Preview

How useful is the Trait Approach to Leadership

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2137 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How useful is the Trait Approach to Leadership
How useful is the Trait Approach to Leadership

1. Introduction
Leadership defined as position (power and responsibility relation) or person (personality traits) or result (outcomes) or process (Grint, 2010). Person-based leadership resonates with the traditional traits approach. Trait theory, as the name gives away, is an approach to identify human personality and measure patterns of thoughts and behaviours from individual to individual. Lord et al (1986) indicated that personality traits show relatively strong relations with individuals’ perceptions of leadership.
Therefore how a leader’s character or personality influences leadership. This paper will critically evaluate how useful is the trait approach to leadership. It begins with early scholars work on the trait approach to identifying the qualities of great leaders; the following section will analyse strengths and criticisms of the trait approach to leadership; and then implications and application of trait theory will be discussed in order to gain insight into how the trait approach plays an indispensible part of leadership. A conclusion will be drawn on the key discussion: despite the shortcomings of the trait theory, it gives us benchmarks of personal leadership attributes. Trait theory is a useful tool for leaders to modify their approach as the situation demands and assist the organisations to improve their overall leadership effectiveness by using trait information.
2. The Trait Approach to Leadership

Fleenor (2006) indicated that early trait researchers viewed leadership as a unique set of characteristics that could be naturally possessed by great people (i.e., great man theory to leadership). In other words, great man theory stated that leaders are born either with or without the necessary traits of leadership. Around the mid-20th century, the trait theory questioned previous leadership traits studies and considered personality, social, physical or intellectual traits to distinguish leaders from

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The trait approach is one of the earliest approaches to studying leadership. This approach highlights characteristics of leaders such as behavior, intentions, ethics, and skills. The trait approach studies natural leaders who have precise awareness and influences to help others believe the leader’s approaches (Yukl, 2010). The trait approach emphasizes that leaders are born with leadership characteristics and that these characteristics permit them to be great leaders. As with any other approach, the trait approach inhabits strengths and weaknesses.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The trait theory of leadership involves looking into the traits that create an active,competent leader. A trait is considered a quality an individual has that is predisposed or part of their personality. This theory mainly involves mainly looking at and determining physical characteristics of leaders. This theory is often criticized for being too general (Riggio,2013).…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Early theories stated that theories of leadership are instinct and not taught. One of the theories is called trait theory. Trait theory is similar to the Great Man theory. Trait theory describes the personality and behavior of a leader. According to the trait theory, there are other characteristics that leaders might have like extraversion, self confidence, and courage. Trait theory also stated that people are born with these traits and also have the potential to be good leaders (Cherry,2013).…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Like the Great Man theory, Trait theory of leadership assume that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify certain characteristics or personality types shared by leaders. Traits are considered to be naturally part of a person’s character from the time they are born. From this standpoint, leadership trait theory assumes that people are born as leaders or not as leaders. Since certain traits are associated with leadership, if…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trait-based perspectives of leadership have been an enduring topic throughout history. The actual inception of leadership and trait-based perspectives is arguable. However, there is no denying its evolution, as seen through research. Zaccaro (2007) stated the analysis of leadership and traits dates back to Galton’s (1869) Hereditary Genius, which articulated two distinct and important points. First, a definition of leadership, which describes exclusive and unique characteristics, possessed by individuals. These individuals were so compelling they were capable of changing the path of events with their judgment and decisions (Zaccaro, 2007). This point while antiquated and dated appeared to be the pioneer of the transformational leadership,…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Management Issue at Apple

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Leadership consists of the trait theory; this theory is a relatively stable aspect of an individual’s personality that influences behaviour in a particular direction (Boddy 2008: 459). This involves transformational leadership which is described as the leadership that effects change, inspires people to grow and reach beyond their abilities, articulates transcendent goals and demonstrates self confidence (Fiedler and House 1994, p112). This kind of leadership style was evident in the way that Steve Jobs performed as a manager.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ronald Reagan Leadership

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the trait approach, leadership is defined in terms of traits of the leader thought to exhibit good leadership. With the help of this theory we can compile a long list of desirable traits in a leader. A century of research to back it up, trait approach is very reliable in…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    It began with an examination of identifying qualities of great persons. Leadership skills at that time were esteemed to be a privilege of birth: leaders were born, not made (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1996; Cawthon, 1996). One had to be of the right breed to lead; all others had to be led. No matter the amount of yearning or learning, one’s destiny could not change. The beginning of the paradigm shifted to include the impetus of situations on leadership. Recalling the critical role of traits in effective leadership is currently a re-paradigm shift (Bryman, 1992; Lord, DeVader, & Alliger, 1986). The trait approach of leadership is currently having a rebirth with researchers. In 1991, Kirkpatrick and Locke asserted that non-leaders converge on six traits: drive, the desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this review (see table 1) two empirical articles were compared, one that reviewed Trait Theory of leadership, and the other that reviewed Skills Theory of leadership. Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review, authored by Timothy A. Judge, Joyce E. Bono, Remus Ilies, and Megan W. Gerhardt conducted quantifiable evaluations of the connection between character traits and Leadership. The rationale of this research study was the existence of unreliable and inadequate results from prior examinations that have, until recently, provided a…

    • 3072 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The trait theory, similar to the "Great Man" theory, believes that individuals inherit certain qualities when they are born, thus resulting in the common expression, "leaders are born, not made." In his book, Introduction to Leadership Concepts and…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leadership

    • 5470 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Leadership style is the combination of traits, skills, and behaviors leaders use as they interact with people. In order for one to favor a leadership style, one must understand where the leadership styles originated. Throughout the years, the topic of leadership has been debated. However, research indicates that certain characteristics or traits are inherent in leaders According to research, the 1940’s proffered leaders as maintaining certain traits. These traits were based on physical and personality characteristics as well as intelligence and interpersonal skills. Marquis & Huston associated the Great Man Trait Theory with that of the Aristotelian philosophy, which indicated that leaders were born and not made and depending on the need a leader would surface.…

    • 5470 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Leadership and Theory

    • 2338 Words
    • 10 Pages

    According to Trait theory, Individuals who takes leadership position has some good qualities or attributes compared to those who are non-leaders. This Trait theory is also known as Great Man theory. This theory focuses on the inbuilt quality which the leader has it in himself. In 1974, American Researcher named Ralf Stogdill had found that the leadership is not about single or small cluster of traits but it is based on complex groupings of trait and social interaction. This theory focuses on different types of major traits. And these traits were Physical Characteristics, Social…

    • 2338 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of the most prominent features are performance, motivation, honesty, integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, business knowledge, and expertise. The theories also support the idea that effective leadership is influenced by certain combinations of these traits and other personal qualities. Zaccaro (2007) points to a close relationship between trait theory and conditional leadership. It is also believed that the choice of a theory’s model is not mutually exclusive, but rather trait theory supports conditional leadership. That is for a leader to be successful in a situation, the leader must possess a set of a specific characteristic. Additionally, the characteristics that the person possesses can determine if the individual has the capability to emerge as a leader in each…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leadership and Theories

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Similar in some ways to Great Man theories, trait theories assume that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. For example, traits like extraversion, self-confidence, and courage are all traits that…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The basic principle of leadership traits is something that separates the Marine Corps from not only other branches of the military but also every other organization in the world. The stress for every Marine to have the ability to be a leader and to take charge and do what they know is right allows the leadership to trust that everything that is supposed to be done will be done and done correctly without issue while the leadership can focus on more pressing issues. Furthermore it allows the Marines not yet in positions of power to be ready for when they are given responsibility. It also means that when Marines are met with a situation in which they do not have any leadership above them the Marine will have the ability to make good decisions and resolve any issues that they may encounter. Three of the most important leadership traits of the fourteen are initiative, dependability, and judgment.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics