Trait Era Of Leadership: The Three Major Eras Of Modern Leadership

Decent Essays
According to Nahavandi (2015), there are three major eras of modern leadership. Below is an illustration I made showing the three major eras of leadership.

The Trait Era assumed that leaders are born, that they have special characteristics and traits, and that leaders and followers have different traits (Nahavandi, 2015). However, studies found out that:
• There is no single trait or set of traits clearly define leaders.
• Traits play a minimal role.
• Traits are not the dominant factor in leadership.

The Behavior Era, on the other hand, assumed that behaviors are observable and measurable, can be taught, and they matter rather than behavior (Nahavandi, 2015). However, like in the traits era, studies found out that:
• Key behaviors are
…show more content…
o Low LPC or task-motivated leaders will be effective in high and low control situations – situations 1, 2, 3, and 8. o High LPC or relationship-motivated leaders will be effective in moderate favorable situations – situations 4, 5, 6 and 7.

With a more favorable situation where a leader has high control:
• Task-motivated leader is effective because the situation is non-threatening, making the leader feel at ease, relaxed and draws self-esteem from task completion.
• On the other hand, a relationship-motivated leader is ineffective because the situation appears boring for the leader, making the leader feel there is nothing to do or nobody needs him/her.

With a less favorable situation where a leader has low control:
• Given the situation is chaotic that it has no group cohesion or no strong position power, a task-motivated leader will take over and make autocratic decisions without much concern for followers. Work will be done, however the followers might not be satisfied.
• Conversely, a relationship-motivated leader is ineffective because the situation appears like a nightmare for this leader, causing the leader feel to withdraw as her efforts to gain support fall on deaf
…show more content…
A leader can change the group’s task assignment, change the leader-member relations in the group, or change the leader’s position power. Changing the situation to match the leader’s style is the main suggestion of this model.

SUMMARY:

There are three major eras of modern leadership namely trait era, behavior era and contingency era. The Fiedler Contingency Theory is the oldest and most highly researched contingency approach to leadership.

This model hypothesizes that leadership effectiveness is a function of the match or fit between leader’s style and the leadership situation. If the leader’s style matches the situation, then the leader will be effective. If it is not a match, then the leader is not effective. Therefore the effectivity of the leader is contingent upon the leader factor and situational control factors.

This model predicts whether a leader is task-motivated or relationship-motivated by measuring the LPC score, whether the leadership situation is favorable or unfavorable by assessing the three situational components, and whether a leader will be effective in any of these 8 particular settings.

Finally, this model assumes that it is easier to change the situation, rather than changing the leadership

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    It can also be considered as the most studied approach in leadership. However, as the concept of leadership evolved, traits approach despite some of its major strengths has since faced many criticisms. Firstly, although high volume of research and the consistency of these research in studying specific characteristics like intelligence, self-confidence, and sociability is its greatest strength, it has been criticized for drawing ambiguous results and inability to limit or take into account subjective interpretation in defining leader’s characteristics. Secondly, traits approach’s undivided focus on leaders and their personal characteristics/development has kept the concept clear and easy to understand. But critics argue that this approach does not assess social interactions and situational influences in leadership, which plays a crucial role in leadership development.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Leadership class has made me more cognizant of the different leadership styles and gave me the opportunity to examine each leadership style more in-depth and acquire a better understanding as to how they apply to our everyday lives. As our healthcare systems continue to evolve, so do our leaders of today. As I transition from A Licensed Practical Nurse to a Registered Nurse role in a few months so will my list of responsibilities. In today’s society to be viewed as an effective leader, one has to possess the characteristics and display the roles that are directly related to that particular leadership style.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The trait theory is research that was done to separate the difference between leaders and non-leaders through 8 different paths of leadership including: Drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self confidence, cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, job relevant knowledge, and extroversion. These traits define a successful leader and are present in all aspects of an auspicious leader. b) Trait: Coach Boone appears to showcase all of these traits throughout the movie. The first trait that prevails the most though, is his self-confidence. Boone knows that he is a very strong leader and is very good at his job and this is evident from the beginning, even before he is first appointed head coach.…

    • 1292 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Essay On Daodejing Culture

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Introduction The Daodejing or the Tao Te Ching, the work of the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tzu or Laozi dates back to the late 6th century BC according to some counts and to the late 4th century BC according to others. We can thus safely say that this “Book of the Way” was written in a period well before our times. However, when one reads the interpretations of this book by John Heider and other modern translators, one finds that the teachings are as relevant today as they were then, or, to be honest, more relevant today than they were then. In the 21st century, the most sought out trait in any individual, apart from communication, is the ability to be a leader.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Task Behavior Analysis

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Throughout the years the need for more effective leadership within organizations and society has become the focal point for businesses. Many organizations either offer their own leadership development programs of they hire outside help to come in and train their leaders on the lasts practices. For organizations like Wal-Mart and banks this is a consistent focal point where they continue to train their leaders to adapt the every so changing society. However, this can also apply to our education systems where the president of the school needs to ensure the success of the university and leaders the staff to ensure students are receiving the proper education that is not only current or up to date but is relatable to what they will face once they…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Rules of Engagement” presents a multi-faceted, dynamic situation for any student of leadership, whether in the military or not. This paper attempts to tease apart the complex mix of motivational, generational, and cultural differences between the individuals, while situating them within the larger context of the priorities of the modern Navy, with the goal of presenting recommendations and leadership lessons any reader can take from this case into their professional lives. Critical factors that influenced leadership behavior Panorama’s Style of Leadership, and How It Affected His Subordinates Senior Chief Petty Officer Panorama is an old-school naval officer. He enlisted many years ago, rising through the ranks under the old Navy culture,…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Complete a Leadership Philosophy Individuals should analyze their leadership characteristics. By self-assessing personal and work experiences, it allows for an examination of what type of leader an individual wants to be. There are many leadership theories that an individual can follow. This paper will discuss my views on leadership, the leadership theories that I relate to, and examples that assisted in creating these views.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    There are several definitions about the meaning of leadership. Not only that, there are many more leadership theories about how leadership should work. I believe there is not one single theory or leadership style that will work for every person or every situation. However, most people tend to gravitate towards a specific leadership theory that best suits their character.…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Leadership Theories Paper

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Behaviors leadership skills may or may not be innate but can definitely be learned like any other behavior. This leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders not on intellectual qualities or internal states. According to the behavioral theory, people can learn to become leaders through training and observation. The interest in the behavior of leaders has been encouraged by a regular comparison of autocratic and democratic leadership styles (Amanchukwu, Stanley, & Ololube, 2015). Autocratically led groups will function admirably as long as the leader is present.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gauging leadership effectiveness can be accomplished by examining how a leader’s traits affect how he or she…

    • 2222 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ANALYZE CONTEMPORARY VIEWS OF LEADERSHIP This paper describes the analysis of contemporary views of leadership that influence a leadership style with unique features to influence followers. The concept of contemporary leadership is the ability to evolve as the needs of the organization change.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Transformational leadership theory was further developed by Bass in 1985. Bass developed his doctrine of transformational leadership based on the preliminary results obtained in a survey of 198 military officers in The United States, who was required to evaluate their supervisors through the “Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 1” (Bass, Waldman, & Avolio, 1987). Bass's doctrine originated in the Burns empirical investigation (1978), which found that leadership can be understood in terms of both transformational and transactional processes (Bass, Waldman, & Avolio, 1987). Bass (1985) defined transformational leadership as a motivator for employees to work more than their original expectations. Transformational leaders expand and enhance…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Characteristics of Leadership There are two distinguished leadership styles that will be discussed in the section – the traditional leadership and the contemporary leadership styles with the inclusions of examples. Traditional Leadership The main characteristic of traditional leadership is power; subsequently, the leader has the authority to dictate what, whom, how and when a task is to be done. The leader is at the top and the employees are on the bottom stair of power.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory focuses on the interaction of the leader’s behaviour and follower readiness while Path-Goal theory focuses on motivation of the group by offering rewards, clarifying path and removing obstacles to achieve performance and goals. Keywords: Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory, Path-Goal theory, leader behaviour, follower readiness, motivation, rewards, performance and goals Comparison and…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    (Peter, 2006, pp. 3) defined that leadership is the procedures where the individual influences a number of people to obtain a desired goal. The same author, emphasized that leadership happens in a group of people, where the people are the situation in which the leadership will happen. Moreover, the leadership takes part in influencing the group of people who have a common goal or target. As well, it’s contain the concern & important to achieving the goals and targets. From this point, having different models of leadership is essential, in order to deal with different situations, figure the strengths & weaknesses, and lead the people to achieve their common goal successfully.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays