Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Leadership Research: Behavioral Theory by Stephanie Brown

After years of research, analysts found that leadership qualities all can fall under each of the characteristics in the Big Five Model, however new traits are emerging such as emotional intelligence. The behavioral theories of leadership began at Ohio State University in the late 1940s. Researchers wanted to find and identify behaviors that leaders exhibit in their daily lives. These behaviors were broken down into two categories, initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure is to the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his/her role and those of employees to attain goals. The main focus of this dimension is to get each groups task done. In the context of the behavioral theory, consideration is the level a leader has mutual relationships with their employees such as trust and respect for their ideas and feelings. A person who ranks high in consideration would be a person who helps employees with personal problems, is friendly, approachable, trustful, believes in equality for all employees. Sixty-six percent of employees are motivated by appreciation; therefore, this is a key trait for leaders to have (Robbins and Judge 161-162).


No comments:

Post a Comment