Part 1&2 - Concept of Leadership

Walden University Concept of Leadership Two Part Discussion

Part 1:

Concept of Leadership

Asses your own skills and traits that you believe would make you an effective leader in public administration. To assist you in assessing your leadership skills and traits complete the “Leadership Trait Questionaire” in Chapter 2 of the Northouse text and one of the following the “Skills Inventory” in Chapter 3, or the “Leadership Behavior Questionnaire” in Chapter 4 of the Northouse text. 

Part 1 Must be at least 1 page and Include:

• The skills and traits that you possess that you think would make you an effective leader in a public or nonprofit organization in your community and explain why. 
• Then reflect on the skills and traits you may still need to acquire to be an effective leader in public administration. 
• Explain gaps you might need to fill in order to be an effective leader. 

Part 2:

The Relationship Between Follower Traits and Values and Leader Performance

The impact of leadership on follower outcomes, such as individual satisfaction, group cohesion, and quality of performance, has been heavily researched. But what about the importance of follower traits and values to leader outcomes and performance? Although behaviorist Mary Parker Follest suggested in 1947 that organizational performance depended largely on leaders understanding and accommodating the needs of followers, this is a less-researched area of study in management (Chong & Wolf, 2010); however, it is no less important to the makeup of an effective organization. 

In addition, in 1967, Fred Fiedler proposed a seminal theory of leadership he called the contingency model (Bons & Fiedler, 1976). Fiedler saw leadership behaviors and perceptions of followers as depending on contexts and situations. Subsequent theorists proposed that both leaders and followers were influenced by situational variables, and that these variables, in turn, ultimately affect the performance or the organization. What situational variables pertain to public and nonprofit organizations that would affect this leader-follower relationship and, ultimately, organizational effectiveness?

Leadership is about more than simply possessing particular traits and characteristics. It also is about how a leader’s traits and characteristics mesh with the values of followers and the complexities of the organizational environment. 

For this assignment, review this week’s Learning Resources. Think about how leader characteristics, follower characteristics, and situational factors interact to influence leadership effectiveness. Then, identify challenges leaders might encounter when engaging in the leadership process. 

Part 2 must be 3-4 pages and include: 

• An      explanation of how the interaction between leader characteristics,      follower characteristics, and situational factors influences leadership      effectiveness. 
• A      description of at least two challenges related to the practice of      leadership based on your analysis of this interaction. 
• An      explanation of how leaders might address those challenges.

Be sure to support your assignment with specific references to the resources and other current literature in the Walden Library. Use at least two additional scholarly sources that were published within the past 5 years to support your paper.

Resources Provided:

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications. . 

• Chapter      2, “Trait Approach” (pp. 19–41)
• Review      Chapter 3, “Skills Approach” (pp. 43–70)
• Chapter      4, “Behavioral Approach” (pp. 73-92)
• Chapter      5, “Situational Approach (pp. 95-116)

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014d). Foundations of leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

• Bennis,  W. (2010). Art of followership. Leadership Excellence, 27(1), 3–4.
      Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
   
• Bons, P. M., & Fiedler, F. E. (1976). Changes in  organizational leadership  and the behavior of relationship- and  task-motivated leaders. Administrative  Science Quarterly, 21(3),  453–473.
      Retrieved  from the Walden Library databases.
• Chantel, C. U.  (2007). What followers want from leaders: Capitalizing on diversity. Nonprofit World, 25(5),  15–16.
      Retrieved from the Walden  Library databases.
   
• Chong, E.,  & Wolf, H. (2010). Factors influencing followers’ perception of organisational  leaders. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(5),  402–419.
      Retrieved from the Walden  Library databases.