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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
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
• 60+: The Tradionalists: GI generation
– Hard work, frugality, patriotism
• 50–65 Baby Boomers
– Nonconformity, idealism, self-focus, happiness,
and peace
• 40–50 Baby Busters: Yuppies/me generation
– Ambition, material comfort
• 30–40 Xers
– Enjoyment of life, autonomy, flexibility, work-life
balance
• Younger than 30 millenials/nexters
– Flexibility, meaningful experiences, tolerance, and
openness

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 Values and Ethics

• Relativist view
– Right and wrong depends on the
situation
• Universalist view
– All situations and actions are judged by
the same standard

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 Abilities and Skills

• Ability or aptitude
– 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
– Important but not sufficient for leadership

• Practical intelligence
– 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
• 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

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 Leadership Skills

• Technical
• Interpersonal
• Conceptual

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 Skills and Career
Progression

Upper
Level of leadership

management

Middle
management

Supervisory
Technical Interpersonal Conceptual
skills skills skills
Leadership skills
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 Personality Traits

• Psychological characteristics
• Develop early in life and hard to change
• 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 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
• Extraversion/introversion
• Openness to experience
• Emotional stability
• Agreeableness

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Proactive Personality

Identify opportunities
Take initiative
Take control
Remove obstacles
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

Nonpathological
Self-promoting
Disagreeable
Exploitative
Duplicitous
Offensive
Cold

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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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 What Do You Do?

A new employee is transferred to your department

and you hear from several people around the
organization that she is hard to manage. She has a
reputation for questioning everything, challenging
her boss, and refusing to give up when she wants
something. Several of her previous team members
tell you that she does not play well with others and
is always second-guessing their actions and
decisions. Your supervisor, however, thinks she is a
star and believes that you are lucky to get her. How
do you approach the situation?

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Leadership Challenge

• Psychological tests vary in degree of

validity and reliability
• In the workplace, primary use of
psychological tests should be development
not assessment
• Selection should be based on past
performance and relevant work behaviors
not personality tests

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Leading Change:
Katzenberg
• Typical Type A
– Ambitious
– Impatient
– Competitive
– Angry
• Booted out of Disney
• Developed self-awareness
• Working on changing behaviors
• Shifted his focus to followers

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 Leadership in Action:
Zhang Xin
• Chinese self-made billionaire
• Well-educated family during Mao’s revolution
• Experienced persecution and hardship
• Those events have shaped her life and
approach
• Highly intelligent and educated
• Married entrepreneur and built an empire
with him
• Creative, hard-working, frugal, high
perseverance, high initiative
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