Reference no: EM133052615

"Leadership is about coping with change... Leaders establish direction by developing a vision of the future; they then align people by communicating this vision and inspiring them to overcome obstacles and achieve the vision" (Robbins & Judge, 2008, p. 176). A leader's ability to inspire followers to achieve a goal is critical to the success of an organization. As promulgated in trait theories of leadership, personal traits, such as trust and integrity, are also critical in building a relationship between those who aspire to lead (leaders) and those who trust the leader enough to follow (followers). Although trait theories help us predict leadership, they don't fully help us understand leadership. Behavioral theories of leadership attempt to identify key leadership skills that are behaviorally oriented: what successful leaders do that makes them effective. Many leadership situations require similar characteristics, traits, and behaviors to effectively lead followers; however, there are differences in leadership styles across varying situations and conditions. For example, under condition a, leadership style x would be ideal, whereas style y was a better match for condition b, style z for condition c, and so on. By evaluating the situation in which a leader operates, the contingency leadership approach complements both trait and behavioral theories. Finally, contemporary theories have built upon the foundation that previous leadership research established to discover the unique ways leaders emerge, influence, and guide their followers and lead organizations.

Indeed, leadership is a work in progress.

Reference: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2008). Essentials of organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

-Reflecting on contingency theories of leadership, do you believe that leaders should and can vary their style to demonstrate directive-, supportive-, achievement-, and participative-oriented styles with respect to different employees? Or does each leader tend to have a leadership style that he or she regularly uses toward all employees? Elaborate in paragraphs two to three at least.