Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Leadership
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Northouse, 4th edition Read: Chapter 3 (Jon Pierce)
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Overview
Great Person Theories Historical Shifts in Trait Perspective What Traits Differentiate Leaders From Nonleaders? How Does the Trait Approach Work?
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Great Person Theories
Trait Approach: one of the first systematic attempts to study leadership
Great Man Theories (early 1900s)
Focused on identifying innate qualities and characteristics possessed by great social, political, & military leaders
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Historical Shifts in Trait Perspective
Early 1900s
1930-50s
1970s - Early 90s
Today
Great Man Theories Research focused on individual characteristics that universally differentiated leaders from nonleaders
Traits Interacting With Situational Demands on Leaders
Landmark Stogdill (1948)
Revival of Critical Role of Traits in Leader Effectiveness
Stogdill (1974)
5 Major Leadership Traits Intelligence Self-Confidence Determination Integrity Sociability
study - analyzed and synthesized 124 trait studies - Leadership reconceptualized as a relationship between people in a social situation Mann (1959) reviewed 1,400 findings of personality and leadership in small groups - Less emphasis on situations - Suggested personality traits could be used to discriminate leaders from nonleaders Situations
- Analyzed 163 new studies with 1948 study findings - Validated original study - 10 characteristics positively identified with leadership Lord, DeVader, & Alliger (1986) meta-analysis - Personality traits can be used to differentiate leaders/nonleaders Kirkpatrick & Locke (1991) - 6 traits make up the Right Stuff for leaders Personality / Behaviors
Innate Qualities
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Leadership Traits
Studies of Leadership Traits and Characteristics
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Major Leadership Traits
Traits to possess or cultivate if one seeks to be perceived by others as a leader:
Intelligence Intellectual ability including
verbal, perceptual, and reasoning capabilities
Self-Confidence Ability to be certain
about ones competencies and skills
Determination The desire to get the job
done (i.e., initiative, persistence, dominance, drive)
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Major Leadership Traits
Traits to possess or cultivate if one seeks to be perceived by others as a leader:
Integrity The quality of honesty and
trustworthiness
Sociability Leaders inclination to seek out pleasant social relationships
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
5-Factor Personality Model & Leadership
Big Five Personality Factors
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
5-Factor Personality Model & Leadership
Big Five & Leadership
Study using meta-analysis (Judge et al, 2002)
Results a strong relationship between personality traits and leadership
Extraversion factor most strongly associated with leadership
Most important trait of of effective leaders
Conscientiousness 2nd most related factor Neuroticism & Openness next most related
Neuroticism negatively associated to leadership
Agreeableness only weakly related to leadership
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Emotional Intelligence & Leadership
Definition
Ability to perceive and: apply emotions to lifes tasks reason/understand emotions express emotions use emotions to facilitate thinking manage emotions within oneself & relationships
Underlying Premise people who are more sensitive to their emotions & their impact on others will be more effective leaders
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
How Does the Trait Approach Work?
Focus of Trait Approach Strengths Criticisms Application
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Focus of Trait Approach
Leader Personality Assessments
Focuses exclusively on leader
What traits leaders exhibit Who has these traits
Organizations use personality assessments to find Right people
Assumption - will increase organizational effectiveness Specify characteristics/traits for specific positions
Personality assessment measures for fit Instruments: Myers Briggs
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Strengths
Intuitively appealing
Perception that leaders are different in that they possess special traits People need to view leaders as gifted
Highlights leadership component in the leadership process
Deeper level understanding of how leader/personality related to leadership process
Credibility due to a century of research support
Provides benchmarks for what to look for in a leader
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Criticisms
Fails to delimit a definitive list of leadership traits
Endless lists have emerged
List of most important leadership traits is highly subjective
Much subjective experience & observations serve as basis for identified leadership traits
Doesnt take into account situational effects
Leaders in one situation may not be leaders in another situation
Research fails to look at traits in relationship to leadership outcomes Not useful for training & development
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Application
Provides direction as to which traits are good to have if one aspires to a leadership position Through various tests and questionnaires, individuals can determine whether they have the select leadership traits and can pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses Can be used by managers to assess where they stand within their organization and what is needed to strengthen their position Leadership Traits
Intelligence
Self-Confidence Determination Integrity Sociability
