Leadership Report: Requirements, Development, and Leadership Styles

This report delves into the multifaceted realm of leadership, exploring the essential requirements for success, including the Big Five Personality Traits, and examines prominent leadership theories such as Path-Goal Theory and Transformational Leadership. It outlines various leadership styles, like supportive, directive, participative, and achievement-oriented, and also discusses how good leadership can be developed, referencing Katz’s Three Skills Model and Lewin’s Leadership Styles. The report also covers the difference between leadership and management. It provides a comprehensive overview of leadership principles and practices, offering valuable insights for aspiring leaders seeking to enhance their skills and understanding of effective leadership strategies. The report concludes with a section on personal learning and reflection based on the student's own experiences.

LEADERSHIP

TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUESTION 1...................................................................................................................................4
Requirements of being a successful leader..................................................................................4
QUESTION 2...................................................................................................................................9
Discussion on whether good leadership be developed and how..................................................9
QUESTION 3.................................................................................................................................11
Difference between leadership and management......................................................................11
QUESTION 4.................................................................................................................................12
Personal learning about leadership from own experiences........................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: The Big Five Personality Traits.......................................................................................4
Figure 2: Leadership styles under Path Goal Theory......................................................................7
Figure 3: Transformational Leadership...........................................................................................8

QUESTION 1
Requirements of being a successful leader
A leader is the one who guides, inspires, directs, supervises, supports and controls the
activities of a team or group which he leads through his actions, personality and experiences.
Leaders have the influencing power and convince his team members to perform tasks as per his
way to attain the set goals on within set deadlines (Northouse, 2018). Leadership is an ability
which is possessed by leaders with an aim to lead and guide individuals or teams in such a way
that set targets can be achieved with meeting the standards by providing utmost support to the
members.
In the present era, where there is intense competition, to be a successful leader, it is
significant to have various skills like showing grace even when it is the situation of workload or
pressure, having integrity and unwavering faith in own and in his people i.e. the team, effective
communication, ability to look at the big picture, etc. These skills prove to be highly helpful in
influencing the team members in a way that they get ready to accept the instructions of their
leader and perform work as per the same (Rosenbach, 2018). These traits help a leader to survive
for long with keeping the management, team and all associated people happy and satisfied.
Requirements of being a successful leader can be understood with the help of some
theories and approaches. One of the most common among them is Big Five Personality Traits
that is also referred as five-factor or the OCEAN model. As per this model, there are five major
traits which are required to be in a successful leader. These traits are like:
Figure 1: The Big Five Personality Traits
4

(Source: The Big Five personality traits (Five-factor Model), 2018) Openness to Experience – It refers that a leader is required to have a broad range of
interests and he must be willing to perform the same with having courage to take the risks
and deal with any kind of situations even if these are not in his favour. Also, leader is
supposed to try out even most unusual ideas to become successful (Crosby and Bryson,
2018). For example: Mark Zuckerberg, who is successfully running Facebook through his
unusual idea. However, on the other hand, leader who is having low score on openness is
taken as the one who is more straightforward and for whom, novelty is more on priority
in comparison to familiarity. These leaders have very less chances to be successful and
influence others as they have no desire of changing because of being conservative by
nature (The Big Five personality traits (Five-factor Model), 2018). Consciousness – It specifies that a leader is supposed to have higher score on
consciousness which involves having traits like highly sincere about duties, self-
disciplined as well as one who prefers planned behaviour in comparison to the
spontaneous one. On the contrary, leaders having lack of consciousness are completely
having opposite kinds of behaviours as their personality trait is exactly in contrast. Extraversion – This approach also states that if a person possesses high score on
extraversion, he gains high energy when he comes in front of public. People possessing
the same are good leaders who are highly enthusiastic, action-oriented as well as capable
and visible to others (Terrell and et.al., 2018). For example: Bill Gates who is running his
organisation successfully through these traits. However, on the other side, people who are
low on this trait are supposed to be introverts. These individuals do not get much
involved socially and so, they do not prove to be effective leaders. Agreeableness – It can be said that if a leader wants to get successful, he tends to be high
on trait as people possessing this are more of helpful, kind, generous and considerate
nature. They are trustworthy as well as do not get hesitate if they are asked to
compromise their interests with others. On the other hand, individuals who are low on
this trait have self-interest as the key. They have high disagreeableness and thus, have no
desire to compromise their interests for any other individual (Glatthorn and et.al., 2018).
This is the reason, they are considered to be unfriendly and so, cannot prove to be an
effective leader.
5

 Neuroticism – This is the last characteristic of Big Five Trait theory which says that
sometimes, to become a successful leader, it is essential for the person to be good at
experiencing anger, anxiety, unhappiness and any other negative emotions which shows a
high score on neuroticism. For example: Steve Jobs who leaded his team through these
traits in a success manner. However, on the other hand, individuals having low score on
neuroticism are just opposite to those of having high rate of same and so, they are
emotionally stable, calm and do not have any negative feelings (The Big Five personality
traits (Five-factor Model), 2018). These leaders also prove to be good in situations like
for example, where team is required to be handled with patience like in case if there is
issue of diversity.
Path Goal Theory
Another theory which justifies that what is actually required to be a successful leader is
Path Goal theory of leadership which states that leaders have to make a path in a clear and easy
way to encourage and support their followers to attain the set targets. Leaders are required to
clarify the path so that subordinates would come know about the directions that they have to
follow. Also, this theory refers that if leaders want to become successful, they have to remove
roadblocks that can hinder the performance of his team (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, 2019).
Further, to motivate team members, leaders have to increase rewards for them along with the
route. This theory includes four leadership styles which are given as below:
6

Figure 2: Leadership styles under Path Goal Theory Supportive leadership – This style refers that leaders is needed to show concern towards
his team for their welfare and to maintain a positive and healthy working environment.
This leads to enhance the self-esteem of followers as well as makes their job interesting
for them. For example: In Tesco, when there is high workload and work is boring and
stressful for workers, this style proves to be the best (Clinton, 2018). Directive leadership – Under this style, leaders give direction and guidance to followers
with appropriate support. Here, leaders provide specific duration of completion of
allotted tasks along with the schedule. Rewards are also given here and increased as per
the need. There is reduction in the role of ambiguity. For example: In Hilton hotel, when
the tasks is unstructured and complex as well as if the follower is not experienced, this
style plays a crucial role. Participative leadership – This refers to the style of leadership where leader consults
with team members and takes their ideas as well for making suitable decisions and taking
actions for same (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, 2019). For example: This style proves
7

to be the best when team members are expert and their advice can help in attaining the set
targets effectually.
 Achievement-oriented leadership – Leader under this style set challenging goals for
improving self as well as the work. They demonstrate high standards to followers and
show faith in their capabilities to succeed. For example: In Vodafone, this style helps in
performing the complex tasks.
Transformational Leadership Theory
Transformational leadership is actually present at all the levels of organisation including
all departments. Leaders adopting this theory of leadership hold positive expectations for
followers and have high trust in their capabilities. They take care of the personal needs and
development of followers as well and fit well in complex working groups (Shamir, Arthur and
House, 2018). Majorly, there are 4 components of this leadership theory. These are:
Figure 3: Transformational Leadership
(Source: Cherry, 2018) Idealized Influence (II) – These leaders serve as an ideal model for the followers and
represent the qualities that they want in their team members.
8

 Inspirational Motivation (IM) – Leaders performing transformational leadership possess
the ability to motivate their team members through having and showing the vision
(Smylie and Eckert, 2018). Individualized Consideration (IC) – These leaders are highly concerned about the needs
and feelings of team members and so, they support them in self-actualization.
 Intellectual Stimulation (IS) – This component states that leader under transformational
leadership challenges the followers to be more innovative in their work along with having
high creativity to gain higher level of performance (Cherry, 2018).
QUESTION 2
Discussion on whether good leadership be developed and how
Leadership is all about doing three things i.e. to create a vision, to build alignment and
deployment. It means that the picture of future which they have is what they describe to others.
Secondly, they make people energized to get committed towards vision. Thirdly, they take finite
resources and make strategy to achieve the set vision through same. There are some traits in each
person which are genetically influenced as well as human limitations are inherent. Personality of
an individual is the result of families, religion, schooling and culture, etc. which makes every
person different from the other (Shamir and Eilam-Shamir, 2018). Thus, it can be said that good
leadership can only be developed to the limit an individual possesses in relation to his/her
potential which can be understood by the following theories discussed below:
Katz’s Three Skills Model
As per this theory, anyone can become a leader who possesses a certain set of skills and
crosses through all developmental stages in the organisation. These skills are classified into three
categories which are: Human skills – These skills refer to the communication and attention that an individual
gives to relationships with others in firm in which he is working. Person possessing the
same can be a good leader. For example: communicating effectually within teams
regarding goals and discussing issues being faced by others along with getting along
with them. Technical skills – These include ability to work on the techniques, processes, tools and
practices that are being used in organisation where the person is working. It says that if
9

an individual possesses skill to accomplish tasks for those people who are working on
the front lines, he can become a good leader (Subramony and et.al., 2018). For example:
using computer software packages like MS Excel.
 Conceptual skills – Further, conceptual skills refer to the big picture of entire company
where if an individual is able to use his abstract ideas in order to set the initiatives
strategically, he can become a good leader). For example: to work on a construction
project, technical skills help in understanding and deciding the actions as well as
measures which are required to be taken.
Lewin’s Leadership Styles
Kurt Lewin has identified three different styles of leadership i.e. authoritarian
(autocratic), participative (democratic) and delegative (Laissez-Faire). These are discussed as
below: Autocratic leadership – In this style of leadership, leader takes all decisions without
making any consultation with others. This style is helpful at the time when quick
decisions are to be made in organisation without wasting any time. However, this leads to
discontentment among workers most of the time (Wall, 2018). For example: In case if
conflicts arise. Democratic leadership – This leadership style allows people to get involved in the
decision making process and taking their ideas and opinions to make a decision which
increases their satisfaction as well as the morale (Lewin’s 3 Style Model, 2018). However,
the final decision judgement is made by the leader only. This style proves to be highly
helpful to create a positive working environment at workplace. For example: In case of
high workload.
 Laissez-faire leadership – In this leadership style, involvement of leader is very less in
the process of decision making and so, it allows people to make their own decision which
makes them confident enough to be responsible for the outcomes they generate.
However, this style can only be used when people are capable and motivated and when
central coordination is not needed (Northouse, 2018). For example: At the time of sharing
resources among different departments and groups.
Servant Leadership
10

This is a kind of relational approach according to which major focus of leader following
this leadership style is to serve. It is a modern approach of leading people where leader shares
power, keeps the needs of workers on priority and help them in developing and performing their
tasks with highest level of efficiency. Person following this leadership style makes employees
able to gain personal growth. With their commitment and engagement, organisation also grows
effectually (What is Servant Leadership?, 2018). As per this approach, it can be said that good
leadership can be developed if person is able to serve the people instead of getting served by
others. Thus, it will help in further development of skills of leaders as when they share their
power with others, they develop the skill of cooperation and coordination. Likewise, through
considering needs of workers, skill of empathy is learned by the leader.
QUESTION 3
Difference between leadership and management
Management – Management is all about getting the work done in an organisation by others in a
manner that set targets will be achieved within stipulated period of time by using the resources to
an optimum level in the most effective and efficient manner. It can be termed as an individual or
the groups performing their work by accepting responsibilities to run business of an organisation
(Ansoff and et.al., 2019). It consists of interlocking functions that leads to incorporate the
corporate policy with planning, organizing and controlling the resources of firm so that main
goal of policy framed can be effectually attained.
Leadership – Leadership is an art by which people working in an organisation are motivated and
made willing to perform their tasks so that final objectives of business can be attained which a
leader does by influencing, supporting, guiding and directing the team (Clinton, 2018). It is all
about the personality, skills and abilities of leader that make employees ready and want to follow
his or her directions to achieve the common goal of organisation. It involves setting a vision,
making others understand about same and then ready to follow it willingly.
Key Differences
Leadership is to create the vision; management is to set the goals
Leaders in an organisation are responsible for creating vision while managers create
goals. For the vision set by leaders, they assess the possibilities of what can happen and then
make people ready to deal with the same so that set vision can be turned into reality. Their
11

thinking is not limited to what individuals do but beyond it and so, they encourage employees to
become an important part of something bigger (Rosenbach, 2018). Their major focus is on
accomplishing high functioning teams as according to them, working in teams is better than
individuals performing tasks autonomously. However, on the other hand, manager’s role is to
make, measure and achieve the set goals for reaching at the vision. Their major role is to have
proper control on situations to reach at the final objectives (Hislop, Bosua and Helms, 2018). For
example: In Marks and Spencer, vision of company has been created by the founder of it i.e. Sir
Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer which is to be the standard against of which other
competitors firms will measure their quality, value and service. Now, to achieve this vision,
management of M&S is making sincere efforts.
Leadership is about bringing changes; management is to maintain status quo
Leaders in organisation are always ready to bring something new with innovation. They
always make initiatives to embrace change and well aware that even if things are working, there
is possibility to make a better way forward. According to them, if changes will be brought to
system, it will often create waves and firm will get better opportunities in market. On the other
hand, managers never thought of bringing changes and they get stick to what is working in
organisation. However, they make initiatives to refine, structure and process the systems to gain
better results (Crosby and Bryson, 2018). For example: In Apple, Steve Jobs was known to be an
autocratic leader who took his decisions by own without consulting others and made them to
follow the same. He was responsible for bringing such a huge innovation in market which is now
being carried out by the managers of organisation by bringing some changes in the operations
time to time.
Leadership is unique in approach; management is the copy of same
Leaders always have their own ideas and they like to be themselves. They take every
decision based on own as they are self-aware and perform work with their unique ideas.
Leadership is all about standing out and being comfortable on own shoes rather walking on
other’s steps. To be transparent as well as authentic is the major objective of leadership. On the
contrary, managers copy the ideas, behaviours and competencies of their leader as they first learn
from them and then adopt their style (Terrell and et.al., 2018). Management is about mimicking
the leadership style rather defining it. For example: In Microsoft, Bill Gates has ruled with
12

transformational leadership style where he inspired positive changes in his followers. The same
is being practiced by the managers over there to keep on bringing creativity.
QUESTION 4
Personal learning about leadership from own experiences
I have worked in Tesco at the position of marketing manager where I had a great
experience of working and dealing with various kinds of situations that occur time to time in
organisation. The leadership style which I adopted there was democratic i.e. participative where
always at the time of making any decisions, I used to involve my team members to take their
suggestions, ideas and opinions and based on same, decisions were made. This helped a lot to me
in gaining their trust and support in return. This leadership style supported me in keeping my
team highly encouraged and so, I gained a positive feedback from the management as our
department got the highest level of profit in comparison to others (Glatthorn and et.al., 2018).
My team worked very well and achieved the set standards which I could made possible with the
help of participative leadership style. This is the reason; I can say that the decision which I took
in selection of style to lead people was right as it put a highly positive impact on employees as
well as on the working environment. This style helped in boosting the morale of workforce and
so a healthy and positive work atmosphere was created that led to effectual attainment of goals
on time (Clinton, 2018).
Personally, what I learned from my experience is that an organisation like Tesco can
never get succeeded in market if its own employees are not happy and satisfied in this era where
there is intense level of competition for which effective leadership is vital. Earlier, I was not very
much aware with the significance and benefits of leadership and so, I never tried to be a good
leader as my aim was majorly on attaining the targets and increasing the profits to make the firm
sustain and survive. However, this module has helped me to a high extent in realising the
importance of effective leadership and changed my opinion on the concepts related to it (Shamir,
Arthur and House, 2018). Now, my major focus is always on how I am leading my people and
whether they are satisfied with my leadership or not. Also, now my concern from profit making
has shifted to the fulfilment of needs and expectation of employees first and then on attaining the
set targets to achieve the common goals of Tesco.
13

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ansoff, H. I. and et.al., 2019. Implanting strategic management. Springer.
Clinton, R., 2018. The making of a leader: Recognizing the lessons and stages of leadership
development. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc..
Crosby, B. C. and Bryson, J. M., 2018. Why leadership of public leadership research matters:
and what to do about it. Public Management Review. 20(9). pp.1265-1286.
Glatthorn, A. A. and et.al., 2018. Curriculum leadership: Strategies for development and
implementation. SAGE publications.
Hislop, D., Bosua, R. and Helms, R., 2018. Knowledge management in organizations: A critical
introduction. Oxford University Press.
Northouse, P. G., 2018. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Rosenbach, W. E., 2018. Contemporary issues in leadership. Routledge.
Shamir, B. and Eilam-Shamir, G., 2018. “What’s Your Story?” A Life-Stories Approach to
Authentic Leadership Development. In Leadership Now: Reflections on the Legacy of
Boas Shamir (pp. 51-76). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Shamir, B., Arthur, M. B. and House, R. J., 2018. The rhetoric of charismatic leadership: A
theoretical extension, a case study, and implications for research. In Leadership Now:
Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir (pp. 31-49). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Smylie, M. A. and Eckert, J., 2018. Beyond superheroes and advocacy: The pathway of teacher
leadership development. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 46(4).
pp.556-577.
Subramony, M. and et.al., 2018. Leadership development practice bundles and organizational
performance: The mediating role of human capital and social capital. Journal of business
research. 83. pp.120-129.
Terrell, R. D. and et.al., 2018. Culturally proficient leadership: The personal journey begins
within. Corwin Press.
Wall, T., 2018. Infusing ethics into leadership learning & development. Routledge.
Online
Cherry, K., 2018. Transformational Leadership. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-transformational-leadership-2795313>.
Lewin’s 3 Style Model. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.businessballs.com/leadership-models/leadership-styles-3-style-model-kurt-
lewin/>.
14

Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/path_goal_leadership.htm>.
The Big Five personality traits (Five-factor Model). 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.psychestudy.com/general/personality/big-five>.
What is Servant Leadership?. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://online.stu.edu/articles/education/what-is-servant-leadership.aspx>.
15