Trait theory of leadership

Examples of Trait theory of leadership in the following topics:

• Four Theories of Leadership

  • Theories of effective leadership include the trait, contingency, behavioral, and full-range theories.
  • Experts have proposed several theories, including the trait, behavioral, contingency, and full-range models of leadership.
  • The search for the characteristics or traits of effective leaders has been central to the study of leadership.
  • Research in the field of trait theory has shown significant positive relationships between effective leadership and personality traits such as intelligence, extroversion, conscientiousness, self-efficacy, and openness to experience.
  • According to this approach, called contingency theory, no single psychological profile or set of enduring traits links directly to effective leadership.

• Choosing Leaders

  • Although the leader may or may not have any formal authority, students of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others.
  • The trait theory of leadership seeks to find attributes that all leaders possess.
  • Considering the criticisms of the trait theory outlined above, several researchers have begun to adopt a different perspective of leader individual differences–the leader attribute pattern approach.
  • Situational theory also appeared as a reaction to the trait theory of leadership.
  • This theory assumes that different situations call for different characteristics; according to this group of theories, no single optimal psychographic profile of a leader exists.

• Leadership

  • Scholars of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others.
  • New methods and measurements were developed after these influential reviews that would ultimately re-establish the trait theory as a viable approach to the study of leadership.
  • This advent allowed trait theorists to create a comprehensive picture of previous leadership research rather than rely on the qualitative reviews of the past.
  • They found significant relationships between leadership and individual traits such as the following:
  • While the trait theory of leadership has certainly regained popularity, its re-emergence has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in sophisticated conceptual frameworks.

• The Trait-Theory Approach

  • According to trait leadership theory, effective leaders have in common a pattern of personal characteristics that support their ability to mobilize others toward a shared vision.
  • Following studies of trait leadership, most leader traits can be organized into four groups:
  • Zaccoro and others (2004) introduced a model of leadership that categorized and specified six types of traits that influence leader effectiveness.
  • This diagram visually represents Zaccaro's theory that distal attributes (e.g., cognitive abilities, personality, values) serve as precursors for the development of proximal personal characteristics (e.g. social skills, problem-solving skills), both of which contribute to leadership.
  • Explain the relevance of the trait approach in defining and promoting useful leadership development in the workplace

• Emotional Leadership

  • Leadership is a process of motivating people and mobilizing resources to accomplish common goals.
  • According to the trait theory of leadership, some traits play a vital role in creating leaders, such as intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.
  • One key aspect of contemporary leadership theory points to emotional leadership as a possible approach to accomplishing organizational aims.
  • Strong emotional leadership depends on having high levels of emotional intelligence (EI).
  • Trait EI refers to individuals' self-perceptions of their emotional abilities.

• Leadership Model: The Ohio State University

  • The Ohio State University Leadership Study focused on identifying behaviors (as opposed to traits) which were indicative of a strong leader.
  • Leadership is a field of study (and core ability) which focuses on the ability of an individual or group to "lead" or guide other teams, people or even entire organizations. the evolution of the field of leadership is quite extensive, ranging from the following perspectives:
  • Each of these schools of thought are facets of what modern leadership theories try to take into account today, as varying perspectives on leadership are useful to keep in mind in the complex, global world of organizations.
  • Early methods of research theory centered around trait theories.
  • The basic premise was that certain characteristics of individuals was the ideal indicator of success in a leadership role.

• Leadership and Situational Context: Fiedler

  • The Fiedler model shows that effective leadership depends on how a leader's traits and the surrounding context interact.
  • Fred Fiedler's model of leadership states that different types of leaders are required for different situations.
  • Fiedler subsequently enhanced his original model to increase the number of leadership traits it analyzed.
  • The Fiedler situational contingency model measures leadership traits with a test that provides a leadership score corresponding to the workplace where the leader would be most suited.
  • The Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) test asks test takers to think of someone they least prefer working with and rate that person from one to eight on a scale of various traits.

• Leadership Traits

  • Early trait theory proposed that merely a few personality traits have the ability to determine the success of a leader.
  • First, leadership emerges from the combined influence of multiple traits, as opposed to coming from various independent traits.
  • This diagram shows one contemporary theory of the essential traits of a leader.
  • Zaccaro's theory emphasizes all of the attributes that make up the traits of a leader, including environmental, internal (personality), and cognitive abilities.
  • Summarize the key characteristics and traits that are predictive of strong leadership capacity

• General Strengths and Limitations of Trait Perspectives

  • While trait theories are useful in categorizing behavior, they have been criticized by a number of psychologists.
  • Researchers have found that examining the aggregate behaviors of individuals provides a strong correlation with traits; in other words, observing the behaviors of an individual over time and in varying circumstances provides evidence for the personality traits categorized in trait theories.
  • One possible proof of this is that several trait theories were developed independently of each other when factor analysis was used to conclude a specific set of traits.
  • While developing their theories independently of each other, trait theorists often arrived at a similar set of traits.
  • Another limitation of trait theories is that they require personal observations or subjective self-reports to measure.

• Other Important Trait Theories

  • The disposition theory, three fundamental traits, and HEXACO model of personality structure are applicable to the work place.
  • All of these theories discuss important personality traits that have been studied and identified.
  • Gordon Allport's disposition theory includes cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits.
  • An example of a central trait would be honesty.
  • These three personality trait theories, among others, are used to describe and define personalities today in psychology and in organizational behavior.