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Running head: LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Leadership and leadership qualities
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LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

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Introduction
A leader is a person who influences a group of people. Leadership, therefore, can be
thought of as the art of influencing people in a particular direction. Leaders motivate, inspire, and
encourage people to achieve something greater than what they think is possible. They create a
vision and rally everyone behind it. Leadership plays a very critical role be it in the world of
business or politics. In an organization, leadership helps to maximize the effort of members of
the organization towards achieving the goals of the organization. To understand and appreciate
the immense role played by leadership, it is imperative to examine some of the qualities that
make up a leader because it is through these qualities that leaders do what they do.
Theories of leadership
Leadership theories are the different schools of thought which attempt to isolate and
explain the best qualities that define leadership. Each leadership theory is developed based on
one or more qualities that are thought to best define who a leader is. While some theories focus
on intrinsic qualities of leadership, others focus on extrinsic qualities. Some of the most common
leadership theories are as follows:

The great man theory
This is the oldest leadership theory. It was put forward in the 19th century. According to
this theory, leaders are born. The theory assumes that the qualities that make a good leader are
intrinsic such that only man can have these qualities. The theory further suggests that leaders
cannot be made; that is, they cannot be trained because one has to be born a leader. It emphasizes
the idea that leaders were born to be leaders. It is their destiny to be leaders since only they have

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the secret ingredient. Although this theory looks controversial, it is applicable in different
respects in understanding great leaders. For example, despite undergoing the same leadership
program, some people emerge as great leaders than others. This is true especially when it comes
to understanding the leadership qualities of some of the world's greatest leaders (Carlyle, 1993).
Some people indeed grow into better leaders than others even though they were trained together
suggests that some secret ingredients of leadership cannot be trained. These secret ingredients
may be thought of as intrinsic qualities that someone is born with.

Trait theory
This theory also emphasizes intrinsic qualities. According to the theory, people are born
with certain traits that make them great leaders. Some of these traits, which will be explained
later in this paper, include creativity, intelligence, and honesty. The trait theory has much wider
applicability than the great man theory because it examines leaders from social, physical, and
mental perspectives.

Behavioral theories
Unlike the great man and trait theories, behavioral theories look at how leaders behave on
a day-to-day basis. According to these theories, there is a certain way that leaders behave which
is different from how people behave in general. The theory disputes the notion that leaders are
born. It insists that given the right conditions, anyone can become a leader. Behavioral theories
emphasize leadership behaviors and not ...