Behavioral Theory
Leaders
can be made, rather than are born.
Successful
leadership is based in definable, learnable behavior.
Behavioral
theories of leadership do not seek inborn traits or capabilities. Rather, they
look at what leaders actually do.
If
success can be defined in terms of describable actions, then it should be
relatively easy for other people to act in the same way. This is easier to
teach and learn then to adopt the more ephemeral 'traits' or 'capabilities'.
Behavioral
is a big leap from Trait
Theory, in that it assumes that leadership capability can be learned,
rather than being inherent. This opens the floodgates to leadership
development, as opposed to simple psychometric assessment that sorts those with
leadership potential from those who will never have the chance.
A
behavioral theory is relatively easy to develop, as you simply assess both
leadership success and the actions of leaders. With a large enough study, you
can then correlate statistically significant behaviors with success. You can
also identify behaviors which contribute to failure, thus adding a second layer
of understanding.
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