LEADERSHIP THEORIES: THE THEORIES OF POWER

This essay will approach types of power such as; to utilize and
influence others, to either reward or punish, to confirm by role of an
organization, and to identify with a leader such as rock or film
personality. This essay will cover six categories of power and these
interlink with each other and brings a better focus on theories of
power. The functions of leadership are many and varied, depending
upon the basic problem with a group must deal with, and the type of
leadership style in action, which is dependent on the leaders basis of
power. Power, in the case of leadership, is divided into six categories,
however, each can be linked with another, as they are inter-related.
Expert and Informational power are concerned with skills, knowledge
and information, of which the holders of such abilities, are able to
utilize, to influence others ie technicians and computer personnel.
Reward and Coercive power, differ from the previously mentioned,
as they involve the ability to either reward or punish persons being
influenced, in order to gain compliance. Legitimate power, is power
which has been confirmed by the very role structure of the group or
organization itself, and is accepted by all as correct and without
dispute, such as in the case of the armed forces or the police force.
Referent power, on the other hand, involves those being influenced,
identifying with the leader, ie. rock or film personalities using their
image to enter the political arena. Most leaders make use of a
combination of these six types of power, depending on the leadership
style used. Authoritarian leaders, for example, use a mixture of
legitimate, coercive and reward powers, to dictate the policies, plans
and activities of a group. In comparison, a democratic or participative
leader would use mainly referent power, involving all members of the
group in the decision-making process. LEADERSHIP THEORIES
Leadership itself, has been accompanied throughout time, by
numerous theories, all claiming to answer the question, Are leaders
born or made? Those who accept the verdict, that leaders are born
and not made, maintain, ... that there are certain inborn qualities such
as initiative, courage, intelligence and humour, which altogether predestine a man to be a leader ... the essential pattern is given at birth
(Adler, 1991, p. 4) Two leadership theories which concentrate on this
point, are the Great man/great woman and theTrait theories. The great
man/great woman theory, accordingly to Wrightsman, involves its
followers believing that major events, both nationally and
internationally, are influenced by those persons in power. A sudden
act by a great man could, according to this theory, change the fate of
the nation (Wrightsman, 1977, p. 638) The trait theory expands
further on this conjecture, by concentrating on the personal
characteristics of the leader. The theory, which until the mid-1940s
formed the basis of most leadership research, cited traits believed to
be characteristic of leaders, the list of which grew in length over the
years, to include all manner of physical, personality and cognitive
factors, including height, intelligence and communication skills.
However, few traits emerged to conclusively differentiate leaders
from non-leaders. The traits an individual has may, increase the
probability that a person will become a leader, though whether such
leadership is guaranteed, is uncertain. Nevertheless, it can be seen to
be true that some people are more likely than others to assume
leadership positions. The research on trait theories of leadership has
shown that many other factors are important in determining leader
success, and that not everyone who possesses these traits will be a