Trait Theory of Leadership

We'll look at the Trait Theory of Leadership that identifies the top 5 traits leaders possess and some examples and characteristics of each trait. Trait leadership theory is a common approach across organizational behavior, management studies, and organizational communication among other fields.
Other video mentioned:
Transformational Leadership: • Transformational Leade...
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References:
Northouse, Peter (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice (8th Edition). Sage Publications.
Johnson & Hackman (2018). Leadership: A communication perspective. Waveland Press.
See Alex's New Book on Amazon (affiliate): amzn.to/3XEmOaY
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[@alexanderlyon]

Do *_you_* possess any of these traits?

[@lauri28]

I've lately made huge effort with all these five...thanks to you!

[@alexanderlyon]

Good to hear, Lauri. Keep it up.

[@MasterTalks]

@@lauri28 awesome Lauri.

[@fz8692]

Working on self confident and social skills

[@dimaspoetra1149]

can i get your curriculum vitae as a resource person or reference?

[@kamalgiri2692]

I really find your tutorial video useful. Thank you sir.

[@alexanderlyon]

Thank you, Kamal. I'm glad it was helpful.

[@MasterTalks]

Incredible job Alex!

[@alexanderlyon]

Thanks, Brenden. I appreciate that, man. Hope all is well with you.

[@gildasalva9434]

Thank you...very informative..

[@joshuandulingajoshuandulin3386]

Well explained !

[@Amandeepkaur-nm8ll]

I can proudly say that i can blindly rely on your content. Thanks.

[@alexanderlyon]

I appreciate that. That's quite a vote of confidence!

[@aireenablao5300]

I really love this video and hope I able to possess all these five traits of a leader.

[@alexanderlyon]

Hi, Aireen. I'm sure you already possess them at least somewhat. Most of these, in my opinion, can be developed.

[@pauldebrone895]

Leadership traits “NOT COOKIE CUTTER.” Business leader, political leaders, family leaders, sport team leadership are all a little different however your top 5 seems to fit the best! I love the quote “Lead, follow or get out of the way!”

[@alexanderlyon]

Hi, Paul. Thanks for contributing. glad the video was helpful.

[@rahilahahmad4787]

thanks so much for the video and i would like to share it with my students for better understanding.

[@HIMMATSingh-hv1cr]

Traits, 1. Intelligence 2. Self-Confidence 3. Determination 4. Integrity 5. Sociability

[@rahilahahmad4787]

@@HIMMATSingh-hv1cr thanks

[@noorfaraz1843]

Thank you so much it's very helpful 👍

[@alexanderlyon]

Glad it was helpful, Noor! You're first on the comments today. I appreciate your enthusiasm and positive feedback.

[@noorfaraz1843]

@@alexanderlyon thank you so much Sir ❤

[@AndresLeonRangel]

I am very determined and persistent. Thank God. People have told me you cant and i dont listen to them. I am very driven to get things done and persist until is done. Example: setting a fire with a stick. Until is done. On the other side for me the one who gives me strength to never give up and be content in any circumstance in life is God Himself.

[@alexanderlyon]

Good examples, Andres. Thanks for sharing.

[@bumblebeestories504]

I am determined!

[@alexanderlyon]

That's key!

[@mycahnikkastudio8893]

very helpful thank you for this future leader here

[@alexanderlyon]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wesc.bradshaw4595]

Really loving your channel! Do you have any tips for emerging communication content creators and aspiring coaches and influences? It seems most of you guys are PhDs with many years of professional experience. Is there any room in the space for someone who just has a semi-related MA and a passion for the subject (mostly self-taught)? I'm planning to jump in soon and would love to start working with people and helping them become better communicators!

[@alexanderlyon]

Hi, Completely Winning. I don't do any videos that aim to accomplish that but my advice would be to dig into some good books, articles, and start making content. You have an MA and that's pretty darn good! You certainly don't need a Ph.D.. Real experience helps, however. It's best to speak from experience if you can and gain _more_ experience as you go. But, the main thing is to make content about that you personally know best.

[@wesc.bradshaw4595]

@@alexanderlyon Thanks Alex that sounds like really solid advice and that's exactly what I'm doing. Looking forward to learning more from your channel. Thanks so much for providing great content! :)

[@tobiasnandjigwa3080]

Alex, I am from Namibia, Africa. Because of your good communication acuments, would you perhaps edit my short story manuscript?

[@kathconstance4684]

Hi how are you, just coming from another video where you are not the whole picture, to use your phrase "take it from me" you need to be at least half screen with the text. Thank you for all of these videos. Please keep posting.

[@alexanderlyon]

I'm just trying some different ways to make videos and edit. I have to experiment to learn. Sorry you didn't like that other one.

[@johnterry6541]

Can you talk about leaders that are not actually popular and rich? The ones that actually hold society together from the bottom.

[@alexanderlyon]

I do use examples in lots of videos of people I've worked for and non-celebrity leaders. For this video (and some others), however, I wanted to select leaders who viewers might have already heard of so they can relate to the illustration. It all depends on what I believe are the best choices I can make for each individual video. I put out a video on Task and Relationship leadership several months ago where I talk about leaders I have worked for personally and used them as examples. You can search for it on the Videos tab on the channel.

[@sachinseth3773]

What is that lead people to act publically as self confident but infact they are not?

[@alexanderlyon]

Interesting question. There are endless issues that hurt our self confidence on the inside. But, when we step into a more public role like leadership, we often sense the needs of our followers to have a confident leader. We sense that we have important work to do and we rise to the occasion. Think of it like a public speaking situation, we might feel nervous but we want to do our best so we try to display more confidence than we might feel.

[@ilsaimtiaz8938]

What is your approach towards powerful traits of a successful leader ?

[@alexanderlyon]

I don't really have an approach to it. I personally lean heavily toward the school of thought that says leadership is learnable and leaders need to be good at a collection of skills that balance task-related skills and people-related skills about equally. But, I have a video on *_Transformational Leadership_* that may get somewhat at what you're talking about. Transformational leaders are usually stand-out leaders and have specific qualities in common.

[@mikecamacho1892]

Interesting....I have yet to personally meet a born leader. I think the only real quality that I'vee seen for leadership is individual success. Once you've proven success.... people will automatically follow you

[@micheljurgens]

Traits are not only woven into our dna but also nurtured into our being by envirement*

[@alexanderlyon]

We may think about them that way but the original research on traits says that traits, by definition, are biological. They are not learned or a product of our environment. That's what makes they traits. We might not agree but that's what the research on traits says. This is part of the nature vs. nurture debate.

[@micheljurgens]

@@alexanderlyon The truth is that we have a lot of controversy in psychology. Arguments can be made for both sides, whether it's nature or nurture, and since both sides have valid points, many psychologists adopt the belief that both play a role. However, the exact extent of each influence remains uncertain. It might lean more towards nurture for one individual and more towards nature for another. Different situations also influence which factor is more dominant. So, yes, you could be right, but many in the social sciences would disagree with that statement!

[@alexanderlyon]

I want to be clear that I'm not expressing my opinion on how we are shaped. That's not what this video is aiming to do. For this video, the _only_ question that concerns me is whether or not I accurately represented the view of the original traits theory of leadership. I'm not arguing that it is correct. I'm very aware that it's a debatable theory. We debate it every semester in my class. But, again, that's not what this video is about.

[@joycharles1055]

Took damn near 3 mins just to get to number 1

[@alexanderlyon]

You're not wrong, J.C. I really did want to jump right to the list but I felt strongly about explaining how the study of _traits_ work from a research perspective. Believe me, I always strive to get to the meat quickly but it's a real challenge sometimes. I hope there is some educational value in the part on how traits work.

[@joycharles1055]

@@alexanderlyon you got my thumbs up on the vid 👍🏽

[@zoyaimran9116]

Well you can also add Quaid-e-Azam(Muhammad Ali Jinnah) as an example of trait theory because he is also a born leader for Pakistan.

[@modernmistyk4341]

There's no such thing as a natural born leader. Do not be confused by this type of rhetoric. Every trait that we have is developed either absorbed by environment, or brought about by continuous study and application. Otherwise you would not be currently watching this video

[@alexanderlyon]

You are right about how we develop our traits (or don't develop them). That's a well-known aspect of all research on traits nowadays. I don't know a single person who has said that traits don't have to be cultivated to be at their strongest. The phrase "born leader" does not signify that leadership skills don't require effort and development. That is an understood aspect of virtually any discussion on traits. It just means that some people have the personality traits that leadership roles require as a starting place. The same thing could be said for other aptitudes like musical talent, physical strength, or linguistic ability.

[@trumptorianguard4617]

B. Husain O. is a great example of arrogance … not confidence. He actually lacks confidence and compensates with bitterness and aggression … but it just makes him look all the more weak. One must successfully accomplish something in order to build confidence. To this day Obama remains unaccomplished and unworthy of confidence.