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Chapter 4

Individual Differences and Traits

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 Learning Objectives

• Explain the elements and impact of individual difference characteristics

in leadership
• Discuss the role demographic characteristics play in leadership
• Identify the impact of values on leadership
• Present the relationship between abilities and skills and leadership
including emotional intelligence and creativity
• Highlight the role of key personality traits relevant to leadership
including the following
– The big five
– The proactive personality
– Type A
– Self-monitoring
– The dark triad
• Be able to use individual characteristics appropriately
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 The Leadership Question

You now know that leadership is more than just

a set of traits. Personal characteristics, including
personality, however, do matter. What personal
characteristics do you think matter most in
leadership? Which ones detract from leadership
effectiveness?

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Individual Differences Framework

Heredity Environment
Genes Culture and education
Race/ethnicity Parental influence
Gender Physical environment

Individual characteristics

Demographic
factors Abilities
Values
and
skills
Personality
traits

Leadership styles
and behaviors

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 Behavioral Range

Comfort zone
Individual characteristics
discomfort

discomfort
Personality
Zone of

Zone of
traits Abilities
Demographic
factors and
skills
Values

Comfort zone

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 Demographic Characteristics

• U.S. business leaders are a homogeneous group

• U.S. leaders are similar in
– Birthplace
– Religion
– Education
– Social class
– Gender
– Race
• Homogeneity may negatively affect ability to
innovate and be creative

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 Values
Values are long-lasting beliefs about right and wrong and what is
worthwhile and desirable
Important Values
• Honesty
• Respect
• Hard work
• In Today
• Being Responsible
• Discipline / Organized
• Gratitude / Appreciation
• Egaliterian
• Principles / Ethos
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 Values
Factors that affect values include
– Culture
– Personality
– Gender
– Ethnicity
– Generational differences

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 Values and Culture

• Culture is the basis of a person’s values

• Individualism is related to values of
achievement
• Collectivism is related to values of
sacrifice for the group

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Generational Differences in Values

• 76+: The Tradionalists: GI generation

– Hard work, frugality, patriotism
• 56-75 (Baby Boomers)
– Nonconformity, idealism, self-focus, happiness, and peace,
Hard working, frugality
• 41-55 Xers (Generation X)
– Enjoyment of life, autonomy, work-life balance
• Younger than 25-40 millennials
- Flexibility, meaningful experiences, tolerance, and openness
- 9-24 nexters
- Openness to experiences and changes, IT generation

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 Abilities and Skills

• Ability or aptitude (Physical,

Intellectual -Inherent)
– Stable, natural talent for doing something

• Skill
– Acquired talent developed for a specific
task

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 Abilities: Practical and Emotional
Intelligence

• Intelligence
– Cognitive abilities, problem-solving
– Emotional abilities, social-connectedness
– Important but not sufficient for leadership

• Practical intelligence (Competencies/Skills)

– Skills needed to succeed in life
– Ability to work with others
– Key role in leadership

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 Emotional Intelligence

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Self-motivation
• Empathy for others (understanding
others emotions)
• Interpersonal and social skills

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 Creativity

• Perseverance in the face of obstacles

• Self-confidence
• Willingness to take moderate risk
• Willingness to grow and openness to new
experiences
• Tolerance of ambiguity (not clear)

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 Leadership Skills

• Technical (job expertise)

• Interpersonal (between people)
• Conceptual (problem-solving)
• Networking (relational)

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 Skills and Career Progression

Upper
management
Level of leadership

Middle
management

Supervisory

Technical Interpersonal Conceptual

skills skills skills
Leadership skills
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 Personality Traits

• Psychological characteristics
• Develop early in life and changeable/relative
stable
• Stable over time and across situations
• A set of characteristics rather than one trait
• Make the person unique and different from
others

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Traits that Contribute to Leadership

Some traits are a precondition to leadership, but

not enough to predict it
• Drive
• Motivation to lead
• Integrity
• Self-confidence
• Intelligence
• Knowledge of the business
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 How Traits Play a Role in
Leadership

• Some traits (characteristics) are associated with leadership

• Traits and personality influence a leader’s preferences,
style, and behavior
• Traits may affect the ease of learning new skills and
behaviors
• Being aware of one’s traits helps in learning and
development
• Traits along with other individual and situational factors
can predict leader behavior

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 Big Five Personality Traits

• Conscientiousness: Degree to which a person is reliable,

responsible, organized, and plans ahead
• Extraversion: sociable, talkative, assertive, active, and ambitious;
introverts: not comfortable with external interactions.
• Openness to experience: ready to except change and open to new
experiences.
• Emotional stability: calm and composed; neurotic: get triggered
easily by any stimuli.
• Agreeableness: give preference to others’ courteous, good natured.

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 Let’s Assess Ourselves

• https://www.truity.com/test/big-five-
personality-test

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Proactive Personality

Identify opportunities
Action
Goals
Take initiative
Take control
Remove obstacles

Change
Unconstrained by situations

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Type A Characteristics
High need for control
“Doing more in less and less
time”

Defining characteristics
• Time urgency • Polyphasic behavior
• Competitiveness • Hostility

Work-related behaviors
• Poor delegation
• Like to work alone
• Jump into action
• Set high goals
• Hard working
• Experience more stress

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 Characteristics of High
Self-Monitors

• Able to read cues from the environment

• Able to change behavior to match situation
• Comfortable in new situations
• Ability to cope in cross-cultural situations
• May be a key factor in leadership effectiveness

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 The Dark Triad

Psychopathy

Machiavellianism Narcissism

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 The Dark Triad

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 The Leadership Question
Revisited

• There is no one trait, or a set, that matters more although

some can be very destructive.
• Any characteristic that helps the leader make a
connection with others is likely to be desirable for
leadership.
• Self-awareness, building on existing strengths, and
addressing areas of weakness through either personal
development or through organizational support are key
to success.

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Leading Change:
Katzenberg

• Reading

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