CHAPTER 2
Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES
The belief that certain personal characteristics and skills contribute to leadership effectiveness in many
I. PERSONALITY TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS
Possessing certain characteristics contributes to leadership effectiveness in many situations as long
as the leader’s style fits the situation reasonably well.
A. General Personality Traits
A general personality trait in the context used here is a trait that would be observable within or
outside the context of work. The same general traits are related to success and satisfaction in
both work and personal life.
1. Self-Confidence. In almost every leadership setting, it is important for the leader to be
2. Humility. Being humble at the right times also contributes to leadership effectiveness.
3. Core Self-Evaluations. Core self-evaluations is a broad personality trait that captures
4. Trustworthiness. Group members consistently believe that leaders must display honesty,
integrity, and credibility, thus engendering trust. Trust is a person’s confidence in
another individual’s intentions and motives, and in the sincerity of that individual’s word.
A study showed that high levels of trust are also associated with high levels of
organizational performance
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
transparency, in which organizational leadership is open rather than secretive about
activities that affect the welfare of stakeholders. Two examples of trust builder are to
make your behavior consistent with your intentions, and telling the truth in ways people
can verify.
5. Authenticity. Embedded in the trait of being trustworthy is authenticity—being genuine
and honest about your personality, values, and beliefs, as well as having integrity. To
become an authentic leader, and to demonstrate authenticity, be yourself rather than
attempting to be a replica of someone else. Studies conducted at a police organization
and a U.S. Army training camp showed that leaders rated as being more authentic had
subordinates rated as more effective performers.
7. Assertiveness. Letting others know where you stand contributes to leadership
effectiveness, and also being or appearing extraverted. Assertiveness refers to being
forthright in expressing demands, opinions, feelings, and attitudes. Being assertive helps
leaders perform tasks such as confronting group members, demanding higher
performance, and making legitimate demands on higher management.
9. Sense of Humor. The effective use of humor is considered an important part of a leader’s
role. Humor helps dissolve tension and defuse conflict. Self-effacing humor is the choice
of comedians and organizational members alike. One of the research-based rules of
humor is that higher-status people joke at a higher rate than those of lesser status, and ten
to be more successful at eliciting laughter from others.
B. Task-Related Personality Traits
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
1. Proactive Personality. According to its original research-based definition, a person with
a proactive personality has a relatively stable tendency to effect environmental change.
2. Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a state of nonjudgmental attentiveness to and awareness of
moment-to-moment experiences. The mindful leader is usually calm and has clarity and
3. Passion for the Work and the People. A dominant characteristic of effective leaders is
their passion for their work and to some extent for the people who help them accomplish
4. Emotional Intelligence. How well a person manages his or her emotions and those of
others influences leadership effectiveness. Emotional intelligence refers to qualities
such as understanding one’s feelings, empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions
to enhance living. Four key factors are included in emotional intelligence: (1) self-
awareness helps you understand your impact on others; (2) self-management is the
ability to control one’s emotions and act with honesty and integrity in a consistent and
adaptable manner; (3) social awareness includes having empathy for others and having
intuition about organizational problems; (4) relationship management includes the
5. Flexibility and Adaptability. A leader must be flexible and adaptable enough to cope with
6. Courage. Leaders need the courage to take risks and to take the initiative. Courage in the
present context refers to behaviors such as prudent risk taking, facing responsibility, and
a willingness to put one’s reputation on the line.
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
II. LEADERSHIP MOTIVES
Leaders can be differentiated from nonleaders and ineffective leaders in terms of their motives and
needs. The motives described here are task-related.
A. The Power Motive
Effective leaders have a strong need to control resources. They vigorously exert power, think
about how to alter the behavior of others, and care about status.
1. Personalized Power Motive. Leaders with a personalized power motive seek power
2. Socialized Power Motive. Leaders with a socialized power motive use power primarily to
achieve organizational goals or a vision. These leaders are less defensive than those with
a personalized power motive, and they are more willing to accept expert advice.
B. The Drive and Achievement Motive
Leaders are known for the strong effort they invest in achieving work goals. Drive refers to a
joy in accomplishment for its own sake.
C. Tenacity and Resilience
Leaders are better than nonleaders at overcoming obstacles. Tenacity multiplies in importance
III. COGNITIVE FACTORS AND LEADERSHIP
Mental ability as well as personality is important for leadership success. Problem-solving and
intellectual skills are referred to collectively as cognitive factors..
A. Cognitive (or Analytical) Intelligence
Strong problem-solving ability is a fundamental characteristic for effective leaders in all fields.
Research spanning 100 years has demonstrated that leaders received higher scores than most
people on mental ability tests. The relationship is likely to be higher when the leader plays an
active role in decision making and is not overly stressed.
B. Knowledge of the Business or Group Task
An effective leader has to be technically or professionally competent in some discipline,
particularly when leading a group of specialists. The importance of knowledge of the business
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
C. Creativity
Many effective leaders are creative in the sense that they arrive at imaginative and original
D. Insight into People and Situations
Another important cognitive trait of effective leaders is insight, a depth of understanding that
E. Farsightedness and Conceptual Thinking
To develop visions and incorporate strategy, a leader needs farsightedness, the ability to
understand the long-range implications of actions and policies. Many of today’s business
leaders are accused of having a shortsighted emphasis on quick profits. Conceptual thinking
IV. THE INFLUENCE OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT ON LEADERSHIP
The traits, motives, and characteristics required for leadership effectiveness are a combination of
heredity and environment. Personality traits and mental ability are based on certain inherited
predispositions and aptitudes, which, however, require the right opportunity to develop. For
example, a person may inherit high mental ability but needs the right experiences to learn to develop
innovative solutions to problems facing the group. Leadership appears to be a combination of nature
and nurture.
V. THE STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE TRAIT APPROACH
The evidence is convincing that leaders possess different personal characteristics from those of
nonleaders. A knowledge of the traits associated with leadership effectiveness helps in the selection
of leaders. Awareness of these characteristics can also point a person toward the right
developmental experiences, such as learning to become more assertive. The current emphasis on
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
Certain traits increase the probability of a person’s becoming an effective leader, but the situation
often influences which traits will be the most important.
VI. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Considering that emotional intelligence is so important for leadership success, many organizations
sponsor emotional intelligence training for managers. A realistic starting point in improving
emotional intelligence on your own is to work with one of its five components at a time, such as
empathy. You would first obtain feedback about your empathy, and then work diligently on any
deficiency. After the attempted improvements in empathy, solicit more feedback. Developing
COMMENTS ON EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 2-1: How Self-Confident Are You?
Most people question their self-confidence at times, helping to make this quiz relevant. Also, self–
confidence plays such a major role in leadership effectiveness across situations that it is well worth a
student’s time to think about self– confidence on a personal level.
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 2-2: Behaviors and Attitudes of
Trustworthy Leader
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-1: Enthusiasm, Optimism, and
Warmth on the Job
A major challenge for the person who plays the role of the CEO in this scenario is to project enthusiasm,
optimism, and warmth even thought the company’s existence is being threatened. The exercise sends the
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 2-3: My Tendencies Toward Being a
Proactive Personality
This quiz gives the student an opportunity to think about one of the most important aspects of providing
leadership to others—being proactive. Without being proactive, it is difficult to provide direction to
Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz 2-4: How Big Is My Thinking?
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
Leadership Skill–Building Exercise 2–2: My Best Leadership
Attributes
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-3: My Leadership Portfolio
Reflecting on traits is valuable because it can point to specific areas for development. For example,
many people need to search around to find as aspect of their field they might be passionate about.
Leadership Skill–Building Exercise 2–4: Analyzing the Traits,
Motives, and Characteristics of a Well–Known Leader
This exercise provides an opportunity to carefully observe the traits, motives, and characteristics of a
leader and at the same time think through what these attributes mean in practice. A good example is
what it takes for a leader to appear to have good cognitive skills. What kind of profound statement
COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Identify two strong traits, motives, and characteristics of the current president of the United
States. Also identify to attributes that appear to be weak. Explain your reasoning for both
answers.
A challenge for many students will be to avoid personal like or dislike for the president to
cloud their judgment. An accurate answer to this question would be specific about the attribute
1. Suppose a college student graduates with a major for which he or she lacks enthusiasm. What might
this person do about becoming a passionate leader?
The bold approach would be for this person to make an early career switch into a field he or she
cared about, such as a management major shifting to social work. A less bold approach would be to
3. What have you observed personally to be helpful about a leader displaying sense of humor?
We assume that responses to this question will be quite varied. A frequent response, however, is
that by the leader displaying a sense of humor, tension decreased during a difficult situation. For
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
4. What would lead you to conclude that a leader was non-authentic (phony)?
A leadership behavior that frequently prompts a perception of phoniness is when the leader brags to
upper management about the group being outstanding. Yet, the same leader often demeans the
5. Under what circumstances do you think it is acceptable for a leader to lose emotional control, such
as ranting, swearing, or crying?
Ranting does not have many fans, but many people think it is acceptable for a leader to swear to be
convincing. Some leaders swear among groups that appear to swear frequently but do not swear in
6. If cognitive ability is so important for high-level leadership, why not have a 15-year-old genius be
the CEO of a large organization?
7. Provide an example of a leader you have observed who appears to have good cognitive intelligence,
yet who is lacking in practical intelligence.
It probably won’t be easy for students to find a good example because most people who find their
way into a leadership position have at least an average degree of practical intelligence. A possible
8. Which do you think is the most outstanding leadership trait, motive, or characteristic of the person
teaching this class? Explain your answer.
The more humble instructors among us might feel a little embarrassment if informed of these
9. If leadership ability is partially inherited, to what extent is it sill worthwhile for a person without
any family members who have held leadership positions to pursue a career as a high-level business
leader?
The aspects of leadership that are mostly hereditary relate to personality and cognitive factors that
facilitate a person becoming a leader, such as having high energy and being intelligent. If no family
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
10. Many people who disagree with the trait approach to leadership nevertheless still conduct
interviews when hiring a person for a leadership position. Why is conducting such interviews
inconsistent with their attitude toward the trait approach?
Conducting interviews is inconsistent with an anti-trait approach because a major purpose of the
interview is to assess personal characteristics that would be related to job effectiveness. Another
PLAUSIBLE RESPONSES TO CASE QUESTIONS
Leadership Case Problem A: A True Warrior Jumps into the Electric
Car Race
The story about Padmasree Warrior is helpful in examining the attributes of a prominent leader. At the
same time, the story might be inspirational and uplifting for many students. Warrior switches industry at a
late stage in her career, and has such grand visions for her startup company.
1. To what extent do you think Warrior is taking on too big a risk by trying to be competitive in the
electric car business?
Current media information will indicate whether Warrior succeeded in her venture with NextEv.
2. Which personality-related leadership traits does Warrior appear to demonstrate?
3. Which cognitive skills does Warrior possess that are particularly relevant in her role as CEO of
NextEv?
Warrior has demonstrated superior technology skills in becoming one of Silicon Valley’s best–
4. What is your evaluation of Warrior’s believe that passion about electric and technology skills cars
is more important than experience in hiring people to work at the company?
For some positions it could be true that passion about electric and technology chops are more
Associated Role Play
This role play provides students with the highly enjoyable task of participating in a simulated job
interview. A challenge in demonstrating superior technology skills is that almost all students know how to
operate smartphones and computers, so choosing what to talk about to give a person an edge is
Chapter 2: Traits, Motives, and Characteristics of Leaders
Leadership Case Problem B: Blunt Brittany
This case illustrates how a leader’s personality tendencies can create problems in developing smooth
working relationships with work associates, including her boss!
1. In which leadership trait or characteristic does Brittany seem to need the most development?
2. How would you rate Brittany’s warmth and enthusiasm as a leader?.
Most people would agree that Brittany has low warmth and sensitivity. This is her biggest problem
and will probably limit her career as a leader of people.
3. What action do you recommend that Derek take to improve Brittany’s leadership effectiveness?
Brittany needs to read about sensitivity and emotional intelligence, and attempt to apply the ideas
Associated Role Play
Once again a role play touches on a key leadership and management responsibility, attempting to change