Quote of the day:

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong,

but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold,
but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be
humble, but not timid; be proud, but not
arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
by Jim Rohn, American speaker and author.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Leadership& decision
making
Trait approach

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

The trait approach
 Certain people are born with special traits that make
them great leaders.
 Throughout the 20th century, researchers were
challenged to identify the definitive set of traits on
the basis of which leaders and non leaders could be
differentiated
 The theories that were developed were called “great
man” theories as they focused on identifying the
innate qualities and characteristics possessed by
great social, political and military leaders.
Ayesha Bano Spring 2011
Mid 20th century: trait approach shifts, to
include the impact of situations

 Around the mid 20th century, the assumption that a

unique set of traits defined leadership, was
questioned. Stogdill (1948) suggested that no
consistent set of traits differentiated leaders from
non leaders across a variety of situations.
 Personal factors related to leadership continued to
be important, but researchers contended that the
traits a leader possesses must be relevant to the
situations in which the leader is functioning.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Currently…
 The trait approach is still alive
 Recent trait research has shifted back to
reemphasize the critical role of traits in
exercising effective leadership.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

A summary of the traits and characteristics that
were identified by researchers from the trait
approach.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Refer to table 2.1
 Shows the breadth of traits related to leadership
 Shows there are no definitive leadership traits.
 Some traits appear in several studies (e.g intelligence, self
confidence) whereas others appear in only one or two (e.g
masculinity)
 Zaccaro, Kemp and Bader (2004) included social abilities (social
intelligence, emotional intelligence, self monitoring) in the
categories of leadership traits they outlined.
(Note: In the 1990s, researchers began to investigate the
leadership skills associated with „social intelligence‟, defined by
Zaccaro (2002) as having abilities such as social awareness,
social acumen, self monitoring and the ability to select and enact
the best response according to the situation and social
environment.)
Ayesha Bano Spring 2011
Important traits consistently identified in trait studies that
contribute substantially to one’s capacity to be a leader.

 Intelligence
 Self confidence
 Determination
 Integrity
 sociability

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Intelligence
 Intelligence: from a trait perspective,
intelligence means having a high IQ
(Intelligence Quotient) i.e. a strong verbal
ability, perceptual ability and reasoning.
 However, although it is good to be bright,
research indicates that the leader‟s
intellectual ability should NOT differ too much
from that of the subordinates.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Self confidence
 Ability to be certain about one‟s
competencies and skills
 Self confidence enables a leader to feel
assured that his/ her attempts to influence
are right and appropriate

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Determination
 The desire to get the job done.
 Includes characteristics such as initiative,
persistence, dominance and drive.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Integrity
 Integrity is the quality of honesty and
trustworthiness
 Leaders with integrity inspire confidence in
others.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Sociability
 A leader‟s inclination to seek out pleasant
social relationships.
 Sociable leaders are friendly, courteous,
tactful and diplomatic, sensitive to others
needs and show concern for their well being.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Five factor personality model: a
quantitative assessment of leadership
traits

 Over the last 25 years, a consensus has

emerged among researchers that FIVE
basic factors make up „personality‟.
 The BIG FIVE are:
1. Neuroticism
2. Extraversion
3. Openness
4. Agreeableness
5. conscientiousness
Ayesha Bano Spring 2011
The link between BIG FIVE and leadership
 Judge et al (2002) conducted a major meta analysis of 78
leadership and personality studies and in general, found a strong
relationship between leadership and the traits described by this
model.
 Extraversion most strongly associated with leadership!
 Followed by conscientiousness, openness, low neuroticism and
agreeableness.
 Answer the items to estimate your standing within the five factor
model.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/5/j5j/IPIP/ipipneo120.htm

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
 Another recent line of research which emerged in the early 1990s, has
focused on emotional intelligence and its relationship to leadership.
 EQ has to do with the interplay between our affective domain
(emotions) and cognitive domain (thinking)
 Intelligence concerned with our ability to learn information and apply
it to life tasks
Emotional intelligence concerned with our ability to understand
emotions and apply this understanding to life‟s tasks.
 Leaders who are sensitive to their emotions and to the impact of their
emotions on others may be more effective leaders
 Goleman (1995) divides EQ into personal competencies (self
awareness, confidence, self regulation, conscientiousness and
motivation) and social competencies (empathy, communication, conflict
management).
 Goleman (1995) suggests that EQ plays a major role in whether people
are successful at school, home and work.

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Practical use of the trait
approach
 Organisations use personality assessment to
identify how individuals fit within their
organisations.
 Used for personal awareness and
development because it allows managers to
analyse their strengths and weaknesses and
to gain a clearer understanding of how they
should try to change to enhance their
leadership.
Ayesha Bano Spring 2011
Advantages of viewing leadership
from the trait approach
 Intuitively appealing
 Validated by research
 Provides an in-depth understanding of the
leader component in the leadership process
 Provided benchmarks

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Limitations
 Fails to provide a definitive list
 Fails to take into account the impact of situations
 Resulted in lists of important leadership traits which
are not grounded in strong reliable research.
 The approach has not linked traits with other
outcomes such as group and team performance
 Not useful for training and development as traits are
not amenable to change

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

Leadership Trait Questionnaire

Ayesha Bano Spring 2011

The scores you receive on the LTQ provide information about how
you see yourself and how others see you as a leader. The chart
allows you to see where your perceptions are the same as those of
others and where they differ.

Item R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Ave Self Diff

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
.
.. Ayesha Bano Spring 2011