Theoretical Perspectives on Leadership: The Trait Approach

Leadership One psychological perspective on leadership "Leadership is just like psychic fraud... you're waiting for something lucky to happen you can take credit for" (Dilbert, 2002)

Outline The Trait Approach –Personality –Motives –Cognitive factors Leadership Traits Activity

Understanding Leadership: The Trait Approach The “Great Man” theory: The best leaders have particular qualities which make them inherently more fit to lead than other people. Julius Caesar or Napolean would have been influential figures anywhere anytime This view is represented in biographies, news reporting, history books Common sense approach to leadership

The Trait Approach Most extreme form: –Leaders are born, not made. Characteristics associated with leadership can be classified into three broad categories –Personality traits –Motives –Cognitive factors

Personality Traits P1) Self-confidence –The ability to be certain about one’s competencies and skills P2) Integrity –The quality of honesty and trustworthiness. They inspire confidence because they can be trusted.

Personality Traits P3) Sociability –A leader’s inclination to seek out pleasant social relationships. Have good interpersonal skills and are cooperative.

Leader Motives M1) The power motive –Have a strong need to control resources Can be used for the sake of the powerholder or for helping others

2 Types of Power Motives Personalized power motive –Seek power mostly to further their own interests. Socialized power motive –Use power primarily to achieve organizational goals or a vision. Power is used to help others.

Leader Motives M2) Drive and achievement motive –Putting forth high energy and persistence into achieving goals –Finding joy in accomplishments

Leader Motives M3) Strong work ethic –The belief in the dignity of work. They value hard work. M4) Tenacity –Better at overcoming obstacles because of their tenacity.

Cognitive Factors C1) Intelligence Intellectual ability strongly related to leadership C2) Knowledge of the business or group task Important for the leader to provide expertise in the field that will be a source of competitive advantage C3) Creativity Creative in finding original and imaginative solutions to complex problems.

Cognitive Factors C4) Insight into people and situations A depth of understanding that requires intuition and common sense. C5) Farsightedness and conceptual thinking Need to develop visions and corporate strategies. Need to see the overall perspective C6) Openness to experience Having a positive orientation towards learning

Traits of a Leader Exercise Using the 1-10 scale above, assess the following three people on the traits listed to the right: 1) Colin Powell 2) The leader you most admire 3) Yourself. Traits: 1.Self-confidence 2.Integrity 3.Sociability 4.Power motives 5.Drive and achievement motives 6.Tenacity 7.Intelligence 8.Knowledge of group task Trait not manifest Trait strongly manifest 110

Strengths and Limitations to the Trait Approach Strengths Intuitively appealing A great deal of research In-depth understanding of the leader Provides a way to evaluate our own leadership attributes

Strengths and Limitations to the Trait Approach Limitations Often based on leader’s own accounts Measurement of traits is difficult Comprehensive reviews fail to find a general set of traits Overlooks the needs of the followers Fails to clarify relative importance of traits It ignores situational factors Not amenable to training and development

Empiricism Empirical vs non-empirical research  Empirical: Empirical research is research which uses data derived from actual observation or experiment to reach conclusions. Original research papers that describe empirical studies and their results are published in academic journals..  Non-Empirical: A non-empirical approach to research makes no explicit or formal reference to data as such. This research results from thinking, reading and contemplation.

Guidelines To determine if an article is an empirical research article, use these guidelines:  What is the name of the journal? Popular magazines like Newsweek or Life Magazine don’t publish empirical research articles; publications like the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology or the Leadership Quarterly do.  How long is the article? An empirical research article is usually substantial, not 1 or 2 pages.  Does the article contain references to other works? Serious researchers always cite their sources.  Does the abstract of the article contain variations of the words study, measure, subjects, data, survey, or statistical to describe the empirical research?