Leadership Theory And The Path Goal Theory Essay

From the vantage point of the present, it is easy to look back at the tenure of any great leader and draw conclusions about just what it was that made him/her great. We can examine the circumstances under which their leadership flourished; piece together what we know of their character and personality traits; delve into the factors that may have driven them; and dissect their leadership style all in an effort to pinpoint the source of their success. The ‘Great Man’ theory, popular in the 19th century and now thoroughly debunked, held that leaders are born, not made; suggesting that men like George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Winston Churchill were born with the innate capacity to change the world (Landis,

Leadership can be defined as the process of identifying a goal, motivating others, and make them to achieve the mutually goals (Giltinane, 2013). According to Humphreys (2002), successful leaders do this by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. A good leadership is not only good at management, but also use different leadership styles in different situations. A successful corporation must has a good leader who have the flexible ability which can provide a suitable leadership to make the company successful. Furthermore, there have no perfect leadership styles in the world. Different leader have different leadership styles which also have the different strengths and weaknesses (Ali & Waqar, 2013). Leaders need to consider

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

Different types of leadership often need to be applied in a distinct manner, depending on the context and who is involved. Osborn, Hunt, & Jauch (2002) indicated leadership theory and research needs to expand to the complex levels of leadership. The authors

As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest, competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful leaders.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications.

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

I found it scary to think and yet very true when Gandolfi and Stone (2016) discussed in a rather recent article that leadership is so crucial that not only can organization or communities suffer from poor leadership but also even our society as a whole can experience a huge negative impact. The importance of leadership in an organizational setting is to motivate individuals to complete a common goal. There are several leadership styles and it is a good idea that we view various models in order for leaders to get a better understanding how to involve those working alongside other colleagues thus allowing everyone to move forward together and accomplish set goals for an institution (Volckmann, 2012). A few examples include, Behavioral Approach, Path-Goal, and, Situational and thinking

Path-goal theory deals with the leader's style to motivate followers, to accomplish set goals (Northouse, 2010). The path-goal theory is simply the implication that a leader works with an individual to establish a goal. The leader does this by individual motivation to achieve the proposed goal, while working through obstacles that may hinder achieving that goal (Whitener, 2007). The basic assumption of path-goal theory is that the following motivates subordinates: the capability to perform the work, their efforts will result in a certain outcome, and the payoff will be worthwhile (Whitener, 2007). The path-goal theory is a pragmatic approach that the leader uses to motivate the followers to achieve the set goals.

Leadership is considered by psychologists and organizational researchers as one of the most multifaceted and complex phenomena (Field & Seters, 1990). As a result of its complexity, leadership is one of the most misconceived phenomenon in the whole world. This prompted the researchers to come up with various foundational theories which helped to shed more light about leadership (Burns, 1978). Thus, it is impossible to analyze and evaluate leadership theories without going back to their origins (Field&Seters, 1990)

Leadership skill and ability is measured the same way it is developed: through the use of practical application and reflective observation. A strong leader can’t be made in a vacuum or by studying leadership theories. He or she must be tested, tried, and revealed through the heat and pressure of real-life experiences, both accidental and intentional. The following review presents a discussion of three articles related to leadership development. This discussion will identify the themes shared by the three articles followed by a presentation of the author’s recommendations for application of the concepts presented in the articles.

According to Yuki, G. (2010) there are five different leadership approaches that are being researched. These five approaches are:

Leadership has been studied from a wide range of perspectives and thus it means different things to different people. Some people view leadership as the focus of group processes, some others view it from a personality or skills perspective, to some others leadership is an act or behavior, some school of thought describe leadership in terms of power relationship while some view leadership as a transformational process (Northouse, 2012). Looking at the various definitions of leadership, there are various terms that are important; including the fact that leadership is a process that involves influence and the attainment of a common goal, and usually occurs in the context of a group (Northouse, 2012). The path-goal theory is one of the

The term path-goal is derived from the belief that effective leaders clarify the path to help their followers get from where they are to the achievement of their work goals and make the journey along the path easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfalls (Robbins 2001, p. 229).

In the time since Fiedler’s research the subject of leadership has received significant and ongoing attention. Among numerous authors on