Purpose of AssessmentAnalyze the organization you assessed in Week 2. Applyleadership theories and approaches to support organizational change that aligns to the organization’s mission and values. You

Trait Theory

When we talk about the trait theory of leadership, what we mean is the concept that is based upon the process of determining a particular personality characteristic and traits that are proven to bring a person to the process of successfully establishing leadership in a broad selection of contexts. This theory is one of the oldest leadership theories that are employed to heighten the competency of leadership. The trait theory is known to be based on the “great man theory of leadership” which was first introduced by a person known as Thomas Carlyle during the 19th century. Looking closely to this theory, you can determine that it is based on various natural human abilities which tend to aid in becoming a leader easily. Most employers exploit this theory to look for an effective leader that will potentially bring success (Indeed.com., 2020).

The theory also states that a person that naturally expresses personality traits can be trained to an extent whereby they will be capable of maximizing their leadership potential. We have talked about the characteristics that trait theory depicts. The following are the trait leadership characteristics: first the leader should have an emotional stability which will be helpful during stressful and tense situation, readiness to take responsibility more so for their own actions, having a thinking that is action oriented, effectiveness in accomplishing tasks and errands, comprehending the challenges that may be facing their subordinates at any moment, communication and charisma, motivational skills, perseverance, moral standing, resilience and courage, moral standings and confident decision making (Indeed.com., 2020). A good leader uses the trait theory of leadership to better understand theory traits, discover their worth and identify the people around you with potential leadership capabilities.

Contingency Theory

When it comes to the contingency theory; it well states that as much as a leader will say he/she is successful, there will always be a specific circumstance that will tend to challenge their leadership skills. The explanation to this theory is not that complex; we all know that in the workplace there exist multiple factors that can influence the effectiveness of a leader. Different leaders will tend to react to these variables in various ways, and these ways usually depend on their unique leadership styles (Indeed.com, 2020). In that case, leaders should always be willing to accept and acknowledge the fact that their achievements partially depend on the situations together with their personal skills. The theory states that for the leader such as managers and supervisors to effectively lead their teams, they need to either adapt to the leadership style that suits them to the current circumstance or even delegate some of their leadership responsibilities to their colleagues.

We talked about the factors that influence the contingency theory of leadership in the above paragraph. Therefore, in the workplace, the following will impact the competence of the contingency theory; first is the level of maturity of the employees, the relationship that exist between the workers, the pace of working, the style of management, the schedule often used, the morale of the employees to work, the policies that govern the work place, standards for behaviors, the goals and objectives of the company as well as the working style of the employees. Understanding this theory needs the knowledge about three distinct models; first is the Fielder model which states that leader-member relations, task structure and leader’s position power determines leadership effectiveness, there is the situational leadership model, path-goal model and decision-making model (Indeed.com, 2020).

Transformational Theory

Transformation leadership theory was introduced by Dowton. Transformational theory entails that the process whereby an individual engages with other people and generates a connection with them, which will heighten the level of motivation and morality in their relationship (Janzen & Canaley, 2018). However, later on James Burns went ahead to add up more information to expand the theory. He said that the leaders were always successful because they are good at excellent employees and identifying the skills that they possess and talent and they use them to accomplish the goals and objectives of the organizations. Burns further explains that he believes transformational leaders tend to be observant when it comes to the needs as well as the motivations of their employees. He believes that these leaders aid their employees to arrive at their full potential which will not be beneficial to them alone but to the employee and the organization at large.

The one thing that is significant in this theory of leadership is the fact that leaders will realize that each employee of his has dissimilar skills, personality and talents which they bring to the organization. The leaders need to start incorporating emotions, ethics, and goals together with values to strengthen their teams. The main characteristics of the transformational leaders include; dominance, a desire to influence, self-confident, robust moral values and charismatic. Moreover, a transformational leader can be described using four factors, the first one is idealized influence, then there is inspirational motivation, the nest is intellectual stimulation and lastly individualized consideration. Applying this type of theory is not so easy, and no theory is easy to implement, therefore, it requires vision, values, initiative and drive to ensure the theory is properly instilled (Janzen & Canaley, 2018).

Behavioral Theory

In behavioral theory, just as the name suggests, a leader tends to make themselves effective through the ways in which they act as well as what they do. People usually say that leaders are born and not made, and there is a usual phrase that says exactly that. However, I believe that this is not always the case; rather I believe that good leadership depends upon a person’s nurture and what they do with their life and this makes them to fit the roles that make a good leader. Therefore, behavioral theory simply states that leaders are made and not born because there are natural traits that are exclusive to a competent leader. Logically, anyone could become a great leader when they are taught to become excellent leaders and with the same behaviors. Therefore, “A leader makes themselves effective via the way they act and what they do.” (Mulholland, B., 2019).

Over several years, there have been studies carried out in order to determine the behavioral theory. What was found out was that it has been able to highlight various kinds of leaders through their actions. For instance, there are task-oriented leaders, people-oriented leader, country club leaders, dictatorial leader, status-quo leaders, participative leaders, indifferent leaders, opportunistic leaders, sound leaders and paternalistic style (Mulholland, B., 2019). Behavioral leaders usually perform the following tasks in order to be effective; first they tend to be active listeners especially to feedback, they encourage communication, they manage deadlines realistically, give employees autonomy, providing employees with support so that they improve, meeting goals and objectives, motivating employees to work with them, holding consistent and frequent clear goals and building as well as maintaining a healthy company culture.

References:

Indeed.com. (2020, February 4). A guide to the trait theory of leadership. Job Search | Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/trait-theory-of-leadership

Indeed.com. (2020, February 14). Understanding the contingency theory of leadership. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/contingency-theory-of-leadership

Janzen, M. E., & Canaley, D. M. (2018, July 8). Transformational theory page - PSY 532 psychological foundations of leadership (Dobbs) - Confluence. WikiSpaces - Confluence. Retrieved June 19, 2020, from https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/P5PFLD/TRANSFORMATIONAL+Theory+Page

Mulholland B. (2019, September 23). Behavioral theory of leadership: How to be a better leader. Process Street. https://www.process.st/behavioral-theory-of-leadership/