Introduction
Leadership is a natural socio-psychological process in a group based on the influence of the individual’s authority on the group members’ behavior. In this case, influence is human acts that change other people’s attitudes and feelings. Ideas, spoken or written words, suggestions, persuasion, emotional contagion, coercion, examples, or personal authority are all forms of impact. Leadership theories require novelty since the existing ones do not fully reflect modern realities, which have become more complicated.
A leader can bring people together to work toward a common objective. Goal and leader are two ideas that go hand in hand since the leader always has a defined objective. A person can only be referred to as a leader if they accomplish their goal on their own, with the assistance of others, as a leader must at least have one follower (Siangchokyoo et al., 2020). The primary responsibility of a leader is to be able to guide others and forge bonds among members of a group that aid in the resolution of specific issues.
Foundational Theories Contributing to the New Framework
One of the earliest concepts of leadership was the classical trait or charismatic concept. It resulted from new analytical techniques being applied to the personal approach to leadership interpretation that had previously been used. The idea that leaders have unique characteristics that set them apart from everyone else forms the basis of the trait concept (Siangchokyoo et al., 2020). This theory is based on the fact that all leaders have the same qualities, which can be determined by analyzing successful historical figures.
The theory claims leaders are born with traits that cannot be learned through life. The genetic foundation for traits that will later result in a person assuming the role of a leader is laid. According to Carlyle (2019), a leader possesses unique abilities that enable them to seize the attention and consciousness of the general public.
Galton (1869) agreed with Carlyle that leadership qualities are innate and cannot be learned, as some extraordinary people have this exceptional talent. Their choices and thoughts can result in significant changes. Leadership is inherited because these distinctive qualities are a part of the person’s DNA. The peculiarity of the concept of a trait in interpreting its earliest representatives is the innateness and heredity of leadership qualities. The set of such traits gives reason to talk about a political leader, that is, about the vocation of certain personalities to occupy such a place in society.
In contrast to the dispositional conceptual approach, it is claimed that people have particular inclinations or dispositions to react in a certain way to situations, which are called qualities, under the situational approach. It is denied that a leader is born from birth, which manifests itself in any conditions, priority given precisely to the circumstances in which people find and manifest themselves as a leader. Proponents of the concept conducted complex empirical studies of leaders and found different results depending on the individual’s circumstances (Seidel et al., 2019). In different situations, leaders, including political ones, showed different qualities.
Introduction of the New Theory/Framework
In my concept, which is called the theory of absolute leadership, I want to use aspects of situational and charismatic leadership. My theory is that a true leader must have some qualities that are given to them from birth. These qualities are primarily emotional intelligence. The leader’s task is to recognize what emotions the team members experience and what motives they are driven by (Seidel et al., 2019).
Developing emotional intelligence helps people manage their emotions and those of others. Leaders know how to deal with emerging problems. They can see their essence, break complex issues into simple parts, introduce processes, and propose working solutions. A leader’s most crucial objective is to inspire others to support the team’s learning and success. The foundation for this quality is an everyday drive, relationship-building, respect, and cooperative problem-solving.
However, charisma is one of the central innate qualities a leader must possess. Charisma is the endowment with authority based on the exceptional qualities of the individual: intellectual, spiritual, or otherwise. The German sociologist Weber brought charisma out of the religious-mythological field into the secular field at the beginning of the 20th century. Weber (2019) described charisma as a quality of a person recognized as extraordinary by other people, due to which this person is evaluated as gifted with supernatural, or at least special, powers inaccessible to others. Therefore, a true leader must have this quality, which often manifests in childhood, giving reason to believe that charisma is innate.
On the other hand, the basis of my theory of absolute leadership is the presence of the right situation. More than the mere presence of the quality of a leader is required because, throughout the life of a person with potential, there may not be a case where they can show this quality. Therefore, a situation where a person’s particular qualities will be needed will help them demonstrate their leadership qualities.
Addressing Challenges and Weaknesses in the New Framework
The problem and weaknesses of the theories are that they interpret leadership too one-sidedly and do not reveal the whole complex essence of this phenomenon. The theory of situational leadership emphasizes that a leader becomes a person in the right situation when his qualities fit the circumstances; this levels out the essence of leadership. According to this idea, every person is a leader. In some situations, several people would take control at once because the probability that more than one person has suitable qualities is high.
In turn, the charismatic theory completely discards the significance of objective factors, giving primacy to innate qualities. Its weak point is some determinism, which does not allow people to evolve and improve. The charismatic theory also admits that leaders can create the opportunity for their manifestation because they do not need special conditions (Deshwal & Ashraf Ali, 2020). However, this point is disputed when one looks at history, where those whom people today call leaders became such precisely under challenging times, for example, for the nation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the new theory of absolute leadership solves the problems of both concepts since the situational theory will balance the charismatic one. This suggests that leadership qualities are given to a person from birth, but only under appropriate circumstances can they be manifested. Alternatively, the situation allows a person to show leadership qualities, but this potential should be present in a person from birth.
The modern world has become much more complex than it used to be, so the study of leadership must consider this. The situations in which leaders take responsibility and how they demonstrate it have changed. Studying these theories will always be relevant because our society needs effective leaders.
References
Carlyle, T. (2019). On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History. University of California Press eBooks.
Deshwal, V., & Ashraf Ali, Mohd. (2020). A systematic review of various leadership theories. Shanlax International Journal of Commerce, 8(1), 38–43. Web.
Galton, F. (1869). Hereditary genius: An inquiry into its laws and consequences. Macmillan and Co eBooks.
Seidel, A., Saurin, T. A., Tortorella, G. L., & Marodin, G. A. (2019). How can general leadership theories help to expand the knowledge of lean leadership? Production Planning & Control, 30(16), 1322–1336. Web.
Siangchokyoo, N., Klinger, R. L., & Campion, E. D. (2020). Follower transformation as the linchpin of transformational leadership theory: A systematic review and future research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 31(1), 101341. Web.
Weber, M. (2019). Power, domination, and legitimacy. In Power in modern societies (pp. 37-47). Routledge.