Understanding Leadership Traits, Behavior and Attitudes

Leaders help themselves and others do the right things. They set direction, build an
inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to
go to win" as a team or an organization; it is dynamic, exciting and inspiring. Leaders must also
use management skills to guide their people to the right destination in a smooth and efficient way.
An effective leader is a person who creates an inspiring vision of the future, motivates
and inspires people to engage in that vision, manages delivery of chat vision, coaches and builds a
team that is effective in achieving the vision. Leadership brings together the skills needed to do
these things. Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human
assistance.
Effective leadership is based upon ideas whether original or borrowed; those ideas can be
communicated to others in a way that engages them enough to act as the leader wants them to act.
The leader is the inspiration and director of the action. He or she is the person in the group that
possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills that makes others want to follow
his or her direction.
Leadership is critical to every company. Workers need someone to look up to learn from,
and thrive with. Every leader has his or her own style and strategy.
Leadership styles and methods vary because of outside influences and personal
challenges. Good leaders want their entire company to succeed, including everyone involved.
They take the time to understand every worker, so they can help him or her achieve personal
goals in line with the company's.
Trait is a distinguishing quality or characteristic. Over the past several years, one of the
most important contributions psychology has made to the field of business has been in
determining the key traits of acknowledged leaders. Psychological tests have been used to
determine what characteristics are most commonly noted among successful leaders.
Raymond Cattell, a pioneer in the field of personality assessment, developed the
Leadership Potential equation in 1954. Based on a study of military leaders, it is used today to
determine the traits that characterize an effective leader. The traits of an effective leader include
the following:
1. Emotional Stability. Good leaders must be able to tolerate frustration and stress.
Overall, they must be well adjusted and have the psychological maturity to deal with anything
they are required to face.
2. Dominance. Leaders are often times competitive and decisive and usually enjoy
overcoming obstacles. Overall, they are assertive in their thinking style, as well as their attitude in
dealing with others.
3. Enthusiasm. Leaders are usually energetic. They are often very optimistic and open to
change. Overall, seen as active, expressive, and they are generally quick and alert and tend to be
uninhibited.
4. Conscientiousness. Leaders are often dominated by a sense of duty and tend to be very
exacting in character. They usually have a very high standard of excellence and an inward desire
to do their best. They also have a need for order and tend to be very self-disciplined.
 5. Social Boldness. Leaders tend to be spontaneous risk-takers. They are usually socially
aggressive and generally thick-skinned. Overall, they are responsive to others and tend to be high
in emotional stamina.
6. Tough-Mindedness. Good leaders are practical, logical, and to-the- point. They tend
to be low in sentimental attachments and comfortable with criticism. They are usually insensitive
to hardship and overall, are very poised.
7. Self-Assurance. Self-confidence and resiliency are common traits among leaders.
They tend to be free of guilt and have little or no need for approval. They are generally secure and
free from guilt and are usually unaffected by prior mistakes or failures.
8. Compulsiveness. Leaders are found to be controlled and very precise in their social
interactions. Overall, they are very protective of their integrity and reputation and consequently
tend to be socially aware and careful, abundant in foresight, and very careful when making
decisions or determining specific actions. Leaders of today must also possess traits, which will
help them motivate others and lead them in new directions. Leaders of the future must be able to
envision the future and convince others that their vision is worth following.
9. High Energy. Long hours and some travel are usually a prerequisite for leadership
positions, especially as the company grows. Remaining alert and staying focused are two of the
greatest obstacles they will have to face as leaders.
10. Intuitiveness. Rapid changes in the world today combined with information overload
result in an inability to "know” everything. In other words, reasoning and logic will not get
leaders through all situations. In fact, more and more leaders are learning the value of using their
intuition and trusting their "gut" when making decisions.
11. Maturity. To be a good leader, personal power and recognition must be secondary to
the development of their employees. In other words, maturity is based on recognizing that more
can be accomplished by empowering others than can be by ruling others.
12. Team Orientation. Business leaders today put a strong emphasis on team work.
Instead of promoting an adult/child relationship with their employees, leaders create an
adult/adult relationship, which fosters team cohesiveness.
13. Empathy. Being able to "put themselves in the other person's shoes” is a key trait of
leaders today. Without empathy, they can't build trust. And without trust, they will never be able
to get the best effort from their employees.
14. Charisma. People usually perceive leaders as larger than life. Charisma plays a large
part in this perception. Leaders who have charisma are able to arouse strong emotions in their
employees by defining a vision, which unites and captivates them. Using this vision, leaders
motivate employees to reach toward a future goal by tying the goal to substantial personal
rewards and values.
Peter Economy, also known as "The Leadership Guy,” listed the qualities of today's best
leadership in an Inc.com article. According to Economy, leadership embodies:
a. Decisiveness
f. Confidence
b. Awareness
g. Optimism
c. Focus
h. Honesty
d. Accountability
i. Inspiration
e. Empathy
Leaders maintain a positive attitude. "A good leader can hold his or her emotions in
check, especially in tough situations," says David Moore, founding partner and regional vice
president of Addison Group staffing firm. “For example, maybe you lost your best client, or a
deal you've been working on falls through. Regardless, it's important for leaders to guide a team
through challenging times, encouraging them and remaining positive along the way. Team morale
is heavily contingent upon a leader's attitude," Moore adds.
Leaders can't, and shouldn't, stand alone. A company doesn’t t need just one influential
individual. Leaders should want to develop more leaders from the get-go. Great leaders also hire
and inspire other great leaders, whom they trust to carry out the company mission and instill a
sense of purpose that touches each and every staff member," adds Tom Villante, co-founder,
chairman, and CEO of payment-processing company YapStone.
When the leader establishes trust within the team, it truly shows. Team members feel
secure in sharing their opinions without the fear of judgment or retribution, freely share
information and openly collaborate on projects, and know that if the leader pushes them, he does
so with their best interests in mind. The result? Highly motivated and productive workforce. A
leader is only as effective as his team. But building trust takes time and conscious effort. People
don't trust words; they trust actions.
1. Lead by example. If you want your team members to display certain behaviors, you
need to display them first. You cannot ask someone to do something that you wouldn't do
yourself. Transparency builds trust. Secrets destroy it. True leaders are direct and honest. And
they, communicate all the time. Lack of information creates assumptions that are usually negative
or disruptive to team's motivation and productivity.
2. Admit your mistakes and acknowledge your limitations. Publicly own up to your
mistakes when you make them. Admitting you were wrong isn't a sign of weakness, but strength.
Acknowledge the mistakes and outline the new course. No one knows everything. We all have
our limitations. Build a team around you that complements you - and each other in knowledge,
skill sets, and capabilities.
3. Trust your team. Hire the best and trust them to lead. Trust is a two way street. If you
don't trust your team, they won't trust you. And always remember: take the blame, but give away
the credit. Acknowledge people for their contributions. The more credit your give away, the more
motivated your team will be to move mountains for you.
4. Treat everyone fairly. Always treat everyone fairly. Have the same set of expectations
for every team member and create team rules that you expect everyone to respect and follow.
Setting clear expectations upfront, including clear roles and responsibilities, ensures that there are
no surprises. This takes extra stress out of the daily routine.