Traits Models of Leadership

There are many approaches to modeling leadership. But, perhaps the oldest assumes that leaders are people born with a specific set of qualities, or traits. Today, we still recognize that there are some traits that can make us better leaders. If only we could agree on which!

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Introduction to Leadership
Program 3: Managing and Leading Individuals
Course 11: Leadership
Section 2: Models of Leadership

Other videos in our Introduction to Leadership:
🎬 Leadership Behaviors: Task and Relationship Focus
🎬 Action Centered Leadership - A Roles-based or Functional Leadership Model
🎬 Goleman's 6 Leadership Styles - A Styles Models of Leadership
🎬 What is Transactional Leadership?

LESSON NOTES
Traits models of leadership see leadership as something that stems from the individual.

Ralph Stogdill r(1974):
The [successful] leader is characterized by a strong drive for responsibility and task completion, vigor and persistence in pursuit of goals, venturesomeness and originality in problem solving, drive to exercise initiative in social situations, self-confidence and sense of personal identity, willingness to accept consequences of decision and action, readiness to absorb interpersonal stress, willingness to tolerate frustration and delay, ability to influence other person’s behavior, and capacity to structure social interaction systems to the purpose at hand.

Edwin Locke and associates identified:
• Leadership motivation
• Self-confidence
• Honesty and integrity
• Drive and Responsibility
• Cognitive ability (intelligence)
• Business Knowledge
• Other traits—charisma, creativity/originality, problem-solving, and flexibility/adaptiveness.

In addition, other researchers have added things like:
• Social skills
• Motivational skills
• Personality Traits
• Gender

RECOMMENDED EXERCISE
1. What traits have you observed in the best leaders you have worked with that seem to contribute to the quality of their leadership? (2 MC CPD Points)
2. What is your assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the traits-based model of leadership? (3 MC CPD Points)

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RECOMMENDED READING
There are a vast number of Leadership books - perhaps more than on any other managemnet-related topic. And there is also a huge range represented in different lists of the best. This no-doubt reflects the different contexts for leadership.

So, any recommended reading list of leadership books must be particularly subjective. I have chosen those that made me think, and which are of particular value to manegerial leaders: not sportspeople, military leaders, or CEOs. In no particular order:

📖 Leaders Eat Last
📖 Start with Why
📖 Humble Leadership
📖 The Leadership Challenge
📖 The New Leaders
📖 Shackleton's Way
📖 Why should Anyone be Led by You
📖 The Habit of Excellence

⭕️ Links to our book recommendations are affiliated through Amazon and help support our free videos

MANAGEMENT COURSES CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) POINTS
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CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 - Traits-based models of leadership
00:35 - What Traits-based leadership models are
01:07 - Research on traits based leadership models
01:38 - Ralph Stogdill
02:45 - Zaccaro and colleagues
03:10 - Which traits lead to good leadership? Edwin Locke and colleagues
04:51 - Additional traits for leadership potential
06:09 - Critiques of traits-based leadership models
07:45 - Summing up

#ManagementCourses #Leadership #LeadershipTraits

[ManagementCourses]

What sort of person is a good leader? Traits models describe the characteristics of the people who lead well. Maybe we get some of these traits at birth, through our genetic heritage but, more likely, we acquire them as we go through our lives. We can certainly cultivate helpful traits and discard others if we choose. But, which ones will help us lead?