The Seven Traits Associated With Leadership

Throughout 20^th century multiple researches were conducted in order to identify leadership traits. The aim was to find characteristics that would differentiate leaders from non-leaders. One research identified seven traits associated with effective leadership that are described below.

The first trait is the drive. Leaders are ambitious, energetic, they demonstrate high effort level, they are passionate, persistent, and they show initiative. The Second trait is the desire to lead. Leaders are not afraid of taking responsibility. They have a strong desire to influence others and lead the way. The third trait is honesty and integrity. Leaders are trustworthy and they show consistency between their words and their deeds. They know it is important to build trusting relationship with subordinates.

Self-Confidence is the fourth trait associated with leadership. Leaders must show self-confidence in what they say, in what they do, and in what they decide so the followers feel that they are stepping on a solid ground. The fifth trait is intelligence. Leaders must be ready to multi task and solve multiple problems at once. They should process and interpret vast amount of information and make correct decisions.

It is typical of an engineer to complain about a manager who set unreachable objectives without knowing the technical obstacles. Job-relevant knowledge is the sixth trait of leadership. Effective leaders have a high degree of knowledge about the company, industry, and technical matters. A leader who has slim knowledge about his/her department often loses his/her self-confidence and drive as well. The seventh trait of leadership is extroversion. Leaders are rarely silent or passive. They are often full of energy, sociable, assertive, and good communicators.

Jobs can fall into three categories. Jobs that deal with things, jobs that deal with people, and jobs that deal with ideas. Generally top managers would deal with ideas and people, middle managers would deal with people and ideas, and supervisors would deal with people and things. However an Ideal leader is someone who have sufficient experience in each single category and inherited the seven traits of leadership.  

      

Resource:

Robbins Stephen P, Coulter Mary; Management. Pearson prentice hall .Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: 10^th Edition.