MMK002: Analyzing Leadership Theories - York St John University

This essay delves into the essence of leadership, exploring various theories and their application within organizations. It begins by differentiating between leadership and management, highlighting the importance of influence, communication, and motivation in effective leadership. The essay then examines the Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, and Behavioral Leadership Theory, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in the context of modern organizational dynamics. Furthermore, the essay includes a behavioral evaluation of selected leaders, codifying their behaviors and specifying control mechanisms. The discussion extends to emotional stability, power motivation, and the balance between specialized roles and shared influence. The essay concludes with a summary of learning and insights into the development of leadership capabilities, emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement and adaptation in today's rapidly changing business environment. This resource, contributed to Desklib, provides students with valuable insights and examples for their own leadership studies.

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The essence of leadership
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Table of contents
Literature review........................................................................................................................2
Introduction............................................................................................................................2
Concepts of leadership and management...............................................................................3
Theories of nature and exercise of leadership in the organisation.........................................5
The Great Man Theory.......................................................................................................5
Essence of leadership.............................................................................................................6
Trait theory.........................................................................................................................7
Behavioural leadership theory............................................................................................9
Evaluation of the behaviour of selected leaders.......................................................................12
Behavioural evaluation.........................................................................................................12
Codification of the behaviour...............................................................................................15
Behaviour specifications......................................................................................................16
Control..............................................................................................................................16
Emotional stability...........................................................................................................16
Power motivation.............................................................................................................17
Specialized role or shared influence process...................................................................17
Influence and emotions....................................................................................................18
Summary of the learning..........................................................................................................19
Development of leadership capabilities...............................................................................19
References................................................................................................................................22

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Literature review
Introduction
The leadership is an effective process that allows an individual within the organisation
to act as a role model and direct, guide as well as influence the behaviours of employees and
also direct them towards the right direction, furthermore, ensure accomplishment of specific
goals and objectives with much ease and efficiency. The manager or any individual holding a
higher authority and power is associated with the management of leadership skills to perform
to their potential with confidence and zeal (Rothaermel 2017). The leadership is also an
important concept related to the influence of behaviours and also guide them in the right
direction by persuading others to seek the goals and objectives in a committed and
responsible manner. The manager or leader of the organization holds the roles and
responsibilities of guiding the employees toward successful achievement of goals and
objectives while at the same time, use the skills, knowledge, expertise and maturity to tackle
critical situations with much accuracy and prominence (Wyatt and Silvester 2018).
The essence of leadership is also related to the way the leader maximises the
efficiency of workforce and ensures achievement of goals and objectives with the help of
initiating actions through communication policies and plans to the employees and also by
creating a sense of motivation and encouragement. The leaders also are responsible for the
management of monetary as well as non-monetary rewards and benefits for keeping the
workforce consisting of employees motivated and encouraged, while even creating extensive
scopes and opportunities for them to prove their potential and ensure influencing them to
commit fully towards the organisation (Ghasabeh, Soosay and Reaiche 2015). The leader is
not only responsible for keeping the employees motivated, but also to build their morale by
arranging training sessions and also by improving their skills, knowledge and expertise. With
this, the leadership perspective also focuses on the development of a positive working

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environment, where the employees feel free to perform and also make sure to acquire the
desired level of coordination, which is a primary motive of the leader and also a major aspect
of management within the organisation (Spector 2016).
Considering the aspect of management within the organisation, the managers also sometimes
play the role of a leader but they are more associated with the delegation of authorities and
power along with the management of responsibilities for developing a vision and mission that
are communicated with the employees of the organisation as well (Storey 2016). Moreover, it
is also a fact that the management is associated with the focus on planning, organising and
staffing the candidates along with managing necessary direction and control so as to prioritise
on team building relationships and also facilitate the teamwork that could persuade and
motivate the employees effectively and in a responsible way within the organisations
(Dartey-Baah 2015). There are few other differences between leadership and management
aspect too such as the leadership is based more on the verbal communication whereas the
management duties and roles are more centred around the management of communication
that is written down on paper or in the form of documents.
Concepts of leadership and management
According to Clampitt and Dekoch (2016), leadership has been considered as an
effective process for influencing the individuals and accomplish the goals and objectives
through management of business functions and processes in a more coherent and cohesive
manner. Here, the leadership skills, traits and behaviours allow for influencing the employees
to work towards a shared vision and mission, furthermore, acquire social influence and
maximise the level of efforts put for getting the things completed and accurately done too
(Clampitt and Dekoch 2016). The leaders’ skills, knowledge and expertise are also
influenced, as stated by Sohmen (2015), including the different sets of values, beliefs, ethics
and character needed to remain unique and also differentiable from others. The leader should

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utilise the traits and skills for counselling and also guide the employees of the organisation in
the right direction for accomplishment of the objectives, thereby, facilitate communication
and also deal with different situations at different times (Sohmen 2015).
As stated by Antonakis and Day (2017), leadership comprise of various components
including the leader himself, his followers, communication managed and the entire situation.
The leaders must be honest and know about what to do and how it should be done for
assisting the subordinates and at the same time, inspire them to follow the leader and move in
the right direction. Considering the application of theories based on leadership aspects, we
need to determine how the leadership and management differ based on certain contexts
(Antonakis and Day 2017). It has been found that the leadership is necessary for
communicating the vision, mission and goals to be achieved to the employees while the
management has laid the foundation for delegating power and authority along with
management of individual roles and responsibilities. The manager has also been associated
with the management of staffing process, organising, directing and controlling along with
facilitation of better control and authority whereas the leadership has been more centred
around the development of relationships with the employees, building networks, facilitate
teamwork, motivate and encourage the employees to perform to their potential as well
(Ospina 2017). The managers are also responsible for following the organisational policies
and principles while the leaders have been more concerned about following their own instinct
and also ensure focusing on the performance of employees as well as measure their potential
to deal with the future and performance of theirs in terms of extraction of potential and skills
from them to achieve the business objectives with much ease and efficiency (Bush, Bell and
Middlewood 2019).
It is also a fact, according to Hallinger et al. (2015), that all the managers are not
effective leaders. There are few managers who have poor leadership qualities and thus

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employees need to follow their orders as they are bound to do so. The management roles also
include managing the description of jobs and creating designation for the employees,
furthermore, ensure undertaking the right actions for which, they have been held responsible
for. Moreover, the managers also hold the rights and responsibilities of hiring candidates
within the workplace, promote, terminate as well as manage discipline and reward based
systems based on their behaviour and performances for keeping them motivated and
encouraged as a whole (Hallinger et al. 2015).
On the other hand, based on the statement of Armstrong (2016), leaders have to
maintain good personality, behaviours and also manage values and beliefs for guiding the
employees and even inspire and motivate them. Due to this, the leaders believe in inspiration
and have challenged the status quo too, which represent change savvy, creative, innovative,
visionary as well as adaptive to different situations (Armstrong 2016). The leaders should
remain honest, integral and inspire others along with management good communication skills
and behaviours for better authority and control along with inspiring trust to understand the
employees well and keep them engaged within the workplace much more efficiently.
Theories of nature and exercise of leadership in the organisation
The Great Man Theory
Leaders display distinctive characteristics for influencing others, which makes them
great. The aspect of earning respect through the display of distinctive characteristics affirms
the statement, “leaders are born and not made.” According to Chang (2016), the behavioural
approach of the leaders is directed towards influence through motivation, which is a
cornerstone for accomplishment of the goals and objectives. Exposure of the critical incidents
reveals the true identity of a leader. Clarity in the motives is one of the traits, making the
leaders great (Chang 2016). One of the other dimensions in this context is that of the
emotional stability, which makes the leaders rational. Ejimabo (2015) statement is of the

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view that this rationality enhances the self-confidence of the leaders and maximises their
leadership potential to drive the behaviours of employees largely.
If the internal locus of control is considered, then the managerial effectiveness is
enhanced through the means of “oriented approach towards executing the operations. This
approach stabilizes all of the parameters and dimensions of the managers, driving them
towards the path of leadership. Consciousness towards evaluation of the behaviour maintains
the balance between the emotional stability and maturity, adding value and weightage to the
personality of the managers (Connolly, James and Fertig 2019).
The dimension of “great” is also measured through the level of power and authority
exposed. Higgs and Dulewicz (2016) also stated the fact that influence can also be exerted
while being in power. However, consciousness is to be maintained towards ensuring that it
does not hurt the individual sentiments of the subordinates and peers. This consciousness
makes the managers a people’s leader, enhancing the accessibility. Earlier, the males were
considered as individuals holding leadership skills and qualities but afterwards, with the
equal growth scopes and opportunities created for the women individuals, they were also
provided with the roles of a leader (Higgs and Dulewicz 2016). Due to this, the Great Man
theory has been considered as the person theory, where individuals possess strong skills,
knowledge and expertise to gain good positions of power and authority, furthermore,
accomplish the goals and objectives with the involvement of the employees too. Based on
this theory, the leaders hold skills and traits, which remain stable or consistent over time and
thus great leaders share these vital characteristics and skills, regardless of whether they
belong from and their roles in the history that have been fulfilled (Harris and DeFlaminis
2016).

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Essence of leadership
Leadership is a process, in which influence is exerted on others for luring them
towards the satisfaction of self-desires and motives. This exertion of influence needs to be
rational for earning the respect of others. Therefore, Higgs and Dulewicz (2016) states that
effective managerial skills leads the managers towards the path of leadership. Supervision is
one of an important trait, which is associated with leadership in terms of guiding and
supporting the subordinates. Conducting need analysis prior to the provision of support is
beneficial in terms of assessing the requirements (Bolden, Witzel and Linacre 2016).
Consciousness in this direction is effective, as it enhances the skills, competencies and
abilities of the managers.
There are different perceptions related to leadership, which ranges from exertion of
power and authority to guiding others. The difference lies in the thoughts, rather perspectives,
which helps in accomplishing the goals. As per the arguments of Holzmann and Golan
(2016), the main essence of leadership is reflected from the traits, which one exposes in a
group, with shared values. On the contrary, By, Hughes and Ford (2016) stated that leaders
are formed when they shape the identity of the others. In this context, a clarified vision,
motive and values help in formulation of a congenial working environment. Adding meaning
to the vision enhances the productivity. Similarly, adopting causal effect relationship for
every action and achievement, adds value to the leadership dimension in the behaviour of the
managers (By, Hughes and Ford 2016).
Trait theory
Trait theory of leadership relies on the fact that leaders are born with innate qualities,
which makes them stand out from others. These qualities are intelligence, emotional stability,
sense of responsibility, creativity among others. In this context, () adds the dimensions of
social, mental and physical, which helps in gaining a deeper insight into the behaviour of the
leaders (Decman et al 2018). Similarity in the traits places the leaders into the group of

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people, searching to add meaning into their meaningless existence. However, Rothaermel
(2017), is of the view that people succeeding in adding constructiveness into their personality
are the leaders, as they possess the essential traits of commitment, dedication and
commitment to accomplish the goals and objectives.
Some of the characteristic traits are valid, as it correlates with the cultural norms as
prescribed by the society. In some of the circumstances, the leaders fail to accomplish their
traits, as they encounter dilemmas regarding intelligent handling of the situations. In this
case, support from the experts is necessary for averting unwanted instances. Reflective
observation is an agent in terms of concretizing the experience towards effective handling of
the situation. Evaluation in this context is cornerstone towards enhancing the personality
(Wyatt and Silvester 2018). This aspect brings great man theory into the discussion.
Ghasabeh, Soosay and Reaiche (2015) states that every individual has certain distinctive
characteristics, but all of them do not incline towards the path of leadership.
One of the other aspects of trait theory is subjective judgement regarding the
effectiveness of managerial roles and responsibilities. Situational leadership is a typical
exemplar, which helps in detecting the intellectual maturity of the managers in terms of
resolving the potential issues. The main essence of trait theory is the behaviour of the leaders,
side lining the followers (Clampitt and Dekoch 2016). However, the theoretical aspects and
leadership theories and concepts are of the views that created the identity of the followers is
the real and true self of the leaders.
As per the arguments of Bush, Bell and Middlewood (2019), overlapping of the traits
can lead to an exclusive quality, enhancing the personality of a leader. However,
consciousness is needed for ensuring that the balance is maintained between the goal and the
performance. Skill mix is a relevant aspect in this context, which helps in adding to the

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personality. Moreover, the leaders hold certain important skills and traits including the
achievement drive, leadership motivation, self-confidence, honesty and integrity and
cognitive skills and abilities along with emotional maturity and knowledge of business,
according to the trait theory of leadership for maintaining trustworthiness and reliability too
(Bush, Bell and Middlewood 2019). Based on this trait theory of leadership, the managers or
leaders also have specific sets of skills, knowledge and expertise along with personality traits
that are responsible for bringing the best of leadership potential by endowing people together
within the workplace (Hallinger et al. 2015). Based on this theory, the leaders possess high
ambition and energy, which allow them to put high level of efforts and at the same time,
maintain trustworthiness, reliability and openness so as to utilise the strong analytical skills
properly as well as facilitate innovation, creativity and flexibility, thereby, exercise good
judgement and also make good decisions in business. Not only does this trait theory allows
the leader to manage the employees properly, but also his own leadership qualities are
improved, which ensures exploitation of greater scopes and opportunities required by the
business to sustain in the long run (Connolly, James and Fertig 2019).
Behavioural leadership theory
Behavioural theories delve deeper into the mind-set of the leaders for handling of the
situations. The main essence of this theory is that leaders can be successful through the
exposure of distinctive skills, abilities and competencies for influencing others. Oriental
approaches towards handling the situations add to the managerial effectiveness in the
organizations (Higgs and Dulewicz 2016). Learning from every situation add value to the
personality of the leaders, upgrading the standards and quality of their performance. This
theory is different from trait theory, as abilities are to be learned. However, according to
Bolden, Witzel and Linacre (2016), the various leadership traits are one of the shades of the
behaviour, enhancing the personality as a whole. Stimulus governs the behaviour, which

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limits the expression according to the desires, adding compulsion towards working as per the
expectations (Bolden, Witzel and Linacre 2016).
Observation and reflection are the cornerstones for altering the patterns of
approaching the situations. However, application of intellectual creativity is effective in terms
of gaining mass support. This approach concretizes the experiences driving the personality
towards ambitions. Causal effect relationship is relevant, as it helps in measuring the impact
of the actions on the propositions. For this, participative management style is crucial in terms
of assessing whether the plans are feasible in the current situation (Decman et al. 2018). This
inclusive practice diversifies the scope and arena of the thought horizons, enhancing the
creativity and imagination skills of the leaders towards accomplishing the identified and the
specified goals.
Behavioural theory could be considered as the general transition to the Trait theory of
leadership, which represents the fact that leadership skills and capabilities are acquired rather
than being inherited, which n allow the leaders to respond to certain stimuli. Due to this, their
performance are influenced and also they remain flexible to different behavioural styles,
which could facilitate their ability to respond to different situations much more
comprehensively (Chang 2016). Few advantages of this kind of leadership theory are that the
emphasis is on the people and collaboration while it also promotes effective decision making
along with support provided to individuals for aligning their efforts with the company goals
and objectives to be achieved. One of the drawback could be that the leadership promotes
good leadership skills and behaviours though the lack of guidance provided to the
subordinates can be a major problem sometimes (Antonakis and Day 2017). The trait theory
of leadership also has helped in making leaders enough competent of using the natural
intelligence and make action oriented judgements through acceptance of own roles and
responsibilities required to become strong and efficient leaders. The leaders should acquire

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the desired level of skills and have been capable of handling critical situations with the help
of understanding the followers and their needs quite easily, which also raised the chances and
scopes for committing towards the milestones’ achievement and also maage perseverance
during any obstacles experienced thereafter (Bush, Bell and Middlewood 2019). Due to the
self-confidence and self-assurance, the leaders have been assertive and this has made them
capable of adapting quickly to the changing situations as well as maintain flexibility all
throughout. This should also bring better emotional stability and highlight the chances of
better innovation, creativity and fostering collaborative teamwork within the organisation too
(Wyatt and Silvester 2018).