Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Leadership
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Northouse, 4th edition
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 1970’s - Early 90s Today
Traits Interacting Revival of Critical Role of 5 Major
Great Man
With Situational Traits in Leader Leadership
Theories
Demands on Leaders Effectiveness Traits
•Research focused • Landmark Stogdill (1948) • Stogdill (1974) • Intelligence
on individual study - analyzed and - Analyzed 163 new • Self-Confidence
characteristics synthesized 124 trait studies studies • Determination
that universally - Leadership with 1948 study findings • Integrity
differentiated reconceptualized - Validated original study • Sociability
leaders as a relationship between - 10 characteristics
from nonleaders people in a social situation positively identified with
leadership
• Mann (1959) reviewed 1,400
Innate Qualities findings of personality and • Lord, DeVader, &
leadership in small groups Alliger (1986) meta-analysis
- Less emphasis on situations - Personality traits can be
- Suggested personality traits used to differentiate
could be used to discriminate leaders/nonleaders
leaders from nonleaders
• Kirkpatrick & Locke (1991)
- 6 traits make up the
Situations “Right Stuff” for leaders
Personality / Behaviors
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 one’s 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 – Leader’s 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 (Judge et al, 2002)
Results – a strong relationship between
personality traits and leadership
Extraversion – factor most strongly associated with
leadership
– Most important trait of effective leaders
Intra version -
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 Underlying Premise
Ability to perceive and:
– apply emotions to life’s people who are
tasks more sensitive to
– reason/understand their emotions &
emotions
their impact on
– express emotions
– use emotions to
others will be
facilitate thinking more effective
– manage emotions leaders
within oneself &
relationships
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
Personality
Leader
Assessments
Focuses Organizations use
exclusively on personality assessments to
leader find “Right” people
– Assumption - will increase
– What traits organizational effectiveness
leaders exhibit – Specify characteristics/traits
– Who has these for specific positions
traits Personality assessment
measures for “fit”
Instruments: LTQ, Myers Briggs
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Strengths
Intuitively appealing
Highlights leadership
– Perception that
leaders are different in
component in the
that they possess leadership process
special traits – Deeper level
– People “need” to view understanding of how
leaders as gifted leader/personality
related to leadership
Credibility due to a process
century of research
Provides benchmarks
support
for what to look for in a
leader
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Criticisms
Fails to delimit a List of most important
definitive list of leadership traits is
leadership traits highly subjective
– Endless lists have – Much subjective experience &
emerged observations serve as basis
for identified leadership traits
Doesn’t take into
account situational Research fails to look at
effects traits in relationship to
– Leaders in one situation leadership outcomes
may not be leaders in Not useful for training &
another situation
development
Chapter 2 - Trait Approach
Application
Provides direction as to which traits are
Leadership
good to have if one aspires to a
Traits
leadership position • Intelligence
Through various tests and questionnaires, • Self-Confidence
individuals can determine whether they • Determination
• Integrity
have the select leadership traits and can • Sociability
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