Previous Sec�on Next Sec�on

Figure 12.2

Table of Contents

12.2 Who Is a Leader? Trait Approaches to Leadership

L E A R N I N G O B J EC T I V E S

Learn the posi�on of trait approaches in the history of leadership studies.1.

Explain the traits that are associated with leadership.2.

Discuss the limita�ons of trait approaches to leadership.3.

The earliest approach to the study of leadership sought to identify a set of traits that distinguished

leaders from nonleaders. What were the personality characteristics and the physical and psychological

attributes of people who are viewed as leaders? Because of the problems in measurement of

personality traits at the time, different studies used different measures. By 1940, researchers

concluded that the search for leadership-defining traits was futile. In recent years, though, after the

advances in personality literature such as the development of the Big Five personality framework,

researchers have had more success in identifying traits that predict leadership.House, R. J., & Aditya,

R. N. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership: Quo Vadis? Journal of Management, 23,

409–473. Most importantly, charismatic leadership, which is among the contemporary approaches to

leadership, may be viewed as an example of a trait approach.

The traits that show relatively strong relations with leadership are discussed below.Judge, T. A., Bono,

J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative

review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 765–780.

Intelligence

General mental ability, which psychologists refer to as “g” and which is

often called “IQ” in everyday language, has been related to a person’s

emerging as a leader within a group. Specifically, people who have high

mental abilities are more likely to be viewed as leaders in their

environment.House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. (1997). The social scientific

study of leadership: Quo Vadis? Journal of Management, 23, 409–473;

Ilies, R., Gerhardt, M. W., & Huy, L. (2004). Individual differences in

1 of 6

Many observers believe

that Carly Fiorina, the

ousted CEO of HP,

demonstrated high levels

of intelligence but low

levels of empathy for the

people around her, which

led to an overreliance on

numbers while ignoring

the human cost of her

decisions.Karlgaard, R.

(2002, February 18). Vote

Carly. Forbes, 169(4), 37.

Source:

http://commons.wikimed

ia.org

/wiki/Image:CarlyFiorin

a49416.jpeg.

leadership emergence: Integrating meta-analytic findings and behavioral

genetics estimates. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 12,

207–219; Lord, R. G., De Vader, C. L., & Alliger, G. M. (1986). A

meta-analysis of the relation between personality traits and leadership

perceptions: An application of validity generalization procedures. Journal

of Applied Psychology, 71, 402–410; Taggar, S., Hackett, R., & Saha, S.

(1999). Leadership emergence in autonomous work teams: Antecedents

and outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 52, 899–926. We should caution,

though, that intelligence is a positive but modest predictor of leadership,

and when actual intelligence is measured with paper-and-pencil tests, its

relationship to leadership is a bit weaker compared to when intelligence is

defined as the perceived intelligence of a leader.Judge, T. A., Colbert, A. E.,

& Ilies, R. (2004). Intelligence and leadership: A quantitative review and

test of theoretical propositions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89,

542–552. In addition to having a high IQ, effective leaders tend to have

high emotional intelligence (EQ). People with high EQ demonstrate a high

level of self awareness, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The

psychologist who coined the term emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman,

believes that IQ is a threshold quality: It matters for entry- to high-level

management jobs, but once you get there, it no longer helps leaders,

because most leaders already have a high IQ. According to Goleman, what

differentiates effective leaders from ineffective ones becomes their ability

to control their own emotions and understand other people’s emotions,

their internal motivation, and their social skills.Goleman, D. (January,

2004). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 82–91.

Big 5 Personality Traits

Psychologists have proposed various systems for categorizing the

characteristics that make up an individual’s unique personality; one of the most widely accepted is the

“Big Five” model, which rates an individual according to Openness to experience, Conscientiousness,

Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Several of the Big Five personality traits have been

related to leadership emergence (whether someone is viewed as a leader by others) and

effectiveness.Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership:

A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 765–780.

Figure 12.3 Big Five Personality Traits

2 of 6

Figure 12.4

Steve Ballmer, CEO of

Microsoft Corporation, is

an extraverted leader.

For example, to celebrate

Microsoft’s 25th

anniversary, Ballmer

enthusiastically popped

out of the anniversary

cake to surprise the

audience.

Source:

For example, extraversion is related to leadership. Extraverts are sociable,

assertive, and energetic people. They enjoy interacting with others in their

environment and demonstrate self-confidence. Because they are both

dominant and sociable in their environment, they emerge as leaders in a

wide variety of situations. Out of all personality traits, extraversion has the

strongest relationship with both leader emergence and leader

effectiveness. This is not to say that all effective leaders are extraverts, but

you are more likely to find extraverts in leadership positions. An example

of an introverted leader is Jim Buckmaster, the CEO of Craigslist. He is

known as an introvert, and he admits to not having meetings because he

does not like them.Buckmaster, J. (2008, May). How does he manage?

Classified website boss. Management Today, 15. Research shows that

another personality trait related to leadership is conscientiousness.

Conscientious people are organized, take initiative, and demonstrate

persistence in their endeavors. Conscientious people are more likely to

emerge as leaders and be effective in that role. Finally, people who have

openness to experience—those who demonstrate originality, creativity, and

are open to trying new things—tend to emerge as leaders and also be quite

effective.

Self-Esteem

3 of 6

http://en.wikipedia.org

/wiki/Image:Steve_ball

mer_2007_outdoors

2.jpg.

Self-esteem is not one of the Big Five personality traits, but it is an

important aspect of one’s personality. The degree to which a person is at

peace with oneself and has an overall positive assessment of one’s self

worth and capabilities seem to be relevant to whether someone is viewed

as a leader. Leaders with high self-esteem support their subordinates more

and, when punishment is administered, they punish more

effectively.Atwater, L. E., Dionne, S. D., Camobreco, J. F., Avolio, B. J., & Lau, A. (1998). Individual

attributes and leadership style: Predicting the use of punishment and its effects. Journal of

Organizational Behavior, 19, 559–576; Niebuhr, R. E., & Davis, K. R. (1984). Self-esteem:

Relationship with leader behavior perceptions as moderated by the duration of the superior-

subordinate dyad association. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10, 51–59. It is possible

that those with high self-esteem have greater levels of self-confidence and this affects their image in

the eyes of their followers. Self-esteem may also explain the relationship between some physical

attributes and leader emergence. For example, research shows a strong relationship between being

tall and being viewed as a leader (as well as one’s career success over life). It is proposed that

self-esteem may be the key mechanism linking height to being viewed as a leader, because people who

are taller are also found to have higher self-esteem and therefore may project greater levels of

charisma as well as confidence to their followers.Judge, T. A., & Cable, D. M. (2004). The effect of

physical height on workplace success and income: Preliminary test of a theoretical model. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 89, 428–441.

Integrity

Research also shows that people who are effective as leaders tend to have a moral compass and

demonstrate honesty and integrity.Reave, L. (2005). Spiritual values and practices related to

leadership effectiveness. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 655–687. Leaders whose integrity is questioned

lose their trustworthiness, and they hurt their company’s business along the way. For example, when

it was revealed that Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey was using a pseudonym to make negative

comments online about the company’s rival Wild Oats Markets Inc., his actions were heavily

criticized, his leadership was questioned, and the company’s reputation was affected.Farrell, G., &

Davidson, P. (2007, July 13). Whole Foods’ CEO was busy guy online. USA Today, Money section, p.

04B.

Figure 12.5 Key Traits Associated With Leadership

4 of 6

Figure 12.6

Condoleezza Rice had

different responsibilities

as the provost of Stanford

University compared to

her role as secretary of

state for the United

There are also some traits that are negatively related to leader emergence and being successful in that

position. For example, agreeable people who are modest, good natured, and avoid conflict are less

likely to be perceived as leaders.Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002).

Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87,

765–780.

Despite problems in trait approaches, these findings can still be useful to

managers and companies. For example, knowing about leader traits helps

organizations select the right people into positions of responsibility. The

key to benefiting from the findings of trait researchers is to be aware that

not all traits are equally effective in predicting leadership potential across

all circumstances. Some organizational situations allow leader traits to

make a greater difference.House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. (1997). The social

scientific study of leadership: Quo Vadis? Journal of Management, 23,

409–473. For example, in small, entrepreneurial organizations where

leaders have a lot of leeway to determine their own behavior, the type of

traits leaders have may make a difference in leadership potential. In large,

bureaucratic, and rule-bound organizations such as the government and

the military, a leader’s traits may have less to do with how the person

behaves and whether the person is a successful leader.Judge, T. A., Bono,

J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A

qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87,

5 of 6

States. Do you think these

differences affected her

behavior as a leader?

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org

/wiki/Image:Condoleezz

a_Rice_cropped.jpg.

Previous Sec�on Next Sec�on

765–780. Moreover, some traits become relevant in specific

circumstances. For example, bravery is likely to be a key characteristic in

military leaders, but not necessarily in business leaders. Scholars now

conclude that instead of trying to identify a few traits that distinguish

leaders from nonleaders, it is important to identify the conditions under

which different traits affect a leader’s performance, as well as whether a

person emerges as a leader.Hackman, J. R., & Wageman, R. (2007).

Asking the right questions about leadership: Discussion and conclusions.

American Psychologist, 62, 43–47.

K E Y TA K EAWAY

Many studies searched for a limited set of personal a�ributes, or traits, which would make someone

be viewed as a leader and be successful as a leader. Some traits that are consistently related to

leadership include intelligence (both mental ability and emo�onal intelligence), personality

(extraversion, conscien�ousness, openness to experience, self-esteem), and integrity. The main

limita�on of the trait approach was that it ignored the situa�on in which leadership occurred.

Therefore, it is more useful to specify the condi�ons under which different traits are needed.

E X E R C I S ES

Think of a leader you admire. What traits does this person have? Are they consistent with the

traits discussed in this chapter? If not, why is this person effec�ve despite the presence of different

traits?

1.

Can the findings of traits approaches be used to train poten�al leaders? Which traits seem easier

to teach? Which are more stable?

2.

How can organiza�ons iden�fy future leaders with a given set of traits? Which methods would be

useful for this purpose?

3.

What other traits can you think of that would be relevant to leadership?4.

Table of Contents

6 of 6