De?ne leadership and differentiate between the different perspectives; trait, situational, and functional

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Leadership is the ability to exert in?uence on a group by providing a sense of direction or vision. Each perspective
of leadership is different. The trait perspective suggests that people are "born leaders" with certain personality
characteristics or qualities that make them best suited to lead. The situational perspective approaches leadership
from the situation created by the group determining that the most appropriate style of leadership comes out of that
information. Looking at the reason for the creation of the group and how the members interact with one another
will help determine which style of leadership (autocratic, democratic, or laissez-faire) is most bene?cial for the
group. The functional perspective focuses on the kinds of leadership behaviors (task-related or process-related)
that arise as the group is making progress. One single leader is not promoted in this perspective but, rather, the
idea that an individual may perform function in one way or another to keep the group focused on the
problem/question/task or maintaining a positive climate within the group.