Running head: INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS 1

Individual characteristics that contribute to leadership development

Elizabeth A. Sweigart

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS 2

Individual characteristics that contribute to leadership development

As described by Day, Harrison, and Halpin (2009), there are numerous contributing

factors to the development of leaders and leadership skills. Broadly, as Day et al. (2009) state,

"Leader development can be viewed as enhancing the fit between the requirements of the leader

role and the personal identity of the leader" (p. 183). A leader's personal identity is comprised of

individual characteristics as developed and grown within the organizational climate (Day et al.,

2009). Day et al. (2009) describe organizational climate as "shared perceptions of the events,

practices, and procedures and the kinds of behaviors that are rewarded, supported, and expected

in a setting" (pp. 189-190). Specifically, "a climate for leader development … refers to shared

perceptions regarding the extent to which leader development is rewarded, supported, and

expected in a particular organization based on the practices, policies, accounts, and events

regarding leader development" (p. 190).

For optimal leader development, individuals require psychology safety within their

organization (Day et al., 2009). Psychological safety "refers to shared perceptions team members

hold that their team environment is a safe place in which one can take interpersonal risks" (p.

190). Ultimately, leaders must be aware of the gaps in their own knowledge and be willing and

able to learn in order to be successful (Day et al., 2009). A host of individual characteristics may

contribute to this overall ability including self-regulation, goal orientation, self-efficacy, self-

awareness, and implementation intentions (Day et al., 2009).

Self-regulation

Baumeister (2010) defines self-regulation as "the self's capacity to alter and change its

states, particularly so as to bring them into line with standards such as norms, goals, ideas, or

rules" (p. 158). Self-regulation is essentially the ability to lead oneself (Day et al., 2009) and is
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accomplished largely through self-awareness (Baumeister, 2010). A critical element of leader

development is the ability of an individual to grow—intellectually, emotionally, and mentally—

over a prolonged period and maintain "a long-term, future-oriented perspective" (Day et al.,

2009, p. 191). As such, it is necessary that an individual have the capability to sustain change and

resist the urge to return to established patterns of behavior (Day et al., 2009). Self-regulation is

an important characteristic of successful leaders "as it plays a role in (a) establishing a goal or

desired state, (b) engaging in the appropriate behaviors and emotions needed to obtain one's goal,

and (c) monitoring process toward the goal" (Day et al., 2009, p. 191).

Goal orientation

For leaders to develop successfully, in addition to self-regulation, they must be able to

define and articulate objectives related to both learning and performance (Day et al., 2009).

When an individual believes that it is both possible and likely that a mission can be achieved or a

task accomplished, the motivation for that individual to pursue to that aim increases (Day et al.,

2009). As such, "goal orientation reflects the internal motivational processes that affect an

individual's task choice, self-set goals, and effort mechanisms in learning and performance

contexts" (Day et al., 2009, p. 194). When leaders are able to articulate goals related to either

learning or performance that are motivating to the leader and to followers, overall outcomes are

boosted as a result (Day et al., 2009). Goal-oriented individuals are more motivated, engaged,

and conscientious in terms of how they approach and carry out their tasks and activities,

generally provided for more positive results (Day et al., 2009). The result is that goal orientation

supports individuals in becoming better leaders (Day et al., 2009).

INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS 4

Self-efficacy

Generally, individuals who have a positive view of their own abilities to complete tasks

and conquer challenges are more likely to achieve their objectives and attain their goals (Day et

al., 2009). Although the term self-efficacy is frequently used in the context of specific topical

areas or métiers, "generalized self-efficacy refers to a global trait-like characteristic of one's

estimate of his or her overall ability to achieve required performance in a variety of situations"

(Day et al., 2009, p. 196). A motivator for self-regulation, meta-analytic studies have shown that

it is likely that self-efficacy—due to its relationship to motivation and self-regulation—is closely

linked with performance (Day et al., 2009).

Self-awareness

Leaders cannot learn from or gain insight into their behavior if they are not actively

cognizant of what they are doing and what it is motivating them to do it (Day et al., 2009).

Fundamentally, self-awareness can best be described as "self-focused attention" (Day et al.,

2009, p. 198) and "is critical for leader development and success" (p. 198). Self-aware leaders

are more in tune with their areas of competence and development potential and, as a result, often

more able to address them promptly (Day et al., 2009). Being self-aware in large part means

being attentive to one's own emotions and, as a result, often equates to a higher degree of

emotional intelligence in an individual, which is noted to increase a leader's overall efficacy

(Day et al., 2009).

Implementation intentions

For leaders, the follow through is just as, if not more, important than the original aim

(Day et al., 2009). Many individuals display characteristics popularly associated with leadership,

such as enthusiasm, ideation, and charisma; however, frequently these same individuals lose
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motivation, interest, or commitment to complete the tasks and actions necessary to ultimately

achieve the stated outcomes (Day et al., 2009). Psychology studies have shown that it is not

enough simply to have the desire to achieve a goal (Day et al., 2009). Instead, leaders must

develop the ability to automatically carryout behaviors and actions—essentially without thinking

—when a situation becomes challenging and the possibility of achieving a goal is put in question

(Day et al., 2009).

Implementation intention takes goal orientation an additional step forward and actually

prepares the leader to take action to continue to drive a solution forward even when the initial

task becomes more difficult than initially planned or understood (Day et al., 2009). This

characteristic is important for leaders because every action that a leader takes expends energy—

resulting in ego depletion over time (Baumeister, 2010)—and may result in the leader losing

significant momentum and motivation (Day et al., 2009). Implementation intentions counteract

ego depletion and "serve to make the initiation of goal-directed behavior nearly automatic by

designating where, when, and how behavior leads to goal attainment" (Day et al., 2009, p. 199).

Conclusion

Ultimately, individual characteristics related to leader identity and self-regulation

processes provide the building blocks for leader development (Day et al., 2009). Although the

rate of development may vary by leader—and be attributable to a host of additional factors

including the variety of situations and experiences to which the individual is exposed over the

course of their adult development—the underlying traits remain generally consistent (Day et al.,

2009). In particular, self-regulation, goal orientation, self-efficacy, self-awareness, and

implementation intentions all contribute to the ability of a leader to be successful (Day et al.,

2009).
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References

Baumeister, R.F. (2010). Chapter 5: The Self. In Baumeister, R. F., & Finkel, E. J.

(Eds.), Advanced social psychology: The state of the science. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Day, D. V., Harrison, M. M., & Halpin, S. M. (2009). An integrative approach to leader

development: Connecting adult development, identity, and expertise. New York:

Psychology Press.