TRAIT
The trait theory of leadership is based on the characteristics of many leaders – both successful
and unsuccessful – and is used to predict leadership effectiveness. The resulting lists of traits are
then compared to those of potential leaders to assess their likelihood of success or failure.
Among the core traits identified are:
Achievement drive: High level of effort, high levels of ambition, energy and initiative
Leadership motivation: an intense desire to lead others to reach shared goals
Honesty and integrity: trustworthy, reliable, and open
Self-confidence: Belief in one’s self, ideas, and ability
Cognitive ability: Capable of exercising good judgment, strong analytical abilities, and
conceptually skilled
Knowledge of business: Knowledge of industry and other technical matters
Emotional Maturity: well adjusted, does not suffer from severe psychological disorders.
Others: charisma, creativity and flexibility
Strengths/Advantages of Trait Theory
It is naturally pleasing theory.
It is valid as lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory.
It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be
assessed.
It gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the leadership
process.
Limitations of The Trait Theory
There is bound to be some subjective judgment in determining who is regarded as a
‘good’ or ‘successful’ leader
The list of possible traits tends to be very long. More than 100 different traits of
successful leaders in various leadership positions have been identified. These descriptions
are simply generalities.
There is also a disagreement over which traits are the most important for an effective
leader
The model attempts to relate physical traits such as, height and weight, to effective
leadership. Most of these factors relate to situational factors. For example, a minimum
weight and height might be necessary to perform the tasks efficiently in a military
leadership position. In business organizations, these are not the requirements to be an
effective leader.
The theory is very complex
Implications of Trait Theory
The trait theory gives constructive information about leadership. It can be applied by people at
all levels in all types of organizations. Managers can utilize the information from the theory to
evaluate their position in the organization and to assess how their position can be made stronger
in the organization. They can get an in-depth understanding of their identity and the way they
will affect others in the organization. This theory makes the manager aware of their strengths and
weaknesses and thus they get an understanding of how they can develop their leadership
qualities.
BEHAVIORAL
Behavioral Theory of leadership is a big leap from Trait Theory, in that it assumes
that leadership capability can be learned, rather than being inherent. This theory is based on the
principle that behaviors can be conditioned in a manner that one can have a specific response to
specific stimuli.
In this approach, the emphasis is on the actual behaviour and action of the leaders and not on
their traits or characteristics. In other words, this approach emphasises that strong leadership is
the result of effective role behaviour.
This approach states that the leader uses three skills to lead his followers. These skills are:
technical (refers to a person's knowledge of the process of technique), human (refers to ability to
interact with people and conceptual (refers to manager's ideas which enable a manager to set up
models and design plans).
This approach assumes that a particular behaviour of a manager will make him a good leader
while its opposite would discard him as a leader. Determining goals, motivating employees for
achieving the goals, effective communication ability to interact effectively, building team spirit,
etc. are the functional behaviour of a successful leader.
This theory emphasises the point that the favourable behaviour of a leader provides greater
satisfaction to the followers and they recognise him as their leader. However, one limitations of
this approach is that a particular behaviour and action of a leader may be relevant and effective at
a particular point of time while at another, it may be irrelevant and ineffective. Thus, in this
approach, the 'time' factor which is a vital element has not been considered
Advantages of Behavioral Theory of Leadership:
Behavioral theory promotes the value of leadership styles with an emphasis on concern for
people and collaboration. It promotes participative decision making and team development by
supporting individual needs and aligning individual and group objectives. It helps managers
evaluate and understand how their behavioral style as a manager affects their relationship with
the team and promotes commitment and contribution towards organizational goals. This theory
helps managers find the right balance between different styles of
leadership and helps them decide how to behave as a leader, depending on concerns for people
and for productivity.
Criticism / Arguments against - Behavioral Theory of Leadership:
As there were inherent limitations with the Trait approach to leadership, when early researchers
ran out of steam in their search for traits, they turned to what leaders did, how they
behaved and came with behavioral theory of leadership. This became the dominant way of
approaching leadership within organizations in the 1950s and early 1960s but this theory too had
its own limitations. Behavioral Theory of Leadership proposes leadership styles but a specific
leadership style may not be best in all circumstances. When researchers really got to work on this
it didn’t seem to validate their assumptions. While behavioral theories may help managers
develop particular leadership behaviors but they provide little guidance as to what constitutes
effective leadership in different situations.
CONTINGENCY
The Contingency Theory of Leadership states that a leader's effectiveness is contingent upon
with how his or her leadership style matches to the situation (Leadership Theories, n.d). That is,
the leader must find out what kind of leadership style and situation he or she thrives in
There are various theories classified as contingency theories. These are discussed below.
Fiedler’s contingency theory
Fred Fiedler was an Austrian-born American psychologist who was involved in industrial and
organizational psychology. From his research, he found that personalities alone could not
effectively help pick a leader. He realized that the situation in which a leader was, greatly
determined his success.
He referred to the leader’s personality as the ‘leadership style’ and the situation as the
‘situational favorableness.’ To identify a suitable leader for a given situation, these two aspects
would have to be considered.
Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership theory
This is also referred to as the situational leadership model. It is mainly determined by the level of
maturity of your followers. The maturity level of your followers is determined by their task skills
and motivation.
Task skills – this is the ability for your followers to complete tasks using the skills they have. If
their task skills are low, then you will have to impart some knowledge into them.
Motivation – this is a measure of the amount of enthusiasm your followers have for finishing
tasks. If their motivation is high, then you will not have much work trying to convince them of
the importance of staying on course.