{"id":39769,"date":"2024-12-04T17:21:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T01:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39769"},"modified":"2024-12-05T13:05:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T21:05:46","slug":"are-some-just-born-with-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/are-some-just-born-with-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Some Just Born With IT?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Jojo Stott [1]<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Greatness is something to which everyone aspires, especially when it comes to leadership. William Shakespeare wrote, \u201cSome are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.\u201d This quote raises an essential question in the discussion about great leaders: Are they born with certain traits, or is great leadership something you can develop over time? Is it nature, nurture, or maybe a bit of both?<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Northouse is a key voice in this conversation, and in his book,<\/span> Leadership: Theory and Practice<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Ninth Edition<\/span><\/i> [2],<\/span> he points out that effective leadership isn\u2019t just about the traits and behaviors of the leader. It also involves the interactions between leaders and followers in different situations. By presenting various leadership approaches and theories\u2014like trait, skills, behavioral, situational, servant, adaptive, and transformational\u2014Northouse offers a thorough examination that shows how these approaches can be assessed and applied in real-life situations. This article will briefly examine two leadership theories that Northouse discusses: Trait and Transformational. We will explore how these theories compare and interact with contemporary ideas concerning leadership.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leadership Defined<\/b><\/p>\n

First, we need to understand how Northouse defines leadership for his exploration.\u00a0 He acknowledges the challenge and various attempts to define leadership throughout history, highlighting <\/span>its complex nature. <\/span>However, he still offers his own definition in the context of four distilled key components:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the multitude of ways in which leadership has been conceptualized, the following components can be identified as central to the phenomenon: (a) Leadership is a process, (b) leadership involves influence, (c) leadership occurs in groups, and (d) leadership involves common goals. Based on these components, the following definition of leadership is used in this text:\u00a0 <\/span>Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. [3]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clearly, leadership is a tricky concept with lots of layers. Some see it as a trait or natural ability, while others consider it a skill, a way of acting, or even a relationship. For many, it\u2019s also about the process of leading. In reality, leadership is probably a mix of all these ideas, with each one showing a different side of what it means to lead.[4]<\/span> For Northouse, it is essential to understand leadership as both a process and a relationship in pursuit of success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trait vs. Transformational<\/b><\/p>\n

Next, we will consider two of the several theories and approaches used by Northouse explorers: the trait approach and transformational theory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Trait theory emphasizes inherent qualities such as charisma, confidence, and intelligence that characterize effective leaders. He explains:<\/p>\n

Trait definition of leadership: Leadership is defined by the traits such as height, intelligence, extraversion, fluency, and other traits that a leader with followers possesses. Process definition of leadership: Leadership is defined as the interaction between leader and followers.[5]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Considering transformational leadership, Northouse provides a detailed discussion rather than a strict definition. He explains that leaders influence their followers and organizations through four key components: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.[6]<\/span><\/p>\n

To better understand the relationship between these two theories, I recruited the help of ChatGPT, which produced this comparison chart[7]:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Trait Leadership<\/b><\/td>\nTransformational Leadership<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Leadership as innate<\/b>: Focuses on who the leader <\/span>is<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0Leadership as developed<\/b>: Focuses on what the leader <\/span>does<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Static: Traits are relatively fixed.<\/span><\/td>\nDynamic: Leadership evolves through interactions and behaviors.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Universal traits apply across all situations.<\/span><\/td>\nSituational: Leadership effectiveness depends on context and relationships.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Does not emphasize followers.<\/span><\/td>\nEmphasizes the leader-follower relationship and mutual transformation.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Predictive: Traits are seen as predictors of success.<\/span><\/td>\nDevelopmental: Leadership is a process of inspiring growth and change.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This comparison highlights some key assumptions made within these two theories of leadership. Trait theory contends that leaders are born rather than made and identifies specific characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders. In contrast, transformational theory suggests that leadership abilities can be developed over time. Trait theory views leadership as a “fixed” attribute, while transformational theory perceives it as something that can grow and evolve. Northouse acknowledges that the trait approach has provided valuable benchmarks for identifying the qualities we should seek to cultivate to become effective leaders.[8]<\/span> While trait theory offers insight into foundational qualities that may predispose someone to be a good leader, Northouse presents the Transformational theory in a way that rejects the idea that leaders are solely born.\u00a0 By contending these traits are not static, his position aligns well with Carol Dweck\u2019s growth mindset[9]<\/span>, making the case that leadership is a skill that can be improved over time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Confluence of Theories<\/b><\/h3>\n

Transformational leadership focuses on behaviors that align with some modern leadership theories, such as those proposed by Eve Poole.\u00a0 Poole argues that leadership is a skill that can be cultivated, challenging the fixed perspective of trait theory.[10]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trait Theory offers valuable insights but is limited in explaining how leaders adapt and grow.\u00a0 Transformational Theory,\u00a0<\/span>Dweck\u2019s growth mindset, and Poole\u2019s\u00a0Leadersmithing<\/em> emphasize<\/span> leadership as a skill that develops through effort and experience.\u00a0 Together, these concepts reinforce the idea that leadership is not a privilege of the few but an attainable craft for the many, provided one is willing to put in the effort to grow and learn.\u00a0 Leadership is less about being\u00a0 “born with it” and more about being willing to “forge it.\u201d\u00a0 Which begs the question:\u00a0 What skills, traits, or experiences do you need to lead more effectively?<\/span><\/p>\n

If I had more space, I would explore how Northouse presents additional leadership theories, such as the Skill, Behavior, and Situational approaches, and how they mingle with the ideas already mentioned in this article.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

__________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

[1] Stott, Jojo, “Glynn Barrett,” Photo. https:\/\/www.jojostott.com\/glyn-barrett.<\/p>\n

[2] Peter Northouse, <\/span>Leadership: Theory and Practice Ninth Edition<\/span><\/i>, Kindle Edition, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2022).<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid.,<\/span><\/i> 57.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Ibid., 82.<\/p>\n

[5] Ibid., 88.<\/p>\n

[6] Ibid., 352-352.<\/p>\n

[7] ChatGPT, response to \u201cCan you help me understand how Peter Northouse compares and contrasts Trait Leadership Theory and Transformational Leadership Theory?\u201d OpenAI, November 30, 2024. <\/span>https:\/\/chatgpt.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] \u00a0Peter Northouse, <\/span>Leadership: Theory and Practice,<\/span><\/i> 115.<\/span><\/p>\n

[9] Carol Dweck, Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential, (London: Robinson, 2017).<\/span><\/p>\n

[10] Eve Poole, <\/span>Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/span><\/i> (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Greatness is something to which everyone aspires, especially when it comes to leadership. William Shakespeare wrote, \u201cSome are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.\u201d This quote raises an essential question in the discussion about great leaders: Are they born with certain traits, or is great leadership something you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3388],"class_list":["post-39769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03-northouse","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39769"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39817,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39769\/revisions\/39817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}