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 studies • Self-Confidence
characteristics synthesized 124 trait studies with 1948 study findings • Determination
that universally - Leadership - Validated original study • Integrity
differentiated reconceptualized - 10 characteristics • Sociability
leaders as a relationship between positively identified with
from nonleaders people in a social situation leadership

• Mann (1959) reviewed 1,400 • Lord, DeVader, &

Innate Qualities findings of personality and
leadership in small groups
- Less emphasis on situations
- Suggested personality traits
could be used to discriminate
leaders from nonleaders
Situations
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
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
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 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
definitive list of
leadership traits
– Endless lists have
emerged
Doesn’t take into
account situational
effects
– Leaders in one situation
may not be leaders in
another situation
List of most important
leadership traits is
highly subjective
– Much subjective experience &
observations serve as basis
for identified leadership traits
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
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