Welcome to Week 2.
The skills approach takes a leader-centered perspective on leadership. In the skills approach we shift our thinking from a focus on personality characteristics, which usually are viewed as innate and largely fixed, to an emphasis on skills and abilities that can be learned and developed. Although personality certainly plays an integral role in leadership, the skills approach suggests that knowledge and abilities are needed for effective leadership.
The style approach emphasizes the behavior of the leader. This distinguishes it from the trait approach (Chapter 2), which emphasizes the personality characteristics of the leader, and the skills approach (Chapter 3), which emphasizes the leader’s capabilities. The behavioral approach focuses exclusively on what leaders do and how they act. In shifting the study of leadership to leader behaviors, the behavioral approach expanded the research of leadership to include the actions of leaders toward followers in various contexts.
In your initial posting there should be an analysis of the similarities and differences between the trait and behavior approaches to leadership.
Your initial posting should be posted no later than Wednesday; make 2 more quality postings Thursday through Sunday. Each posting is weighted equally, should demonstrate research in academic journals found in the KU online library, and add to the week’s learning.
Week 2 Research Essay
Write a 2-3 page APA essay evaluating the leadership and situation factors included in Fiedler’s Contingency Model. What are the primary predictions of the model?
References should include a minimum of 3 academic peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles from the KU online library’s Ebsco Host or Proquest databases. You are strongly encouraged to submit your paper to the Writing Studio prior to submitting to the classroom for grading.
