Leadership

Leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals (Judge and Robbins, 2007, p.402). Furthermore, leadership is a complex course of action by which a person influences others to accomplish a task or objective while directing an organization, his or her subordinates, group, or team in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent by applying his or her leadership traits such as ethics, values, skills, and belief.   Anybody can assume a leadership role by being selected, appointed, or elected. This occurrence necessarily does not mean that an individual is ready or properly equipped to be successful in the position. This paper will identify strengths and weaknesses of my leadership style, compare and contrast leadership theories learned in the course material, and describe my leadership style and identify jobs within an organization that best fit my leadership style.
Leadership Theories
Over the course of time, various studies and theories have been conducted and posed in reference to leadership. There are three different groups of theories that focus on leadership. The groups are traits, behavior, and contingency.
Trait Theories
According to Judge and Robbins, trait theories of leadership differentiate leaders from non-leaders by focusing on personal qualities and characteristics. The results early on intended to confirm that this theory was questionable. Numerous research studies were conducted and identified key traits of a leader that were suppose to distinguish leaders from individuals who are not leaders. The dilemma was that the researchers did not get the same results, thus failing to determine common traits, which should have been illustrated in every research study. However, when the researchers began applying the Big Five Personality framework, such as conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness and emotional stability, to the research and study of leadership traits, the results were more...