Leadership Study Essay -- Leadership

The ability to be a leader has been studied extensively. Throughout this extensive study, some have pointed to leadership being a born trait (Northouse, 2012) while others point to the ability to learn the skills associated with becoming a great leader (Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy, 2012). While each side has its own valid points, one way to argue either way to see these skills in action. Whether these skills are seen in a high school student government association or the office of a large nationwide non-profit, they are present. The study of leadership has led to the description of several different styles of leadership. These styles include legitimate, expert, information, connections, referent, coercion and reward power. No matter the type of experiences a person has, they will most likely see these types of power. Legitimate power may be one of the easiest forms of power to identify. Hughes and colleagues (2012) refer to legitimate power as one’s formal or official authority. This power is mostly appointed, but can be given through democratic processes (Sager, 2008). A leader who asks someone to complete a task or assigns a specific role to someone can be seen as legitimate. Local culture, as defined by the bureaucratic and chain of command within an organization, is a great way to identify who has legitimate power. A call center environment is a great example of this legitimate power hierarchy. Within one such environment the company was divided amongst several different leaders. The top of the hierarchy was the channel manager, who is held accountable to the client. Below this level are two managers who assign the task of contacting customers to those employees who make direct contact with clients. These two managers mon... ...l and the organization. Works Cited Culley, M.R. and Hughes, J. (2008). Power and public participation in a hazardous waste dispuit: A community case study, American journal of community psychology, 41, 98-114. DOI: 10.1007/s10464-007-9157-5. Hughes, R., Ginnett, R., & Curphy, G. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. (7 ed.). Montouri, Amsterdam: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Northouse, P. (2012). Leadership: Theory and practice. (6 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing. Sager, J. (2008) Sources of power. In Rothman, J, Erlich, J.L. and Tropman, J.E. (Eds.), Stratgeies of community intervention (pp. 425-446). Peoesta, Iowa, Eddie Bowers publishing co. inc.. Strom, S. (9 July 2008) Funds misappropriated at 2 non-profit groups. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/us/09embezzle.html?_r=1 on May 25, 2012.