Researchers have debated the traits of a leader for many decades. Early trait theory proposed that merely a few personality traits have the ability to determine the success of a leader. Researchers have since distanced themselves from this idea and theorized that the success of a leader requires more than just a few essential traits. Researchers now attest that while trait theory may still apply, individuals can and do emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks. Research findings show that significant relationships exist between leadership and a number of individual traits, among them intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.
One prominent researcher in trait theory, Stephen Zaccaro, proposes a number of models that show the interplay of the environmental and personality characteristics that make a good leader. These models rests on two basic premises about leadership traits. First, leadership emerges from the combined influence of multiple traits, as opposed to coming from various independent traits. In other words, Zaccaro argues that effective leadership is derived from an integrated set of cognitive abilities, social capabilities, and personal tendencies, with each set of traits adding to the influence of the other. The second premise suggests that leadership traits differ in their proximal (direct) influence on leadership. In this multistage model, certain distal or remote attributes (such as personal attributes, cognitive abilities, and motives/values) serve as precursors for the development of personal characteristics that more directly shape a leader.
Some of the inherent leadership traits in Zaccaro's model include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, honesty/integrity, charisma, intelligence, creativity, achievement motivation, need for power, oral/written communication, interpersonal skills, general problem-solving, decision making, technical knowledge, and management skills. Although these characteristics may resemble a laundry list of traits, Zaccaro and many other researchers have shown that they are all predictors of a successful leader.
Trait leadership: Zaccaro's model (2004)
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.