The Trait Approach to Leadership

17. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the trait approach to leadership?
18. good leaders are born, not made
19. good leaders have the same set of identifiable traits
20. leadership and management are terms for the same activity
21. leadership ability cannot be explained by an individuals traits
22. some common traits found in studies make finding leaders easy

The trait approach to leadership is a theory, according to which all effective leaders must possess a set of the same principal personality traits [Answer B]. This approach is one of the oldest concepts in management theory, which was based on an early assumption that good leaders are born, not made [Answer A]. During the 1920s-1930s management specialists tried to specify a list of traits universal for all leaders, which would help to distinguish potentially effective leaders from other people.

Nevertheless, in general, the attempts to create such a list can be considered unsuccessful. Numerous studies and researches on this subject were carried out, but the majority of the findings proved to be quite contradictory and inconsistent.

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Many researches, including Lombardo and McCall, Stogdill and others, identified certain sets of necessary personality traits that every successful leader must possess, but many specialists noticed that the effective leaders showed different personal qualities in different situations.

However, this approach is taken into account in modern management theory. In particular, according to Samuel C. Certo and S. Trevis Certo, all successful leaders must: (1) be intelligent and intellectual; (2) have perfect communication skills and persuading abilities; (3) have a drive for achieving high socioeconomic status and attain the goals and objectives; (4) be emotionally stable and mature; (5) have good adaptive and participative skills; (6) be persistent and dependable, and so on (Certo & Certo, 2005).

References

Certo, S. C. & Certo, S. T. (2005, April). Modern Management. Tenth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.