A511.4.3.RB - Leadership Traits

A511.4.3.RB - Leadership Traits

Week 4 Module 4 focus on one of the most important contributions psychology has made to the field of business has been in determining the key traits of acknowledged leaders. Studies have been done to determine what characteristics are most commonly noted among successful leaders. This list of characteristics can be used for developmental purposes to help managers gain insight and develop their leadership skills.

The increasing rate of change in the business environment is a major factor in this new emphasis on leadership. Whereas in the past, managers were expected to maintain the status quo in order to move ahead, new forces in the marketplace have made it necessary to expand this narrow focus. The new leaders of tomorrow are visionary. They are both learners and teachers. Not only do they foresee paradigm changes in society, but they also have a strong sense of ethics and work to build integrity in their organizations.

Leaders of today must also possess traits, which will help them motivate others and lead them in new directions. Leaders of the future must be able to envision the future and convince others that their vision is worth following. To do this, they must have the strong personality traits.

Personal traits play a major role in determining who will and who will not be comfortable leading others. However, it's important to remember that people are forever learning and changing.

Leaders are rarely (if ever) born. Circumstances and persistence are major components in the developmental process of any leader. I have been told and taught early that emotional stability and maturity were keys to success in anything I did in life. Having the physical or technical skills does translate into effective leadership alone. One must have the personality traits to be able to lead alone with the emotional and social intelligent to have others believe and follow.

The contingency theory states that there are three factors in handling certain situations.  The factors are leader-member relations, task structure, and position power (Northouse, 2013).

I see these three factors of the contingency theory every day at work.  Individuals in leadership are involved in a multitude of projects that require the implementation of these three factors.  For example, every task involved during the decommissioning project that I’m involved in has to have a set of work instructions that incorporate safety, policy, and procedures along with steps for task completion.  Along with these set of work instructions, leaders involved with planning the work must be able to demonstrate their ability to promote a positive environment where followers will have confidence in their leadership.  Furthermore, the leaders clearly describe the steps necessary for task completion along with having the authority to change the process or discipline team members for lack of adherence to the work instructions.  Leaders must be capable of displaying situational favorability, which is the amount of control a leader has over their followers.  There are always situations that arise at work that can be challenging and as such, the more favorable a leader can make it, the better the situation will be.

References

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice (6th Edition). Sage Publications.

Prive, T. (2012, December 19). Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader. Retrieved February 02, 2016, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/12/19/top-10-qualities-that-make-a-great-leader/#39f3c86f3564

Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leaderships in Organization. Albany: Pearson.