Page 12 - Management 19 (2024), številka 1

Jakob Wieland et al. | An Exploration of Traditional Approaches to Leadership

leadership, being the first and, consequently, the ences, motivates, and inspires the followers to
longest in use for understanding leadership (Cre- achieve a common goal effectively and efficiently.
vani et al. 2010). Following Burns (1978), leadership can also be
Trait approaches help us comprehend how understood as an engagement action between
personality affects leadership, while behaviour- people and across all spheres and levels of socie-
al approaches shed light on actions that drive ty. As such, leadership and leaders cannot be sep-
leadership success. Contingency theories em- arated from followers and the context in which
phasize the importance of adapting leadership leadership is situated.
styles to various situations, enabling leaders to Following Lussier and Achua, leadership is
make informed decisions that suit the needs of defined as ‘the influencing process of leaders and
their teams and organizations. While collabora- followers to achieve organizational objectives
tive work and digitalization are reshaping the through change’ (Lussier and Achua 2010, 6).
landscape of leadership studies and practice, Leadership encompasses the relationships be-
these three approaches serve as the foundation tween leaders and followers, as well as individuals
for understanding newer approaches to leader- and groups. It also involves influencing others,
ship and developing competent and adaptable achieving organizational objectives such as goals
leaders in today’s diverse and dynamic work en- and visions, and facilitating change. These objec-
vironments. tives are known as the five key elements of leader-
The aim of this article is to deepen our under- ship: influence, organizational objectives, people,
standing of traditional leadership approaches by change, and leaders-followers (Lussier and Achua
developing an interview questionnaire. A second- 2010, chap. 1).
ary aim is to pilot the questionnaire through an
interview and observe how well it captures in- Trait Approach
formation about leaders’ ways of thinking about The trait approach encompasses the traits, skills,
leadership. In doing so, we provide an interview and values of individual leaders (Yukl 2010, chap.
protocol for bachelor’s and master’s students 6). Since the early 1990s, significant progress has
interested in researching leadership from the been made in the development of personality
standpoint of trait, behaviour, and contingency theory and traits. One notable development is
theories. the refinement of the ‘big five’ personality mod-
The first part of the article is a review and ana- el, which distinguishes between the following di-
lytical framework where we describe how leader- mensions: surgency, agreeableness, adjustment,
ship has been defined and outline the traditional conscientiousness, and openness. Each personal-
approaches for studying leadership based on two ity dimension encompasses various traits, man-
main leadership textbooks (Lussier and Achua ifested with varying degrees of intensity among
2016; Yukl 2010). The second part of the article individuals. The model correlates with leader-
is an application where we devise a qualitative ship, as certain traits are often particularly pro-
questionnaire based on the theory presented nounced in leaders. For instance, research shows
and then apply it in practice through a pilot in- that dominance or the desire to assert oneself
terview. Finally, in the conclusion, we provide a increases the likelihood of someone becoming a
reflection on the exercise. These steps allow us to leader (Lips and Keener 2007).
understand the applicability of leadership theory It is essential to note that not all leaders
approaches, and deepen comprehension of those possess the same traits. Nevertheless, there are
approaches to leadership studies. specific traits that could indicate effective leader-
ship. According to research, these traits include
Theoretical Framework: Leadership dominance, high energy, internal locus of con-
Approaches trol, integrity, flexibility, self-confidence, stabili-
In leadership research, there are various ap- ty, intelligence, and sensitivity to others (Lussier
proaches and definitions. Leadership can be and Achua 2010, chap. 2). McClelland developed
understood as ‘the ability of an individual to in- the achievement motivation theory (1987, chap.
fluence, motivate, and enable others to contrib- 7), which identifies three primary needs. The the-
ute toward the effectiveness and success of the ory aims to explain or predict the behaviours of
organization’ (House et al. 1999, 184). It involves leaders based on their needs for achievement,
an individual, referred to as the leader, and oth- power, and affiliation (Lussier and Achua 2010,
ers, known as followers. The leader guides, influ- chap. 1). In addition, the following skills are

12 management 19 (2024) številka 1