Leadership: Comparing Trait and Behaviour Theories, Decision Making

This report delves into the comparison of trait and behavior theories of leadership. It starts by defining and differentiating between the trait theory, which emphasizes inherent leadership qualities, and the behavior theory, which focuses on observable leadership actions. The report explores the core tenets of each theory, highlighting the significance of traits like emotional maturity and self-confidence in trait theory, and the emphasis on learnable behaviors in the behavior theory. Furthermore, the report analyzes how organizations can effectively select leaders by evaluating their decision-making skills and communication abilities. The report concludes by suggesting that leadership development can be enhanced through training, as this improves the ability to make sound decisions. The report is supported by references to academic sources.

Leadership

Leadership
Answer 1
Difference between trait and behaviour theories of leadership
Trait theory of leadership is based on the leader’s characteristics and it is used to showcase
the effectiveness of leadership. The theory also emphasizes on the central traits and also the
emphasis is on considering the potential of the leaders. There are basic traits that are
identified in relation to this theory like emotional maturity and also self-confidence. But on
the other hand, behaviour theory emphasizes on the specific behaviour of the leaders as it
stipulates the behaviour of the leader rather than the traits which is best indicator of the
ability in relation to leadership. In this theory, it is assumed that leadership can be learned
(Antonakis and Day, 2017).
The trait theory of leadership is not invalid as this indicates that leaders should have some
personal traits as it assist the management to create such qualities and on the other hand trait
theory is valid as it offers positive behaviour of leader through which followers are satisfied
(Nichols, 2016).
Answer 2
The organizations can select effective leaders by emphasizing on their performance and
decision making skills. One of the best examples can be considering the overall performance
at the time of selecting the leader. Also, to select the leader, it is necessary to emphasize on
the communication skills, as the best leader is the one who communicate effectively with
their subordinates. Effective leadership can be developed by giving training as it can be seen
that trained leaders can take accurate decisions that are beneficial for them. So, it can be
stated that leaders should be selected on the basis decision making skills and also on the basis
of communication skills (Raelin, 2016).
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Leadership
References
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Nichols, A.L., 2016. What do people desire in their leaders? The effect of leadership
experience on desired leadership traits. Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, 37(5), pp.658-671.
Raelin, J.A. ed., 2016. Leadership-as-practice: Theory and application. Routledge.
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