It is hard to disagree that leadership is a challenging and severe process that requires people to be strong, communicative, successful, creative, and influential. However, thanks to several methods and theories, being an effective leader may become more manageable. The purpose of this paper is to define leadership and non-sanctioned leadership, discuss the trait and the behavioral leadership theories, explain their differences, and provide an example of applying the trait theory in a workplace setting.
To begin with, there is a number of definitions of leadership. According to Robbins and Judge (2017), leadership is the unique ability to influence a team towards achieving a set of goals or shared visions. As for non-sanctioned leadership, it is about the ability to have an effect on a group that arises outside the formal organizational structure (Robbins & Judge, 2017). Notably, both types are equally essential and challenging to achieve.
The first set of theories to be examined are the trait theories of leadership. To begin with, they focus on the personal characteristics and qualities of leaders. According to Robbins and Judge (2017), traits can better predict the emergence and the appearance of leadership than actually distinguish between ineffective and effective leaders. For example, extraversion, openness to experience, emotional intelligence, and conscientiousness are those traits that prove a person’s ability to be a good leader.
As for the behavioral theories of leadership, they imply that people can be trained to become leaders. There are two behaviors that account for most leadership behavior. Initiating structure teaches a person to organize work and goals, define roles, set performance standards, and assign particular tasks (Robbins & Judge, 2017). At the same time, consideration mostly emphasizes mutual trust and respect for employees, as well as regard for their feelings. Therefore, the difference between these theories is that the first group considers traits to define whether there is a tendency to lead in a person, while the second group states that people can be trained to be leaders.
As for applying trait theories in a workplace setting, there is a specific example. There are situations when an organization’s branch requires a new leader, and there are several candidates. In order to choose the one who will more likely promote empathy and mutual trust and maintain a friendly working environment. Therefore, it is possible to use personality assessment instruments and define the most fitting candidate.
Reference
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2017). Organizational Behavior. Pearson.