation under new leadership. In this paper, I will discuss the criteria that I intend to use in search of a new president to the board of directors. The process will involve looking for the traits that are expected of an effective leader, the leadership style and skills needed as the president, and the importance of having a leader that can attend to tasks and relationships. I will also take preference over a leader that knows the importance of communicating a vision and setting the tone as well as the need for out-group member skills. In addition to that, a good leader ought to have excellent conflict-resolution skills and the ability to overcome obstacles. Last but not least, the new president of the corporation has to be ethical. Before getting into the discussion, it is imperative to understand who a leader is, and consequently, what leadership is. Leaders offer a sense of guidance over the people with whom they are leading (Northouse, 2015). They serve as an example for others to do the right thing in their capacities. Leadership, therefore, refers to the ability of someone to lead another individual or a group of people. These may be employees, a family, institution, or a school amongst others. While leaders set the direction and tone, they also have the responsibility of following through to make sure that everyone is working on what is expected of them. This is why a good leader is crucial to the survival of any organization. Effective leaders have certain personality traits that set them apart from the rest. According to research, the traits can be divided into five elements; agreeableness, diligence, neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience (Colbert et al., 2012). In this case, agreeableness describes a leader that is friendly, tolerant, and optimistic and trusting while diligence refers to one that is very hardworking and dependable. An effective leader should not display neuroticism as it relates to those that are often in a negative emotional state. This could be catastrophic as the employees usually feed off of the moods of their leaders. An extroverted leader will enjoy the company of their colleagues and engage them whenever necessary while a leader that is open to experience is adventurous and will take risks to make the company great. The leadership style is as important as the leader. One of the secrets to being an effective leader is having a great leadership style. Being a consumer technology corporation that deals with distributing products through different wholesalers globally, there are always new upcoming ways and reinventions of doing things better and faster to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. For this reason, I believe that the best leadership style that the president will need is transformational leadership. This leadership style is dependent on high levels of communication and visibility to meet the goals that have been set forth by the corporation (Vargas, 2017). Here, the leaders work with the subordinates to ensure that everything runs smoothly and any changes needed are made. An effective president needs to have effective communication skills. As mentioned before, for the operations to run smoothly, the leader needs to have high levels of communication as encouraged through transformation leadership. Also, an effective leader needs to have superior decision-making skills. Being the president of the corporation means that every so often, they will need to make decisions that could have a significant impact on the organization and the employees as well. Therefore, decision-making skills are essential for this position. Motivation, confidence, and commitment are other skills that are necessary for an effective leader. Leaders ought to lead by example. As such, their commitment, level of confidence and motivation in their work will translate positively to the employees or subordinates. Task-oriented leadership is the type in which the leader tends to focus more on the goals of the company and the tasks that need to be performed to meet those organizational goals. Task-oriented leadership is especially important as it ensures that all the deadlines are met, and delay is avoided at all costs. It also provides that all the jobs that are allocated are completed and on time. In many organizations, some employees find it hard to keep time or meet their deadlines. With this kind of leadership, these employees will improve day by day. It is also worth noting that task allocation emphasizes the importance of proper delegation of work and workplace procedures. Relationship-oriented leadership, on the other hand, focuses on motivating the team members, caring for their general well-being and their job satisfaction. Organizations that have people in a position of power exercise this type of leadership approach often end up having employees that are willing to go the extra mile for the company and as such be more willing to take risks (Noor, 2013). These leaders provide support to their team members, and as a result, the members feel free to approach them with any issues or new ideas they may have knowing sufficiently well that they will be given the time of day. When used together, task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership is perfect for the president of a company such as this one. In addition to being task-and-relationship-oriented, a good leader needs to be able to communicate the vision of the organization (Northouse, 2015). In this case, the president may need to work on increasing distribution rates and the number of countries that the company sells to. Communicating this vision to the subordinates and other employees will make sure they know what they are working towards and how to realize the vision of the company. In the same way, leaders have a responsibility to set the tone of the company. As mentioned before, people follow their leaders. Therefore, ensuring that they always set the right tone will go a long way in guaranteeing lasting motivation among the employees. Every organization has certain in-groups and out-groups. While in-groups may have a better employer-employee working relationship, out-groups do not necessarily such a smooth or mutually beneficial relationship with their leaders. Out-groups are seen as selfish in that they do what they need to do and leave. They have no grasp on the concept of teamwork and rarely ever take on any extra work, even if it means the success of the company. Such groups are challenging to deal with. Therefore, finding a president that has excellent out-member skills will help bridge the gap that exists between the two groups’ thus increasing productivity as well as conflict resolution skills should any problems or obstacles arise within the company. When it comes to leadership, it is easy for one to stray and start taking advantage of their colleagues or subordinates through blackmail or bribery amongst other ills. This is why ethical leadership is essential. As the president of the corporation, they will be the face of the company. Their lives will be scrutinized looking for any mistakes on their part as leaders. An ethical leader is selfless, respectful and humane (Lawton & Páez, 2015). They always take responsibility for their actions and set an excellent example for the people they lead. Being a leader is one thing, being an effective one, is another. This is why a lot of thought will be put into choosing the new president for the corporation. While there is no guarantee that a leader that fits the criteria will be the best for the company, it increases the probability of the country prospering under them. Effective leaders are ethical. They have excellent communication, conflict-resolution, and decision-making skills. While some leaders are born, others are molded into the role with years of experience. References Colbert, A.E., Judge, T.A., Choi, D. and Wang, G., 2012. Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success. The Leadership Quarterly,23(4), pp.670-685. Lawton, A., & Páez, I. (2015). Developing a framework for ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(3), 639-649. Noor, H.M., 2013. Assessing leadership practices, organizational climate and its effect towards innovative work behaviour in R&D. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol. 3, no. 2, pp.129-133. Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications. Vargas, M. (2017). Investigating the Influence of Personality Traits and Leadership Styles. Angelo State University Social Sciences Research Journal, 4(2). Read More