Chapter 2 Traits Motives and Characteristics of Leaders

Question 1

What are 3 broad Categories of Characteristics of Leaders?

Answer 1

Personality Traits
Motives
Cognitive Factors

Question 2

Personality traits of effective leaders can be separated into the following categories:

Answer 2

General Personality Traits

Task-related Traits

Question 3

General Personality Traits of Effective Leaders:

Answer 3

Self-Confidence
Humility
Trustworthiness
Extraversion
Assertiveness
Emotional Stability
Enthusiasm
Sense of Humor
Warmth

Question 4

Some ways to convey self-confidence:

Answer 4

Use unequivocal wording
Good Posture
Use Appropriate Gestures

Question 5

Humility:

Answer 5

Humility = Being humble at the right times.

Think of this as, “give credit where credit is due.”

Question 6

Trustworthiness:

Answer 6

Trust = a person’s confidence in another individual’s intentions, motives, and the sincerity of that person’s word.

Question 7

Trust Building Behaviors:

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Trust in the leader was positively associated with the following follower behaviors

Answer 8

Job Satisfaction
Organizational commitment
Turnover intentions
Belief in information provided by the leader
Commitment to decisions
Satisfaction with the leader
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)

Question 9

Extraversion:

Answer 9

Extraverted individuals are more likely to assume a leadership role and participate in group activities.

Question 10

Assertiveness

Answer 10

Being forthright in expressing demands, opinions, feelings, and attitudes.

Question 11

Assertive leaders are better at:

Answer 11

Confronting group members with their mistakes
Demanding high performance
Setting high expectations
Making legitimate demands on management.

Question 12

Emotional Stability:

Answer 12

Emotional Stability = The ability to control emotions to the point that one’s emotional responses are appropriate to the occasion.

Question 13

Enthusiasm:

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Sense of Humor:

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Warmth:

Answer 15

Warmth helps establish rapport with groups.

Warmth is directly related to the “Enabling” characteristic of charismatic leaders.

Question 16

Task-Related Personality Traits:

Answer 16

Passion for the work and the people
Emotional intelligence
Courage

Question 17

Passion for the Work and the People:

Answer 17

A dominant characteristic of effective leaders.
Often drives them to put in longer hours than others.
Can be at risk of being workaholic

Question 18

Emotional Intelligence:

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Four Key Factors in Emotional Intelligence:

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Caveat on Emotional Intelligence:

Answer 20

**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.

Question 21

Flexibility and Adaptability:

Answer 21

Flexibility = the ability to adjust to different situations.

Question 22

Internal Locus of Control:

Answer 22

Internal Locus of Control = I am responsible for the events and outcomes in life.

Question 23

External Locus of Control

Answer 23

Forces outside my control determine the events and outcomes in my life (e.g., What’s meant to be, is meant to be.)

Question 24

Courage:

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

Cognitive Factors:

Answer 25

Cognition refers to the mental processes or faculty by which knowledge is gathered.

Leaders must have problem-solving and intellectual skills in order to effectively gather, process, and store information.

Six cognitive factors related to leadership effectiveness have been identified

Question 26

Six Cognitive Factors related to leadership effectiveness

Answer 26

General mental ability (i.e., general intelligence).
Knowledge of the business or task.
Creativity
Insight into people and situations
Farsightedness and conceptual thinking (i.e., ability to anticipate)
Openness to experience

Question 27

Are leaders born or made?

Answer 27

Both

Question 28

Nature versus Nurture:

Answer 28

Individuals inherit a basic capacity to develop personality traits and mental ability that sets an outer limit on the degree to which they can be developed.

Environmental influences determine how much of an individual’s potential will be developd.

Question 29

Strengths of the Trait Approach

Answer 29

Serves as a guide to leader selection

Can guide individuals in preparing for leadership responsibility

Question 30

Weaknesses of the Trait Approach

Answer 30

Does not identify which characteristics are absolutely needed.
Does not specify how much of a trait is needed.