Numerous perspectives have been used in research on leadership. Some I-O psychologists
have taken a trait-based approach to leadership. This approach states that leaders have
certain personality attributes that their followers do not. For instance, leaders may be
described as assertive, confident, tactful, or persuasive.
Another approach addresses the behaviors of leaders. The two most prominent
behavior categories are initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure
refers to the task-oriented behaviors such as organizing and structuring work for
followers. Consideration refers to the ways leaders show concern for followers.
Another approach sees leadership as situation-specific. Situational leadership theory
states that the balance of initiating structure vs. consideration behaviors in which a
leader must engage depends on the emotional maturity and expertise of the followers.
Cognitive approaches to leadership build on how workers perceive situations. One such
approach defines leadership as the process of being seen as a leader (Lord & Maher,
1991). This is quite different from traditional approaches but acknowledges the
difficulties in trying to completely capture a leadership definition in words. Leadership
is incompletely and inadequately defined in words, but we know it when we see it. It is
primarily a socio-perceptual process.