For this Application, you will consider a leadership position within an organization for which you work or have worked. Then, using one leadership theory as a guide, you will consider which traits, skills, and abilities you might look for in candidates applying for the leadership position.

To prepare for this assignment:

• Review Chapters 6 and 7in the course text, Leadership: Theory and Practice.Pay particular attention to personality traits, skills, and abilities associated with the contingency, path-goal, and leader-member exchange leadership theories.
• Review the book excerpt Contingency Theories of Leadership
• Think about an organization for which you work or have worked. Identify a leadership position within the organization.
• Assume that the leadership position is vacant and that you have been assigned to hire a replacement.
• Select one leadership theory. (This should be one that you did not choose for the Week 2 Discussion.) Using this theory as a guide, consider the personality traits, skills, and abilities you might look for in candidates applying for the leadership position you identified.

The assignment: (1-2 pages)

• Briefly describe a leadership theory. (This should be one that you did not choose for the Week 2 Discussion.)
• Briefly describe a leadership position at an organization for which you work or have worked.
• Based on the leadership theory, describe at least two personality traits, skills, and/or abilities you might look for in candidates applying for the position and explain why.

Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the Learning Resources for this course.

Readings

• Course Text: Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice(8th ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications.
  • Chapter 6, "Path-Goal Theory"
  • Chapter 7, "Leader-Member Exchange Theory"
• Book Excerpt: Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice(6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Contingency Theories of Leadership
• Article: Fielder, F. E. (1972). How do you make leaders more effective? Organizational Dynamics, 1(2), 2-18.
  Use the Business Source Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 5750659

Optional Readings

• Course Text: Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice(8th ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications.
  
• • Chapter 4, "Behavioral Approach”
  • Chapter 5, "Situational Approach"