ipl-logo

Great Man Theory Analysis

1887 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Transformational leadership esssay

Introduction Leaders have been experiencing an increasing evolution in their characteristics and behaviour. They have the desire to improve their skills, yet the circumstances has forced them to develop in a way where skills have become something learnable in stead of being born with it. During the centuries, different types of leaderships, such as Charismatic, Transactional, Transformational, Authentic and Distributive have been developed and all of them have one thing in common: having a vision and a mission. Most people are shattered by their failure but leaders normally are happy by failing as it makes them stronger. Leadership is hard to define since there are many aspects, designs and is seen both as science and art. Leadership affects …show more content…

However, it is not every person that can become this type of leader. According to Thomas Carlyle, this type of leader is born with unique characters, such as the way they act and their look. Furthermore, the theory assumes that the traits of leadership are intrinsic, as they are born as leaders. This emphasises that leaders are born with or without the necessary traits of leadership. These leaders are seen as heroes and Godlike due to the memory, courage and vision they carry to the society. Nonetheless, there is a double-edged sword that implies giving credit for positive outcomes, although, someone is also going to be blamed for downturns, since it is a ritualistic scapegoating. Moreover, they are seen as charismatic due to their personal charisma that illustrate that they have the passion to emerge great against all chances allowing them to use the power needed to fulfil their goals. However, this type of leader only appeared, when there was a strong need of such a leader (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991: pp. …show more content…

This theory is applied in current days to make new role models that both have positive and negative traits, meaning that the concept of being Godlike has disappeared. As Slater and Bennis state, "given the coup de grace to another force that has retarded democratization - the 'great man' who with brilliance and farsightedness could preside with dictatorial powers as the head of a growing organisation." (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991: pp. 48). However, the Great Man theory has developed into trait theory in the early 20th century, implying that leaders have different traits than non-leaders (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991: pp. 48). Subsequently, this theory became sceptical as Ralph Stogdill argued, "A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits.” (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991: pp. 48). This has led to the present, where it has gone from born as a leader to can become a leader, since most of the traits that a leader possesses can be learned. Additionally, this means that a leader cannot be perfect as it was stated in the Great Man theory. It is rather seen, as leaders are not perfect for the reason that they make decisions and actions that are not ideal. Leadership has moved to the authentic, where followers look at the intentions of a leader, what the leader’s values are and what they stand for (Compendium, 2014:

Show More
Related
1138 Words | 5 Pages

A good leader should ensure he is trustworthy, direct, and rational, while a bad leader is egotistical, dishonest, and secretive. “The problem with leadership is inevitably: who are we following? You need to be very careful who you select as your hero. " Jordan Peterson.

Read More
460 Words | 2 Pages

There are several qualities that make a good leader, william golding wrote lord of the flies which describes a leader named ralph who lead a group of boy who were stranded on an island by a fallen. The boy selected ralph over a raise of hands, over his opponent jack. Ralph was a better leader choice over jack because, of his better thinking, ability to prioritize, and selfless personality. Thinking is a fundamental trait, thinking can make or break a leader.

Read More
815 Words | 4 Pages

Wherever human beings are accumulated together in large numbers, they need leadership. Even a school needs a principle to mentor and escalate the school’s rank. Armies need generals to lead them to a courageous victory. Civilians need governments, captains of industry and intellectual leaders of thought as well. However, There are characteristics common to most great leaders that can be picked out.

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

First and foremost, leaders come in all shapes and forms, there is not one set physical mold for them, but what they all do share are certain characteristics and desires. Leadership in and of itself, is the ability to guide others, take responsibility, and share a vision that inspires and leaves others with a sense of empowerment. Evidently, it takes an exceptional leader to exhibit exceptional leadership skills. Additionally, the most prominent act that all adequate leaders demonstrate is that they are steadily engaged in enhancing their leadership skills. There have been various magnificent leaders throughout history, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Sojourner Truth, Nelson Mandela, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Read More
2902 Words | 12 Pages

It is important to understand that the Traits and Skill approach makes it clear that a leader does not have to be born and there is no specific trait that makes

Read More
1357 Words | 6 Pages

All these characteristics of a great leader are found in

Read More
760 Words | 4 Pages

Those individuals who were believed to have these inherent skills were people of very influential status, wartime heroes and those of great wealth. The people who emerge or are most picked to lead have distinctive drives and character profiles (Nicholson, 2013, p.16). Leadership Thought Development from 1900 – 1970 The thought of leadership evolved from the Great Man Theory to Trait Theory and Behavior Theory. The trait theory focuses on identifying distinctive personality traits and characteristics that are associated to successful leadership.

Read More
1904 Words | 8 Pages

Introduction In every walk of life as well as in every situation in life people look up to others for leadership or for inspiration or for role models. This is more true these days for instance, in a family context children look up to their parents as models or in work place colleagues seek leadership among peers, or in common places the general public go after celebrities and fashion models for leadership or role models. In other context people who exhibit qualities like confidence, risk taking, courage, goal setting, decision making etc. are considered role models and people take them as leaders. Regardless of the context, in every place and time leaders are sought after and we have to be either a leader or a follower of a leader for

Read More
860 Words | 4 Pages

Trait theory states that leaders are born, and they are not made. Everyone has the personality that can give them leadership positions. With the right condition, anyone can be a good leader (Colbert, et al.

Read More
1092 Words | 5 Pages

Understanding Personality and Leadership Leader Appeal, Leader Performance, and the Motive Profiles of Leaders and Followers: A Study of American Presidents and Elections by David Winter examines the types of traits which are common in leaders and their followers with a look at three specific motives. With an examination of achievement motives, affiliation-intimacy motive, and the power motive one is able to analyze the terms of some of the greatest and not so great American Presidents. The article starts with an introduction into what is considered the Weber-Freud model of leader characteristics and appeal.

Read More
1521 Words | 7 Pages

In such situations, a leader with outstanding personal characteristics offers a radical and effective resolution of the crisis. A leader attracts followers and supporters who believe in beliefs proposed by the leader and regard him/her as a stable figure – a father, a hero, a prophet or a savior. In his works, he argued that charisma is a complex of the person’s qualities recognized as extraordinary, thanks to which the person is assessed as gifted with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specific special powers and qualities which are not available to

Read More
1924 Words | 8 Pages

Leadership Analysis Introduction One of the popular definitions of a leader is, "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers." ( ) A more comprehensive definition that highlights striking features of a leader is, "A simple definition of leadership is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.” ( ) A closer scrutiny of the characteristics of an influential leader would many ways assist one, in recognizing those attributes in an attempt to assimilate the best in others.

Read More
1369 Words | 6 Pages

From the mainstream perspective, he has shown different types of leadership. It also includes several theories like trait, skill, behavior, contingency and transformational. Trait theory states that the personality of a person would determine if he or she will be able to lead. In case of Steve Jobs, his personality was radiant and flamboyant. He was confident, committed and charismatic to take any leap or risk with the support of his team and customers to pursue his aspiration (Katzenbach, 2012).

Read More
1818 Words | 8 Pages

This paper will examine the three leadership theories, identify how they apply to my practice, and explore how these theories interact with each other. The Trait Leadership Theory is based on the belief that a person is born with special traits contributing to natural leadership abilities. Studies of famous historical leaders have been used to identify various traits for this theory. Although the list of traits differs from study to study, there are five major traits that are consistent throughout most studies.

Read More
1465 Words | 6 Pages

Individual Reflective Paper Introduction Leadership, a controversial concept, has been studied for centuries. Scholars who study leadership have argued with the insight of leadership for many decades and finally promote a wide range of understandings of it. This course “values and leadership” introduces the basic principles and concepts about leadership, and provides us with some conceptual knowledge and practical approaches to be an outstanding leaders. I chose to take this course because I am interested in the topic about leadership.

Read More

More about Great Man Theory Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document