Chapter 2 Traits Motives and Characteristics of Leaders Flashcards
What are 3 broad Categories of Characteristics of Leaders?
Personality Traits
Motives
Cognitive Factors
Personality traits of effective leaders can be separated into the following categories:
General Personality Traits
Task-related Traits
General Personality Traits of Effective Leaders:
Self-Confidence Humility Trustworthiness Extraversion Assertiveness Emotional Stability Enthusiasm Sense of Humor Warmth
Some ways to convey self-confidence:
Use unequivocal wording
Good Posture
Use Appropriate Gestures
Humility:
Humility = Being humble at the right times.
Think of this as, “give credit where credit is due.”
Trustworthiness:
Trust = a person’s confidence in another individual’s intentions, motives, and the sincerity of that person’s word.
Trust Building Behaviors:
Make behavior consistent with actions. Focus on problem-solving rather than placing blame. Honor confidences. Maintain high levels of integrity. Tell the truth. Reward trust.
Trust in the leader was positively associated with the following follower behaviors
Job Satisfaction Organizational commitment Turnover intentions Belief in information provided by the leader Commitment to decisions Satisfaction with the leader Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)
Extraversion:
Extraverted individuals are more likely to assume a leadership role and participate in group activities.
Assertiveness
Being forthright in expressing demands, opinions, feelings, and attitudes.
Assertive leaders are better at:
Confronting group members with their mistakes
Demanding high performance
Setting high expectations
Making legitimate demands on management.
Emotional Stability:
Emotional Stability = The ability to control emotions to the point that one’s emotional responses are appropriate to the occasion.
Enthusiasm:
Group members respond positively to enthusiasm—may partly be due to the perception that enthusiasm is a reward behavior.
Directly related to the “Energizing” component of charismatic leadership.
Sense of Humor:
Effective [and appropriate] use of humor is an important element of leadership.
Dr. John P. Kotter, of the Harvard Business School, found the use of humor to be a common trait found in really effective leaders.
Humor can help diffuse tensions.
Warmth:
Warmth helps establish rapport with groups.
Warmth is directly related to the “Enabling” characteristic of charismatic leaders.
Task-Related Personality Traits:
Passion for the work and the people
Emotional intelligence
Courage
Passion for the Work and the People:
A dominant characteristic of effective leaders.
Often drives them to put in longer hours than others.
Can be at risk of being workaholic
Emotional Intelligence:
Emotional Intelligence = the ability to do such things as understand one’s feelings, have empathy for others, and to regulate one’s emotions to enhance one’s quality of life.
Without high emotional intelligence, it is difficult to be a truly effective leader—especially at higher levels of the organization.
Four Key Factors in Emotional Intelligence:
Self-awareness:
The ability to understand your own emotions.
The most critical of the four.
Self-management:
- The ability to control one’s emotions and act with honesty and integrity.
Social awareness:
Includes having empathy for others and intuition for organizational problems.
Helps you accurately size up political forces in the office.
Relationship management:
- Includes interpersonal skills of being able to communicate convincingly, disarm conflicts, and build strong personal bonds.
Caveat on Emotional Intelligence:
**A person cannot be an effective leader on the basis of emotional intelligence alone. It is a supplement to, not a substitute for mental ability.
Flexibility and Adaptability:
Flexibility = the ability to adjust to different situations.
Internal Locus of Control:
Internal Locus of Control = I am responsible for the events and outcomes in life.
External Locus of Control
Forces outside my control determine the events and outcomes in my life (e.g., What’s meant to be, is meant to be.)
Courage:
Courage is required to take risks and to take initiative in general.
You must be willing to face the consequences of a decision gone awry or you will freeze up as the stakes grow.
