Leadership is often hard to define but you recognize it when you see it, and you know when there is lack of it. At the end of the day leadership is a process that is concerned with encouraging change. A leader must be able to influence others, and there can be no leader without any followers. Leaders have a clear understanding of their goal and purposes are. They are able to act in a non-routine situation and influence the actions of others.
There are three important parts of the definition of leadership.
• Interpersonal (which means between multiple people). Meaning a leader has more than one person to lead.
• Influence (the power to affect others).
• Goal (is the end one strives to attain).
There are various leadership theories with various styles of leadership which include different types of traits and characteristics that leaders should have.
THE GREAT MAN THEORY
The Great Man theories assume that the ability for leadership is inherent and that great leaders were born not made. These theories often describe great leaders as heroic men who are destined to rise to leadership in a time of need. The term “Great Man” was used at the time because leadership was thought of as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.
TRAITS THEORY
“Beginning in the 1920s, researchers looked to see if leaders had particular traits or characteristics, such as intelligence or energy that distinguished them from non-leaders and contributed to success.” (p.19) Trait theories are similar to the Great Man theory because they both assume that leaders have the certain innate or inherent personality that separates them from non-leaders. Characteristics of the trait theories included physical, personality and intellectual influences including height, intelligence and communication skills. These traits are thought to be stable and enduring which would be a required