Trait Theory of Leadership

Introduction to trait Theory of Leadership

The trait theory of leadership is an early assumption that posits that leaders are born, and because of this belief, those that have the perfect qualities and traits are better suited to be good leaders. This theory often refers to behavioral characteristics that are normal in leaders.

Trait theory of leadership is one of the foremost and early academic theories of leadership that tries to provide answers to the question of “why some people make good leaders and while other don’t?” furthermore, the trait theory dates back to the early nineteenth century, when a man named Thomas Carlyle used his understanding to identify the talents, skills, and attributes of men who rose to power.

The trait theory of leadership is based on the attributes of several leaders that are successful and not successful – and are used to anticipate leadership effectiveness. The ensuing characteristics are then compared to those of likely leaders to evaluate their chances of success or failure. Once discovered, the theory believes that these natural leaders can then be developed to become great and exceptional leaders.

Types of Trait Theory of Leadership

(1) Allport’s Trait Theory

Gordon Allport propounds this theory. According to him, the attribute of an individual can be evaluated through a difference between the common traits and personal temperament. The common characteristics are used to liken the people on the grounds of six options like religious, social, economic, political, aesthetic, and theoretical. Apart from the common traits, there are personal temperaments which are unique and are grouped as follows:

• Cardinal Traits:

The cardinal characteristics are strong, and few people have personality dominated by one trait like Mother Teresa’s altruism.

• Central Traits:

These traits are the overall features possessed by a lot of people in varying degrees like loyalty, friendliness, honesty, kindness, etc.

• Secondary Trait:

The secondary traits show why sometimes, a person behaves differently from how he acts normally like a happy person getting angry when people tease them.

(2) Cattell’s Trait Theory

Raymond Cattell propounds this trait theory. According to him, the sample of a tremendous value of variables should be evaluated to have an ideal understanding of the individual personality. He collected the life data (daily behaviors), experimental data (normalizing experiments by evaluating actions), questionnaire data (feedbacks gathered from a study of an individual’s behavior), and use the factor analysis to identify the behaviors that are related to one another.

When using this method, he highlighted 16 important personality factors:

• Abstractedness – Imaginative Vs Practical
• Passion – Extrovert Vs. gentle
• Alertness – Suspicious Vs. Honest
• Stress – Rough Vs. Relaxed
• Understanding – bothered Vs Confident
• Emotional Intelligence – Calm Vs anxious
• Liveliness – Spontaneous Vs withdrawn
• Authority – Forceful Vs Submissive
• Social confidence – free Vs Shy
• Perfection – Discipled Vs Undisciplined
• Confidentiality – Secretive Vs Open
• Sensitivity – Mild Vs Hard
• Autonomous – Independent Vs Dependent
• Rule-Consciousness – Conforming Vs Non-Conforming
• Reasoning – Abstract Vs Real
• Receptive to Change – Dynamic Vs Rigid

The trait theory is based on the assumption that the traits are normal to a lot of people, and they change in absolute amounts. Also, the features remain unchangeable for a period and thus can be evaluated through the behavioral indices.

How to Use the Trait Theory of Leadership:

Step 1:

Identify the usual traits of good leadership above and start identifying where you think your strengths and weaknesses lie.

Step 2:

Take the Trait Theory of Leadership Survey, personally.

Step 3:

Share this survey with five more people in your team and anyone you think is a leader, and get them to give their honest evaluation on why they believe you will make a leader.

Step 4:

Submit all these findings and evaluate where the difference between how you view yourself and how others view you lies.

Step 5:

Talk about these findings with the group and agree on where you can improve yourself.

Step 6:

Make a simple action plan of fewer than seven items to improve and boost your skills.

Benefits of Trait Theory Leadership

(1) It lends support to the belief that leaders are born

It supports the widely shared idea that some people are specially born to be leaders because they possess incredible skills. People need to view leaders as gifted and amazing people, and the trait theory of leadership meets this need.

(2) It is effective as a lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory

It is an excellent way to measure the leadership trait of a person and determine if they will make a good leader. It also offers extensive knowledge and understanding of the leadership element in the leadership selection process.

(3) Helps to identify leaders with reasonable emotional control

The trait theory of leadership helps to identify leaders that are calm, disciplined, and serene in the face of adversity, pressure, or stress. All these emotional controls and intelligence elements are necessary for becoming a leader, and the theory helps a lot identifying them.

(4) It helps breed courageous leaders

The Trait theory helps a lot to identify and build leaders that have a strong and brave mind that will be able to face challenges and help the group achieve their set objectives. There is a way they will be identified with the cattels’ trait theory of leadership.

Conclusion

The traits approach leads to a lot of questions: whether leaders are born or self-made; and whether leadership is an art or science. However, these are not definite. Leadership may be an art; it still needs the application of incredible skills, expertise, and techniques. Even if there are specific qualities that make one an effective leader, such innate abilities would need continuous learning and development.

A person doesn’t come to life with self-confidence. Self-confidence is nurtured, honesty and integrity are personal choices, motivation to lead and succeed comes from inside the individual, and the knowledge and expertise of business can be learned. Though cognitive ability has to do with the genes, it still needs to be nurtured for it to come out well. None of these elements can be gotten easily overnight.

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