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, â€Å"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 â€Å"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 t o 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 â€Å"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. ). 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 manager differ, management skills are a subset of leadership skills (Shead, 2010). Management and leadership are not separate functions. They cannot exist apart from each other. Management, it appears, is about controlling an existing system, while leadership is about invention and adaptation. (Kaplan, 1994) A good leader must have the ability to manage and at same time distance oneself from managing when it is not appropriate to do so.Managing typically involves the details of running the day to day operations of the business. In this case, it would be inappropriate for the leader to get involved in tasks that should be delegated. However, leaders who do not possess the ability to manage lack the knowledge required to make effective decisions to lead the organization in the right direction. Balance There is an old saying, â€Å"Too much of a good thing can be bad. † Water is essential to the survival of the human body and a lack of water intake can result in dehydrati on causing serious health conditions.However, too much water can result in over hydration causing hyponatremia or intoxication. Balance is important in many areas of life and is a key trait in being a successful leader. Technological advances, economic changes, company dynamics and pressing deadlines create a difficult environment for practicing balance. Linking organizational, departmental and individual goals to the mission of the company is important. Yet balance is required to allow interpretation and innovation of the goals in order to gain commitment and enthusiasm from employees.Reward systems initiate creativity and motivation. However, if the correlation between rewards and individual actions is too specific, it may impede individuals from taking actions that lead to innovation. Time pressure is another key matter that requires balance. Lack of time pressures may result in declining productivity while excessive time pressure restraints may stifle creativity and growth (Gree nberg, 2010, pp. 361-362). Leaders must have the ability to maintain balance in order to achieve optimal results. Relating to GroupsIn recent years, more and more companies are adopting a team based work system and successful implementation has been linked to leadership (Murry, Avolio, & Jung, 2002). Relating to groups requires a different approach than that of traditional leadership. â€Å"In many of today’s organizations, where teams predominate, leaders are called upon to provide special resources to team members, who are empowered to implement their own missions in their own ways† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 330). Leaders must understand team dynamics in order to lead the various groups that make up the organization.Decision Making Process According to management experts, decision making is one of the most critical and common job functions of executive leaders (Mintzberg, 1988). People make a number of decisions every day; however decisions made at the senior level may ha ve a far greater impact on the organization. A general model describes the steps of the decision making process as follows: identify the problem, define objectives, make a pre-decision, generate alternatives, evaluate alternative solutions, make a choice, implement the chosen alternative, and follow-up (Greenberg, 2010, pp. 83-284). Leaders are typically responsible for making non-programmed decisions. Therefore, they must rely on prior experience, information available and reliable sources to make decisions. In order for a leader to possess the trait of superior decision making ability, they must understand each of these steps and use them to evaluate the effectiveness of their decisions. Understanding Change Change is essential to the growth and expansion of organizations. People are creatures of habit and not always accepting of change.Learning organizations have developed the capacity to adapt to continuously changing conditions through setting aside old ways of thinking, freely sharing ideas, and working together (Greenberg, 2010, p. 417). The greatest results are derived from changes that are strategically planned and systematically implemented. â€Å"Organizational development is a set of social science techniques designed to plan and implement change in work settings for purposes of enhancing the personal development of individuals and improving the effectiveness of organizational function† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 17). The â€Å"implementation dip† refers to two problems associated with change: the social-psychological fear of change and the lack of technical skills required for successful implementation. Leaders who understand change â€Å"still have an urgent sense of moral purpose and measure success in terms of results, but they do things that are more likely get the organization going and keep it going† (Fullan, 2001). Charisma Charisma is defined as â€Å"a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthus iasm for a public figure† (Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. , 1981, p. 377).A leader’s possession of charisma is based on the perception of their followers and may change due to actions and circumstances. Just as presidential approval ratings could change drastically from one day to the next based on the latest news and events. Charisma alone may not ensure successful leadership but it could mean the difference between an average leader and a great leader. A person may exhibit all the traits of a successful leader and propel the organization forward through market share dominance and financial growth and at the same time he may be perceived by his employees and community as a terrible leader.Charismatic leaders inspire enthusiasm and loyalty by engaging followers through personal connection. Transformational leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy were known for their charismatic qualities that inspired others to follow them, often in a highly emotional manner (Greenberg, 2010, p. 316). Charisma is a key leadership trait because it emphasizes the importance of focusing on the viewpoint of the employees and the community. Drive Drive consists of the desire for achievement, ambition, energy, tenacity, and initiative (Greenberg, 2010, p. 14). â€Å"High achievers obtain satisfaction from successfully completing challenging tasks, attaining standards of excellence, and developing better ways of doing things† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 2).Individuals that desire higher standards of excellence are more likely to succeed in a leadership role. They typically have a â€Å"can do† attitude and are willing to complete the necessary tasks to achieve positive results despite the challenge. Leaders with high levels of initiative are proactive. They make choices and take action that leads to change instead of just reacting to events or waiting for things to happen† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 4). In our technologically advanced society, it is very easy to operate in a reactive mode, addressing issues as they arise. Great leaders have a natural drive to seek out challenges and proactively identify opportunities for improvement. â€Å"These same qualities, however, may result in a manager who tries to accomplish everything alone, thereby failing to develop subordinate commitment and responsibility.Effective leaders must not only be full of drive and ambition, they must want to lead others† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 5). Self-confidence In order for leaders to gain commitment from their followers, self-confidence is a necessity. â€Å"A person riddled with self-doubt would never be able to take the necessary actions nor command the respect of others† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 7). Self-confidence has been uniquely recognized as a necessary trait of effective or emergent leaders in many different studies written since 1948 (Judge, Ilies, Bono, & Gerhardt, 2002, p . ). Self-confidence is an indicator of emotional stability and self-esteem. Followers desire a sense of stability and assurance in their leader’s capacity to take charge in any given circumstance. Many times leaders have to be willing to take risks and make quick decisions that require commitment from others. Doing so requires confidence in their skills and abilities and others must be able to sense their confidence in order to commit to the decision and take action. Integrity Integrity means doing the right thing for the right reason, regardless of who is watching.A leader of integrity is a leader people can trust. Integrity also means conducting business in an ethical manner because integrity requires honesty. Integrity is essential to effective leadership since people value trust and fair treatment. People want to know their leader will stand behind their word and do what they proclaim. â€Å"Honesty is absolutely essential to leadership. After all, if we are willing to follow someone, whether it be into battle or into the boardroom, we first want to assure ourselves that the person is worthy of our trust.We want to know that he or she is being truthful, ethical, and principled. We want to be fully confident in the integrity of our leaders. † (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 7) Leadership Theories Leadership is an intricate process that entails developing and maintaining complex social relationships. Over the years, many have studied leadership approaches and styles in an effort to determine the most effective. Several leadership theories have formed out of these studies, two of which are contingency theories discussed below.A contingency theory is a belief that leadership is influenced by the â€Å"characteristics of the individuals involved and the nature of the situations they face† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 322). Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory The situational leadership theory was developed by Paul Hersey, a professor who wrote the book Situational Leader and Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager. The theory was originally introduced as â€Å"The Life-Cycle Theory of Leadership† and was renamed â€Å"Situational Leadership Theory† in the mid 1970’s when they developed their own models (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969).The situational leadership theory is based on adapting your leadership style to the maturity of the individual or group you are attempting to influence. It is based on the fact that each person differs in their capabilities and capacity to set goals, their willingness and ability to take responsibility, and level of education and experience. Hersey and Blanchard characterized leadership styles into four behavior types: telling, selling, participating, and delegating. Telling (S1) is the act of identifying the roles of the individual or group and providing specific avenues of how to accomplish the specified task.Selling (S2) is the act of identifying the roles of the individual or group and providing two-way communication so as to allow the individual or group being influenced to commit to the process. Participating (S3) encompasses shared decision making allowing the individual or group to be a part of the identification of the task and the process. Delegating (S4) provides the individual or group with the authority to make decisions about the process while the leader remains involved as a monitor of the activities taking place. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969) Hersey and Blanchard’s model also identifies four levels of maturity.Level one is when the participants lack the skills for the job and are either unable or unwilling to accept responsibility for the task. Level two is when the participants are willing to provide effort to complete the task but lack the skills or the knowledge required. Level three is when the participants are willing to provide the effort and have the skills or knowledge required but lack the confidence to take on the responsibility. Level four is when the participants are willing to provide the effort and have the skills or knowledge required and are confident and willing to accept the responsibility. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969)Hersey and Blanchard noted the importance of communicating your leadership approach to your employees. If you make a good diagnosis and provide the leadership style needed but fail to communicate your approach, your employees may become untrusting. Therefore it is important to implement your approach with your employees rather than to your employees in order to create a cohesive environment. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969) The idea is to adapt your leadership behavior to that of your employees. By identifying the maturity level of your employees and adapting your leadership behavior, you can become a more effective leader.Path-Goal Theory The path-goal is a contingency theory based on the principle that â€Å"subordinates will react favorably to leaders who are perceived a s helping them make progress toward various goals by clarifying the paths to such rewards† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 325). This theory emphasizes the importance of the way the leader helps to clarify, communicate and reduce or eliminate obstacles so as to create a positive perception that will result in increased effort and high-quality performance from the subordinate (Greenberg, 2010, p. 325).In essence, people will work to achieve the goal if they believe they are capable, and if they perceive the goal to be worthwhile. The path-goal theory suggests four basic leadership styles: instrumental, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented. Instrumental also known as directive is when the leader identifies the task and specifically defines the process to be followed. This approach has a positive effect when the tasks are ambiguous and essentially gratifying (House & Mitchell, 1974). The supportive leadership style is centered on building relationships with employees and show ing concern for their sychological well-being. This style is effective when the tasks are emotionally taxing and physically draining (House & Mitchell, 1974). The participative leadership style is the based upon the belief that two or more minds are better than one and engaging employees in the decision making process produces higher levels of commitment.The level of participation may vary based on the style of leadership used and the style may change based on the type of decision being made. The achievement oriented leadership style focuses on setting challenging goals with confidence in subordinates seeking to improve performance (Greenberg, 2010, p. 25). This style has been proven most effective in highly technical roles. The style of leadership that should be selected depends on the individual situation and several characteristics of subordinates should be considered. The theory suggests that several aspects of the work environment play a role and best results are achieved when tasks are unstructured. In a routine and structured work environment, employees may become resentful of the path-goal approach perceiving the leader as intrusive (Greenberg, 2010, p. 327). Application of Analysis to Leadership EnvironmentLeaders of all industries may take advantage of the study and application of leadership traits and theories. Practical application would benefit a general manager of a full-service hotel in the hospitality industry. A general manager is a leader to many different employees with various levels of education, experience and skills. In addition, the employees maturity levels vary and some are more willing than others to take initiative to expand their skills and abilities. The two contingency theories mentioned provide leaders with optional styles that can be adapted to individual employees to achieve optimal productivity.For instance, a new housekeeper may initially require the telling style of the situational leadership theory. They may appreciate cle ar guidelines that outline the process of cleaning a room. However, after the training period the employee may exhibit high levels of maturity by taking initiative and offering new ideas. In this case, employee engagement and commitment can be achieved by shifting to the participating leadership style. This can be accomplished through encouraging feedback and empowering the employee to implement new ideas.The sales team of a hotel operates most efficiently in a creative environment that promotes open forums for brainstorming and networking. The path-goal theory encourages a participative leadership style effective in sales positions because it encourages feedback and a personal commitment to the goals. The ability to listen and relating to groups are valuable traits when working with a sales team. Active listening ensures the employees understand the goals of the organization. Relating to the group allows the leader to provide the support and resources needed to achieve the goals.