In chapter 6 we take a look at the individual difference in
leadership based upon certain traits, also known as the “Trait” or “Great Man “theory.
In the chapter the authors create a model
of individual differences in leadership (fig 6.1) based on prior trait research. In the model they distinguish the difference
between leader emergence and leader effectiveness, and look at leader’s
individual traits and styles. Do you believe
there are certain traits that a leader needs to have in order to be a sucessful leader?
The authors break the leader’s traits into “bright” and “dark”
traits. Bright traits are traits that
are socially desires and are likely to be valuable for leader emergence and
leadership effectiveness across situations. The bright traits are: extraversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness. These
same traits can also be counterproductive in some situations for example if you
are agreeable, you might be easily rolled off course by influential followers.
Dark traits are
traits that might compromise leader effectiveness in general, but actually
might enhance group survival and fitness.
The dark traits are: narcissism, histrionic, dominance, machiavellianism. For example, someone who is histrionic is overly
concerned with looks, overly sensitive to disapproval, and attention
seeking. However if you are histrionic
you have a benefit of being more likely to emerge as a leader, or more likely
to be viewed as charismatic and innovative.
Have you ever been in a situation where you have seen a “dark” trait
being displayed? Knowing what you know
now about how “dark” traits can have benefit, was the trait being used in a
good or bad way?
In the chapter the authors debate about how you should truly
measure leadership. Critics point out research
often places to much emphasis on how leaders are perceived by their peers and
not enough on how the organization actually performs. Do you believe that leaders should be
measured more by their influence on others or their overall organizations performance?
I am a strong believer that leadership is situational. Therefore everything depends on the situation at hand. I understand the the need to seperate traits out from good or bad, but also believe that dark and bright traits could be described in many different ways. It confuses me that a trait can be bad and good at the same time especially traits in leadership.
ReplyDeleteI think that leaders should be measured by both their influence on others and their organizations performance. They are both very important when it comes to leadership, leaders influence others so therefore that is important. The organizations performance and success is also very important when you measure leadersip. Because one cannot have a successful organization without success.
I think that there are many different traits that leaders need in order to be considered a successful leader. An important trait that I believe to be a necessity is one that all leaders must have which is social skills. Some people have a really difficult time in this area but I believe that it is one of the most important traits that a leader must have among many others such as the ability to be a team player and team leader. Another important trait that a leader must have is having he ability to set a good example for others.
ReplyDeleteI think that a good example of a dark trait that we have all seen a lot is the leader Obama. President Obama also falls under the category of histrionic because he is always seeking attention and always has to be concerned about his looks because he is viewed as a public image by people from all over the world. I believe that in this case the traits are used in a good way and adds to his leadership skills.
I think that there are many ways of measuring leadership and how it influences individuals and organizations as a whole is a very important, successful way of measuring leadership.
I have noticed so many times that there have been people in leadership positions that posses dark traits. i think the most common is being egocentric. I will admit right not that I can be very egocentric, and I have also noticed it in MANY leaders. That's part of how you get to be the leader, you make everything about yourself. But that also aids the survival of the organization in a way. If you have the traits of being egocentric, your organization is going to be reflective of yourself, therefore you will put your organization before all others. That's how I feel, at least. SGA kicks ass compared to other orgs on campus, and I want SGA to be hot shit for many years to come, because it will reflect on me.
ReplyDeleteLeading into your last question, leaders should be measured by both. You can be a great leader but be surrounded by dead weight, so your org will still suck compared to how awesome you are. Or likewise, you can be dead weight, and everyone around you kicks ass, so you organization is very successful regardless of your pitiful influence.
I agree that leadership is certainly situational, depending upon the situation that the leader is in as well as the environment. I also feel that leadership has to do with the type of people that a leader is leading. If a leaders followers are cooperative and wanting to be lead a leader will have an easier time leading. Where as if a leader is leading people who have no desire to be lead or do not want to be there it will be more difficult. While there are many ways to measure leadership it is important to keep in mind the outside influences that leaders must work with.
DeleteAs far as measuring leaders by how peers feel instead instead of the influence I think that both should be considered when measuring leadership. A leader may have peers whom love him or her but as a group they may never get things done. Along with the situation if the leader comes off as a great leader but has peers who do not get along and hate the group because of who the leader is. Both of these need to be taken into consideration when measuring the success of a leader.
I also believe that a leader needs certain traits in order to be successful. This type of leader needs to be persistent and committed. The reason I chose these traits is because they are the only two traits that I could think of that would describe success. It is almost impossible to describe a successful leader in a few sentences because there are so many different types. Some leaders need social skills, whereas another leader might need computer skills and can do everything on the computer. Followers look for different traits in their leader. With this being said, I would describe a successful leader as one who is persistent and committed; they do not fail in achieving their goals because they will never give up until they are successful.
ReplyDeleteI have been in a situation where the leader was a man and he was too masculine to be able to relate to the women. He did not want much to do with the women and mainly focused on the men. However, his tough act earned him respect; no one wanted to interrupt him and listened to what he had to say. But this intimidation also caused me to keep my mouth shut. I might have had wonderful ideas but no one got the chance to hear them because he made me nervous.
I find the last question extremely difficult to answer because I feel a leader needs to be judged on both. He/she becomes a leader by doing something good that people like, which eventually leads to him gaining followers. In order to stay a leader, he/she must continue to do good things, including treating his followers good. I do not believe the leader will stay a leader if he cannot do both. But if I had to choose one, I would choose his overall performance because that is how he/she first draws attention to his/her followers.
I think there are definitely some traits that all leaders need to have to be successful. I think some traits that are necessary are courage and confidence. I believe these two things are something that all leaders have. Confidence is key because you cannot succeed at anything in life without confidence. Also if you show that you lack confidence in something, then the followers will doubt the organizations ability to get something done. Courage is also something I believe all leaders have. Courage does not mean that you do not have fears but it means that you find a way to overcome them. All leaders may have fear at some point but they overcome it and lead the organization to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI have been in a situation where I have seen dark traits being displayed. It is a simple example but in my family my Uncle is the leader on my mom's side. He is someone we all look up to and sometimes acts with a lot of dominance. I feel he uses it as a benefit. He is a very powerful leader and uses dominance as a benefit.
I think the final question is tough one. A lot of times if an organization does not perform than the leader may be asked to leave. For example, in a lot of sports teams the coaches may be fired if the team is not winning. However, does this mean they did not have influence on their players? A lot of great coaches and leaders have been fired in their careers. A good leader needs good followers in order to succeed.
I believe that every leader needs strong communication skills. Gaining people's attention and ensuring that they follow through with things plays a major role in leadership. Without communication skills, I think it would be impossible to be a leader. Some other skills beneficial to leaders can be done without because other team members can possess them, but communication is necessary.
ReplyDeleteI also believe leaders should be measured both by their influence on others and the overall organizations performance. First of all, the leader must be able to influence his/her ideas to others. Without being influential, the leader will be unable to effectively lead. The overall performance of the organization must be measured to see if the leader is influential to all areas of the organization, and also see if their leadership methods are adequate.
Yes I do believe there are certain traits that people must have to be a leader. Most notably, the main traits that I believe are necessary is for the leader to have a long-term outlook for the organization (a vision). Leaders must learn to communicate their vision or the vision of their organization to the people you want to follow you. Also, they must have confidence, because without self-confidence, the leaders subordinates will not have confidence in their leader. Finally, they must have a team-first attitude. A attitude to not put oneself before the greater good of the organization is a must have for leaders. I believe these three traits above are a must for people to be considered true leaders.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I believe organizations should be measured by both their influence on their stakeholders, and by the overall organizational performance. If leadership was only measured on one of these, it would not complete the whole idea of leadership.
Everyone has there own certain traits that they look for in people who are leaders. For me it first comes down to the type of situations or organization I am in. Certain traits relate better to myself or others in certain situations. But I agree with Clay as one of the best traits I look for in a leader is someone who is not just looking at the next day to day. Leaders should be looking long-term ahead and have a vision and a knowing of what they want to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteIf leadership is measured by both their influence on others and the overall organization, I believe this is good leadership. It is not good enough to only influence a few people and still not help the overall organization in todays world.
I do not believe a great leader needs to possess all bright traits to be a successful leader. Having dark traits can be a benefit given the situation. I have had times when having a dominance trait has allowed me to have more success with the outcome of a group. Your dark traits just need to be used at discretion when necessary. With that being said leaders should not always me credit by their influence over others because not everyone will like their leader sometimes. A leader though may face criticism if only focus on meeting performance goals making them more of a manager instead of a leader.
ReplyDeleteI think that having too many bright traits can most definitely lead to a pushover leader or someone who is outgoing and creative, but lacks the attention to detail or other necessary traits to get those ideas rolling. Similarly, dark traits can cramp a group's style and progression by getting caught up on things like looks or control. Just as you need leaders and followers, you need bright and dark traits.
ReplyDeleteThere is no checklist for leaders traits or traits for effective leadership, but leadership should probably possess some degree of any of the bright and dark traits. They don't necessarily have to be naturally occurring traits, but things that they can tap into as leaders when necessary. I guess that means that the one single trait that a leader SHOULD have is adaptability. But, then again, consistency isn't a bad thing either, as provides equality and security. Consistency in attitudes and beliefs is key, while adaptability to situations is important, as well.
In terms of dark traits in action, I can make myself an example of being histrionic. As a president of the National Residence Hall Honorary, I was left for a group that has fallen far below its potential and former glory by past executives. My goal to make it a shining star was the only thing in my line of vision, such that I missed all of the other details that were key in getting there, such as communicating with my e-board and general assembly. I have learned from past failures in previous semesters, and now I am slowly, but surely working my way toward my goal.
As far as influence vs. performance and outcomes of the group as an indicator of leadership, I agree with Clay, Chris, and the rest of my classmates that agree both are important. I have had influence on the rest of the NRHH e-board, but that doesn't mean I have led the organization to more success. It has to show through what the organization can do, as well.
I do believe that there are certain traits that a leader needs in order to be a successful leader.I think that the more traits one has the better leader they may be because they can relate to a lot more people. I agree with Angela that someone should have both bright and dark traits to be a successful leader. Someone who shows both sides I think will in turn be a better leader do to the fact that they will have a different outlook than a leader who just seems to lean to one side.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have been in a situation where I have seen a "dark" trait being displayed. At first while the situation was occurring I was taken back at how the leader was acting. But, overtime I realized that they were just trying to be a successful leader and had to be forceful to get the point across. I think "dark" trait was being used in both a good and bad way, because at first it was bad but in the end, in order for the goal to be reached the trait had to be used.
I agree with everyone who thinks that influence and performance are both equally important. You can't really have a successful leader without both factors. I think that the leader and their followers should work together on both influencing each other and performing well in order for the best results.
I do believe that there is not a set list that all great leaders have. The mere fact that there are such things as a quiet leader proves this to be true. Not all leaders are energetic and loud some lead by example. I think a good leader is one who finds a way to not only encourage others but can work with many types of people as well.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think that a dark trait might be a leader whom which followers may not like personality wise but are able to respond to and therefore accomplish the task at hand in a timely and effective manner.
I believe there are certain traits all leaders have that make them successful, however, there are not specific traits one needs to possess to be successful. I have been in a situation before where the manager was very histrionic. This manager was successful as a leader, but did cause lots of drama in the company. The benefit of her trait was that she had everyone liking her, as she was attention seeking so people would look to her. I think, however, that it was being used in a bad way. Looking back, this person was very self oriented and she did not have a vision for the company and was ultimately in the position to benefit only herself.
ReplyDeleteIn this case especially, I believe leaders should be measured by their overall organization performance. Just because she had the influence on others doesn't mean it was a positive influence. I think that the performance of the organization or company would have a more accurate measurement because people can be very bias in certain situations.
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