Abstract
Leadership has had many definitions in different organizational contexts. However, a general definition of the aspect in organizations is the ability to mobilize people within the organizations to accomplish the objectives of the organization. Leadership is an important factor in any organizational setting since the activities of the leader determine the success or failure of the organization. For this reason, there are varieties of leadership styles and approaches that have been established to enhance leadership in organizations. The different approaches applied in different organizations are dependent on structures of the organizations as well as the goals of the organizations.
The Trait theory approach implies that leadership comes along with certain visible traits (Bertocci, 2009). It is indeed true that leaders possess some traits that are outstanding and this is what makes them leaders. These traits may be talents, skills or physical characteristics. For instance in ancient times, the leaders who would be effective in the armies would the ones who would have a well built physique. The well built physique men were associated to being conquerors and it was therefore logical that they would lead their armies to conquering other cities. In the recent times, the body physique is not as much brought into consideration. However, today’s leaders are gauged on traits such as intelligence, self efficacy, conscientiousness and extraverts amongst others. An extravert leader, for instance, would be efficient in bringing an organization to its goals because he would be open to the public about the failures or success of the organization. To the contrary an introvert leader would at some point not want to share his failures in the organization to the public. For this reason correcting the mistake which resulted to the failure would be a difficult task and hence achieving the objectives of the organization would be difficult. This theory therefore advocates for the importance of character traits in selecting leaders.
The Behavioral theory approach focuses on the behavior of leaders (Koch, 2007). Leadership behavior is quite significant towards molding the image of the organization. According to this theory, behavior is what defines a leader as well as his achievements or failures. This theory can be used as a support device to the Servant leadership style. The behavior depicted by a servant is quite different from the behavior depicted by a Bureaucratic leader. This theory is what is used to create a boundary between the two types of leadership styles. In addition to the bureaucratic approach of leadership, there is also the contingency approach. The contingency theory approach implies that a leader becomes a leader by the action he decides to take during the occurrence of various situations (Thornton, 2003). Some occurrences require quick decision making because they may be emergency cases. Therefore, this theory gives the implication that whoever at the particular emergency situation makes a decision to handle the situation is regarded as a leader.
The ford motor company is an automaker based in the United States whose president and the Chief Executive Officer is Alan Mulally. The company has been seen to perform quite well under the leadership of Mulally. Its performance is attributed to Mulally’s leadership style which is basically a results oriented type of leadership which applies the contingency approach of leadership. A results oriented type of leadership highly focuses on the impact or the outcome of exercising leadership. Based on a clear vision, measurable and attainable goals it aims at achieving maximum results that are desirable and expected in the organization. Mulally exercises his leadership in a crispy and authoritative manner.
Conclusion
The different approaches are used to define the leadership aspect at a broader level. These approaches enhance the effectiveness of leaders in accomplishing the goals of the organization. These approaches have been used in selecting leaders in organizations. This is best described by the behavioral theory approach. The approach tends to imply that leadership is as a result of the behavior of individuals in different settings. These aspects show that leadership relies on some important aspects for it to be effective and efficient for the welfare of the organization.
Reference
Bertocci, D. (2009). Leadership in Organizations: There Is a Difference Between Leaders
and Managers. University Press of America
Thornton, P. (2003). The Triangles of Management and Leadership. Media Creations
Koch, R. (2007). Public governance and leadership: political and managerial problems in
making public governance changes the driver for re-constituting leadership. DUV
