But are there traits that might differentiate potential for leadership? Robert House and Mary Baetz (1979) suggested it makes sense that some individual differences play a role in leadership.
Leadership is a social process. It occurs with respect to others. Therefore leaders are more likely to have:
- social skills
- speaking skills
- a predisposition to be influential
- task-related ability
1. Leadership is clearly a social process so factors affecting social interaction should be important in leading. I think of great leaders and most were superb speakers.
2. Energy is not a topic that I have read about in the academic leadership literature. But it makes sense, especially if you look at the biographies of great leaders. People have different levels of energy. I have been amazed at times in my life by people who seem to do it all, do it all well, and have time left over. You have probably known a few. You may be one. About 1% to 3% of the population need only four hours of sleep a night. These people seem to do so much they appear to have a permanently installed “on” button.
3. Research focusing on these six factors and leadership might produce interesting results. My guess is most of us can identify these factors in leaders we know. Or in ourselves.
Robert J. House and Mary L. Baetz, “Leadership: Some Empirical Generalizations and New Research Directions,” in Research in Organizational Behavior Vol.1, ed. Barry M. Staw (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1979), 341-423.
Adapted from Decoding the Workplace, Best Career Book - Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2016.
Image “Leader of the Pack” by Sudosurootdev.
Obtained from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leader123.jpg
Used with permission: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
© John Ballard, PhD, 2016. All rights reserved.
"Decoding the Workplace: 50 Keys to Understanding People in Organizations is as informed and informative a read as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. . . Decoding the Workplace should be considered critically important reading for anyone working in a corporate environment." —Midwest Book Review
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