Which leadership model states that an effective leader possesses a set of specific characteristics?

Strong leadership is vitally important to the success of any small business. There are numerous leadership styles that business owners and managers can use, each with a different focus. Two very different styles are the trait approach and the situational approach. Many leaders combine styles, and you may find that a combination of the two approaches fits your style. Or, you may combine either one with a totally different leadership style.

What is Trait Leadership?

The trait theory of leadership focuses on the leader and the traits he exhibits. Certain types of traits make leaders more effective. For example, the late Steve Jobs was known for his charisma. His ability to passionately articulate his visions made people want to follow his lead. Some other examples of traits that make an effective leader include intelligence, self-confidence, integrity and determination. Leadership candidates often take personality assessment tests to pinpoint their traits.

Trait Leadership Advantages

The trait leadership approach embodies the idea that leaders are exceptional individuals who possess a combination of valuable traits. This fits in with society's idea that leaders are set apart from the rest of the group – or leaders are born, not made. The role of personality traits in the leadership process has a large body of research to support it. No other leadership approach can make this claim of credibility.

The trait leadership approach also serves as a benchmark for identifying suitable leaders. This approach makes personality assessments valuable for identifying a potential leader's strengths and weaknesses. It is also suitable for using with individuals and groups.

Trait Leadership Disadvantages

One major problem with the trait approach to leadership is that no definitive list of leadership traits exists. Due to the large body of research, countless traits are present, making it difficult to determine which traits make the most effective leader. Also, the trait approach does not take the situation into consideration. In this form of leadership, the focus is solely on the traits of the leader. When the focus is partly on the situation, defining the specific traits for a successful leader proves easier.

What is Situational Leadership?

Situational leadership, based on a 1977 theory that was developed Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, focuses on more than the leader. Instead, a leader's actions depend on the situation and the followers. Four styles of leadership are used in the situational approach: delegating, supporting, coaching and directing. The leader selects the appropriate style according to the situation and readiness level of the followers for a particular style of leadership. For example, if the subordinates have a low level of knowledge, the directing style of leadership – where the leader tells the followers exactly what to do – is appropriate.

Situational Leadership Advantages

The situational approach to leadership consists of concepts that are easy to understand and apply across a wide variety of work situations. Many Fortune 500 companies have used it as the basis of their leadership program because of its positive and credible reputation.

A manager who uses a situational leadership style adapts to each situation he encounters, which can include acting differently with different employees. For example, say two team members report nearly identical problems with two customers who are upset that their orders are late. The manager listens to the first team member, and recommends that she research why the order is late and call the customer to explain the situation. He knows she has a cheerful, dynamic phone presence and a good rapport with the customer.

The second employee, however, isn't as good on the phone, and has a tendency to come across as defensive and hesitant. The customer is new, so rapport hasn't really been established. In this situation, the manager suggests that the employee find out why the shipment is late, and schedule a short meeting with the customer. Face-to-face interaction will show the customer that the company cares about his business and give the employee the chance to make a good impression, which he wouldn't have accomplished over the phone.

Situational Leadership Disadvantages

Education, age, experience and gender influence each subordinate's preference for certain forms of leadership. Yet, demographic characteristics are not considered in the situational-leadership approach. Limited research exists to support the theories behind the situational leadership approach. No guidelines exist on applying this type of leadership to groups. The guidelines concern only one-to-one interactions.

Why are some leaders successful, while others fail?

The truth is that there is no "magic combination" of characteristics that makes a leader successful, and different characteristics matter in different circumstances. 

This doesn't mean, however, that you can't learn to be an effective leader. You just need to understand the various approaches to leadership, so that you can use the right approach for your own situation.

One way of doing this is to learn about the core leadership theories that provide the backbone of our current understanding of leadership. We explore these in this article and in the video, below.

Click here to view a transcript of this video.

Tip:

Our article on Leadership Styles explores common leadership styles that have emerged from these core theories. These include the "transformational leadership" style, which is often the most effective approach to use in business situations.

The Four Core Theory Groups

Let's look at each of the four core groups of theory, and explore some of the tools and models that apply with each. (Keep in mind that there are many other theories out there.)

1. Trait Theories – What Type of Person Makes a Good Leader?

Trait theories argue that effective leaders share a number of common personality characteristics, or "traits."

Early trait theories said that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you do or don't have. Thankfully, we've moved on from this idea, and we're learning more about what we can do to develop leadership qualities within ourselves and others.

Trait theories help us identify traits and qualities (for example, integrity, empathy, assertiveness, good decision-making skills, and likability) that are helpful when leading others. For more on this idea, see our articles, Authentic Leadership and Ethical Leadership.

However, none of these traits, nor any specific combination of them, will guarantee success as a leader.

Traits are external behaviors that emerge from the things going on within our minds – and it's these internal beliefs and processes that are important for effective leadership.

We explore some of the traits and skills that you need to be a good leader in our articles What a Real Leader Knows, Level 5 Leadership, and What is Leadership?

2. Behavioral Theories – What Does a Good Leader Do?

Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave. For instance, do leaders dictate what needs to be done and expect cooperation? Or do they involve their teams in decision-making to encourage acceptance and support?

In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader's behavior. He argued that there are three types of leaders:

1. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This style of leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there's no need for input, and when team agreement isn't necessary for a successful outcome.
2. Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas.
3. Laissez-faire leaders don't interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. This works well when the team is highly capable, is motivated, and doesn't need close supervision. However, this behavior can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted; and this is where this style of leadership can fail.

Clearly, how leaders behave affects their performance. Researchers have realized, though, that many of these leadership behaviors are appropriate at different times. The best leaders are those who can use many different behavioral styles, and choose the right style for each situation.

Our article "Laissez Faire" versus Micromanagement looks at how you can find the right balance between autocratic and laissez-faire styles of leadership, while our article on the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid helps you decide how to behave as a leader, depending on your concerns for people and for production.

3. Contingency Theories – How Does the Situation Influence Good Leadership?

The realization that there is no one correct type of leader led to theories that the best leadership style depends on the situation. These theories try to predict which style is best in which circumstance.

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For instance, when you need to make quick decisions, which style is best? When you need the full support of your team, is there a more effective way to lead? Should a leader be more people-oriented or task-oriented? These are all questions that contingency leadership theories try to address.

Popular contingency-based models include House's Path-Goal Theory and Fiedler's Contingency Model.

You can also use the Leadership Process Model to understand how your situation affects other factors that are important for effective leadership, and how, in turn, these affect your leadership.

4. Power and Influence Theories – What Is the Source of the Leader's Power?

Power and influence theories of leadership take an entirely different approach – these are based on the different ways that leaders use power and influence to get things done, and they look at the leadership styles that emerge as a result.

Perhaps the best-known of these theories is French and Raven's Five Forms of Power. This model highlights three types of positional power – legitimate, reward, and coercive – and two sources of personal power – expert and referent (your personal appeal and charm). The model suggests that using personal power is the better alternative, and that you should work on building expert power (the power that comes with being a real expert in the job) because this is the most legitimate source of personal power.

Another leadership style that uses power and influence is transactional leadership. This approach assumes that people do things for reward and for no other reason. Therefore, it focuses on designing tasks and reward structures. While this may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships and developing a highly motivating work environment, it often works, and leaders in most organizations use it on a daily basis to get things done.

Similarly, leading by example is another highly effective way of influencing your team.

Effective Leadership Styles

As we mentioned above, transformational leadership is often the best leadership style to use in business.

Transformational leaders show integrity, and they know how to develop a robust and inspiring vision of the future. They motivate people to achieve this vision, they manage its delivery, and they build ever stronger and more successful teams.

However, you'll often need to adapt your style to fit a specific group or situation, and this is why it's useful to gain a thorough understanding of other styles. Our article on Leadership Styles takes a deeper look at the different styles that you can use.

Key Points

Over time, several core theories about leadership have emerged. These theories fall into four main categories:

1. Trait theories.
2. Behavioral theories.
3. Contingency theories.
4. Power and influence theories.

"Transformational leadership," is the most effective style to use in most business situations. However, you can become a more effective leader by learning about these core leadership theories, and understanding the tools and models associated with each one.

What are the 4 leadership models?

What is a trait model of leadership?

Which leadership theory is most effective?

What are the five models of leadership?