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 We've all heard of the stories about how someone stepped up and became a leader. You may have even heard someone make the comment "well that kid was born a leader." Unfortunately it is not all that simple. Leadership traits are not necessarily hereditary. And the argument really goes back to your beliefs about nature versus nurture.
Nurture / Nature and Leadership
The Nature / Nurture argument in a leadership setting means this: Was the person born that way (nature) or did they learn about leadership from someone else (nurture)? Our theory of leadership and the traits of a leader lean more towards nurture.
Our mindset is that leadership traits are learned from others or through experience. Whether or not you accept the responsibility of being a leader is a function of your personality. The difference is subtle but important. A person's experience allows them to understand what it takes to be a leader, but whether they express these leadership traits themselves is a personal choice they make.
Leadership Traits and Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman has written extensively about what makes a person a leader. In his book Emotional Intelligence, Goleman divides leadership traits into two broad categories:
- Self Management Skills, and
- The Ability to Relate to Others
Within these two broad categories describing leadership, Goleman goes on to describe five components, or traits, of emotional intelligence that help to make a person into a leader. Below is a brief summary of Goleman's findings.
Self Management Skills
This first broad category of leadership traits has to do with the abilities of leaders to "manage" themselves. The hypothesis here is that leaders must first look inwards and be in control of themselves before they can start to lead others.
- Self Awareness - When we have a deep understanding of ourselves including our strengths and weaknesses then we are said to be self aware. For example, if you know that you do not work well under pressure, you are exhibiting the trait of self awareness.
- Self Regulation - This leadership trait of self regulation leverages self awareness but runs against that tide. People that exhibit this leadership trait are able to not only understand their impulsive behavior, but also control it.
- Motivation - Have you ever been asked this question - How can I get this worker motivated? Well, the answer is quite simple - You can't motivate others. Motivation comes from within and is a driving passion that exists within a person. The best you can do is to create an environment where motivation can thrive. Motivation is essential for anyone taking on a leadership role.
The Ability to Relate to Others
The second broad category of leadership traits you need to master are those involving your ability to relate to those around you. They describe, quite simply, a leader's ability to relation to others.
- Empathy - In order to be an effective leader, you must be able to deal effectively with others. The first step in understanding another person's viewpoint is through the leadership trait of empathy. Putting yourself in their shoes and taking into account their reaction to your decisions.
- Social Skills - Goleman maintains that all of the other leadership traits culminate in this skill. Social skills here are defined as the ability to build rapport with others and get them to work together towards a common goal.
You probably don't see a lot of nature in the above leadership traits; people are not born with good social skills, they develop them by observing what is acceptable in society and what is effective. Finally, we talked about personalities that will accept the role of a leader. That is where motivation becomes so important. We can learn to master these leadership traits, but without the right motivation you are simply a bystander.
Leadership Traits versus Leadership Styles
As a reminder, all of these leadership traits should not be confused with the leadership styles. In the above we are talking about the traits or characteristics of a leader. The things we might see in ourselves or in leaders around us. This is not to be confused with how to effectively lead others - which has more to do with leadership styles.
If you're interested in learning more about recognizing the most effective way to lead others in a variety of work environments, then you'll want to take a look at our article on Leadership Styles.
About the Author - Leadership Traits
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