Traits:

Distinguishing personal characteristics Personality: A combination of traits that classifies an individual’s behavior What value do they have in the study of leadership?

Great Man Theory

Great Man Theories Leaders are exceptional people, born with innate qualities, destined to lead Term ‘man’ was intentional – concept was primarily male, military and Western.

Early Theories

Trait Theories Research on traits or qualities associated with leadership are numerous Traits are hard to measure. For example, how do we measure honesty or integrity?

Big Five Model of Personality

• Surgency
• Agreeableness
• Adjustment
• Conscientiousness
• Openness to experience

6 Major Reasons for Executive Derailment

• Bullying Style
• Cold, Aloof, Arrogant
• Betrayed Personal Trust
• Self-Centered
• Specific Performance Problems
• Over managed

9 Traits of Effective Leaders

• Dominance
• High Energy
• Self-confidence
• Locus of Control
• Stability
• Integrity
• Intelligence
• Flexibility
• Sensitivity

The Achievement Motivation Theory

What does Achievement Motivation Theory (McClelland, 1961) explain and predict?

Achievement Motivation Theory (McClelland, 1961) attempts to explain and predict behavior and performance based on a person’s need for achievement, power, and affiliation.

The Leader Motive Profile (LMP)

Leader Motive Profile (LMP) (McClelland, 1961) is a set of traits that match up to the “typical” effective leader. 

LMP is the predictor to determine the effectiveness of a leader by applying the Achievement Motivation Theories, for example: a person’s need for achievement, power and affiliation.

Using LMP, Mc Clelland (1961) found that effective leaders consistently have the same motive profile which is high need for power, greater than the need for affiliation and with a moderate need for achievement (normally achievement score is between the power and affiliation score). McClelland (1961) further identified power as neither good nor bad where it can be used for personal gain at the expense of others (personalized power), or it can be used to help oneself and others (socialized power).

Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas Mc Gregor (1960) developed a leadership theory (McGregor Theory X and Theory Y) about organization and management in which he represented two opposing perceptions about people.

He referred to these two perceptions about people as Theory X and Theory Y and concluded that the style of leadership depends on the manager’s perception of people.

In Theory X, McGregor (1960) summarizes the traditional view of management in a number of characteristic assumptions in which autocratic leadership style, close supervision and the hierarchical principle are the key elements.

Theory X starts from the assumption that people are lazy, want to avoid work as much as possible, do not wish to take responsibility, have no ambition and prefer to be supervised. The most appropriate leadership style in Theory X is autocratic leadership style.

People want to avoid work and they must be continually coerced and controlled. Therefore, the system of rewards and punishments works best for them. Their tasks and how these should executed must be laid down in detail.

In Theory Y, McGregor (1960) stated that people have different needs. Theory Y assumes that people are happy to work and they are motivated to pursue objectives. There is no need for the system that involves rewards and punishments. People are responsible for everything they do. They use their creativity and they like to take a creative problem solving approach.

Pygmalion Effect

The Pygmalion Effect is a tendency named after Pygmalion, the protagonist of a Greek myth. Pygmalion was a gifted sculptor who created a statue of a woman so perfect that he fell in love with his creation. After Pygmalion desperately prayed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, she took pity on him by bringing the statue to life. It explains why all of our relationships are, in a very real sense, self- fulfilling prophecies. 

The Pygmalion Effect explains that people tend to perform up to the level that others expect of them. Pygmalion Effect in an organization refers to managers’ attitudes, expectations, and treatments of employees explain and predict behavior and performance. Managers’ attitudes, expectations, and treatment of employees explain and predict behavior and performance.

Three Levels Of Moral Development

 Based on Jean Piaget’s theory of moral judgment for children (1932), Lawrence  Kohlberg (1958) developed  three levels of moral development . Kohlberg’s theory (1958) focuses on the thinking process that occurs when one decides whether a behaviour is right or wrong. Thus, the theoretical emphasis is on how one decides to respond to a moral dilemma, not what one decides or what one actually does.

The framework of Kohlberg’s theory consists of six stages arranged sequentially in successive tiers of complexity. He organized his six stages into three general levels of moral development.

There are 3 levels of moral development (Kohlberg, 1958):

1. Pre-conventional: Leader develop moral based on self-interests.
2. Conventional: Leader develop moral based on expectations of others.
3. Post-conventional: Leader develop moral based on moral principles regardless of leader or group ethics.