THE TRAIT AND SKILL THEORIES

The Trait and Skill Theories

Justin Mulholland

OGL 300 Theory and Practice of Leadership

Dr. Jay Klagge

25 March 2018
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There are many different theories that researcher have had that revolve around what the

secret attributes are to make a good leader. Is it a certain trait like charisma that really enables

followers to be attracted to them? Is it a certain set of skills that have enabled them to climb the

proverbial ladder of emergent leadership? These questions and more have stumped researchers

for centuries, creating a multitude of theories around what makes a leader tic. We will be

comparing some of these theories today and really digging into what makes researchers gravitate

towards them. This study will help us to understand why some of the great leaders of our time

were so effective and also take a glimpse into what made them that way.

There are two main approaches at understanding leadership. These are the Trait approach

and the Skills Approach. R.D. Mann a famous researcher suggest that certain traits could be used

to distinguish leaders from non-leaders. (Northouse, Pg. 21) He goes on to explain that there are

six key attributes that leaders are strong in. Those key attributes are intelligence, masculinity,

adjustment, dominance, extraversion, and conservatism. (Northouse, Pg. 21) Another approach,

The Skills approach focuses on the emphasis of skills and abilities that can be learned and

developed rather than personality characteristics. (Northouse, Pg. 43) One of the biggest

similarities in these two approaches is that they both focus on the leader and exempt the follower

and situation from the studies. These approaches however have many differences as well. For

starters the Trait approach has been studied since the early 1900’s and has a vast background of

research to support its claims. The Skills approach didn’t pick up much stema until the early

1990’s really taking off in 2000 when researchers Zaccaro, Mumford, Connelly, Marks, &

Gilbert presented their work titled “Exploring the relationship of leadership skills and knowledge

to leader performance” in Leadership Quarterly. (Northouse, Pg. 43) Another major difference is

that the Trait approach eludes to traits that a leader is born with rather than the Skill approach
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focusing on a set of skills that can be honed and improved. This difference seems to really set the

stage as to how these two approaches can be used in application. It is near impossible to change a

leader’s personality from being an outgoing, boisterous person to a laid-back stubble leader. It is

however very feasible to increase someone’s motivation and teach them the three steps of

motivation (being willing to tackle organizational problems, expressing dominance, and being

committed to the social good of the organization). (Northouse, Pg. 52-53) One leader who comes

to mind that portrayed the Trait approach is President Barack Obama. During his Inaugural

Address in 2009, he spoke of hope and freedom and portrayed great charisma enabling a nation

to rally behind him. (Archer) Elan Musk is a prime example of the Skill approach. Musk has had

ups and downs before Tesla went public even sinking millions of his own money into it the

company however, through the use of great problem solving that he had learned though his

journey with Paypal he was able to overcome these tough times. (That Time Tesla)

Throughout our studies we have seen many case studies that help us to hone our skills.

One case study in chapter two was the study of Carol and her battle to not only run a successful

company but also battle cancer. (Northouse Pg. 34-35) I believe that Carol was a determined

emergent leader who portrayed self-confidence throughout her process of growing a company

and without those traits her company would have failed and potentially even negatively affected

her battle with cancer. With Carols go getter mentality and ability to adapt I think that she would

make a great leader in almost any context due to her determination and never quit attitude.

Another case study we learn about Lt Col Adams and his ability to step out of his comfort zone

and lead in a new type of position. I believe that Lt Col Adams had a very systematic approach

and although very through in his attempt to fully understand this impending shut down he lost

sight of his people and what the end game was. There are a couple of areas that I see that Lt Col
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Adams could use some insight on. One of these areas are how to empower and trust people. Lt

Col Adams seemed to have tried to take on everything himself. Instead of being a leader to his

team he had meeting to tell what he had learned about the process rather than trust them as the

subject matter experts. Another area that Lt. Col Adams could use some help in is his ability to

listen. In this Case study I feel that he didn’t seem to ever ask questions he seemed to just make

decisions based off of what he found himself.

Chapter two enabled us to see what type of leader we felt that we were and what type of

leadership traits others felt we exhibited. Below are my results of those I interviewed.

Wife Mom Brother Peer Friend Average Self Rating

Articulate 2 3 3 5 3 3.2 4

Perceptive 4 5 4 5 4 4.4 4

Self-Conf 3 5 3 4 3 3.6 3

Self-assur 2 4 3 5 2 3.2 2

Persistant 3 4 4 5 4 4 5

Determined 5 4 4 5 4 4.4 5

Trustworthy 5 5 5 5 5 5 4

Dependable 5 5 5 5 4 4.8 5

Friendly 3 4 3 4 3 3.4 4

Outgoing 5 5 3 4 3 4 5

Conscientious 3 4 3 5 5 4 3

Diligent 5 5 4 5 4 4.6 5

Sensitive 4 4 4 4 3 3.8 3

Empathic 3 4 4 4 3 3.6 3
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I was pretty pleased about what others had to say about me I see that I am a lot harder on

myself than those other people except for my wife but I expect her to be tough on me as well.

The score that I was most interested in was articulating. I feel that I sometimes do not get what I

am trying to get across because I am not explaining myself correctly. I was very pleased though

that others felt that I was getting the message across and that this shows that overall, I have some

strong leadership traits.

I believe that both of these approaches are very important to how we view leadership and

what it means for future studies. These results will help us to determine what the workd views as

good leadership and will improve how companies globally will invest their training and

resources.

References
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Archer, S. J. (2017, January 11). Best Speeches of Barack Obama's Presidency. Retrieved March

25, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000004862084/best-

speeches-of-barack-obamas-presidency.html

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications, Inc.

That time Tesla nearly failed, and investors had no idea. (2015, May 18). Retrieved March 25,

2018, from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/that-time-tesla-nearly-failed--and-investors-

had-no-idea-135941157.html