Approaches to Leadership

There are three basic approaches to studying and describing leadership: trait, behavioural and contingency approaches.

(a)    Leadership traits

Assumes that great leaders possess a set of stable and enduring traits or characteristics that set them apart from followers. Adherents of this theory attempted to identify these traits so that they could be used as a basis for selecting managers. Attention was focused on the search for traits and researchers. Studied common traits such as intelligence, height, self confidence and attractiveness. However, traits proved to be ineffective bases for selection of leaders because the known good leaders had such diverse traits that it was impossible to draw a list of common traits.

(b)    Behavioural Approach

This approach sought to define behaviours that set effective leaders apart from ineffective leaders. A leader may have either job centered leader behaviour or employee centered leader behaviour (Michigan Studies).

Two critical leader behaviours were also identified by the Ohio State studies i.e. initiating structure behaviour similar to job centered behaviour and which focuses on the job being done, and the consideration behaviour similar te employee centered behaviour and which focuses on employee satisfaction.

(c)    Contingency Approaches

Contingency approaches to leadership suggest that situational factors must be considered. One kind of behaviour may work in one setting but not in another. The goal of contingency approaches is to identify the situational variables that managers need to consider in assessing how different forms of leadership will be received. There are four popular contingency theories of leadership; the LPC model, the path goal model, the participation model and lifecycle theory of leadership