Leadership style is the combination of traits, skills, and behaviors leaders use as they interact with people. In order for one to favor a leadership style, one must understand where the leadership styles originated. Throughout the years, the topic of leadership has been debated. However, research indicates that certain characteristics or traits are inherent in leaders According to research, the 1940’s proffered leaders as maintaining certain traits. These traits were based on physical and personality characteristics as well as intelligence and interpersonal skills. Marquis & Huston associated the Great Man Trait Theory with that of the Aristotelian philosophy, which indicated that leaders were born and not made and depending on the need a leader would surface.
Fiedler (1967) explored the idea that there was not just one ultimate style of leadership for a given circumstance, but leaders would be more effective by varying their leadership style depending on the situations that faced them. So It is evident from the theories that every leader exhibits numerous leadership styles and traits at different point in time.
Although research has shown that the presence of specific traits alone do not ensure successful leadership, it has been proven that successful historical leaders share certain key traits. According to Shelley Kirkpatrick and Edwin Locke, “leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they do need to have the "right stuff" and this stuff is not equally present in all people” . Despite the many controversial discussions on whether leaders are born or made, the fact that efficacious leaders possess key traits remains undisputed. Some of the various traits that have an impact on effective leadership are discussed in detail below.
One of the example is of
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