Leadership Traits
Leadership Traits
Although research has shown that the presence of specific traits alone do not ensure successful leadership, it has been proven that successful historical leaders share certain key traits. According to Shelley Kirkpatrick and Edwin Locke, “leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they do need to have the "right stuff" and this stuff is not equally present in all people” (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 12). Despite the many controversial discussions on whether leaders are born or made, the fact that efficacious leaders possess key traits remains undisputed. Some of the various traits that have an impact on effective leadership are discussed in detail below.
Ability to Listen
Most people listen actively to only a small percent of what is being said because people speak at a much slower rate than what they are able to hear. Therefore, active listening requires concentration and attentiveness to the speaker. Effective listening involves three important elements (Greenberg, 2010, p. 241): * Being nonjudgmental while taking in information from others. * Acknowledging speakers in ways that encourage them to continue speaking. * Attempting to advance a speaker’s ideas to the next step.
Listening is an important trait that “underlies all leadership skills. It is the key to developing and maintaining relationships, decision making and problem solving” (Rynders, 1999, p. 5). Gregory Rynders conducted a study on the relationship between listening and leadership. Although the research did not confirm if leaders naturally possessed superior listening abilities or if they just work harder at it, the results did confirm there is a positive relationship between successful leadership and effective listening skills (Rynders, 1999, p. 3).
Ability to Manage Some believe you can either be a manager or a leader, but you can’t be both. Although the functions of a leader and a
Although research has shown that the presence of specific traits alone do not ensure successful leadership, it has been proven that successful historical leaders share certain key traits. According to Shelley Kirkpatrick and Edwin Locke, “leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they do need to have the "right stuff" and this stuff is not equally present in all people” (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 12). Despite the many controversial discussions on whether leaders are born or made, the fact that efficacious leaders possess key traits remains undisputed. Some of the various traits that have an impact on effective leadership are discussed in detail below.
Ability to Listen
Most people listen actively to only a small percent of what is being said because people speak at a much slower rate than what they are able to hear. Therefore, active listening requires concentration and attentiveness to the speaker. Effective listening involves three important elements (Greenberg, 2010, p. 241): * Being nonjudgmental while taking in information from others. * Acknowledging speakers in ways that encourage them to continue speaking. * Attempting to advance a speaker’s ideas to the next step.
Listening is an important trait that “underlies all leadership skills. It is the key to developing and maintaining relationships, decision making and problem solving” (Rynders, 1999, p. 5). Gregory Rynders conducted a study on the relationship between listening and leadership. Although the research did not confirm if leaders naturally possessed superior listening abilities or if they just work harder at it, the results did confirm there is a positive relationship between successful leadership and effective listening skills (Rynders, 1999, p. 3).
Ability to Manage Some believe you can either be a manager or a leader, but you can’t be both. Although the functions of a leader and a
Cited: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. (1981). Webster 's Third New International Dictionary. Chicago: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. Jossey-Bass; 1st edition . Greenberg, J. (2010). Managing Behavior in Organizations (Fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. (Prentice Hall). Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. (1969). Managment of Organizational Behavior - Utilizing Human Resources. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. House, R., & Mitchell, T. (1974). Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. Journal of Contemporary Business, I-97. Shead, M. (2010). Leadership vs. Management. Retrieved March 26, 2011, from Leadership 501: http://www.leadership501.com/leadership-vs-management/3/