Trait Leadership: Theory and ReviewGao Yafei

Gao Yafei

Abstract：Organizational leadership behavior exists in various social organization relationships， involving the purpose and behavior of the organization， is a mediator variable that affects organizational decision-making， and is also a necessary means. Organizational leadership is contextual and controllable. No organization leadership theory is adapted to all situations and should be determined by the goals， objectives， strategies， and time required by the leadership of the social organization. The trait leadership theory has a history of more than 100 years of development， and it is the most extensive and deep research branch of leadership theory， but people are not very familiar with this theory. Therefore， this paper describes the development of trait leadership theory in chronological order， in order to deepen people's understanding of this theory and promote the in-depth development of this theoretical research.

Keywords： leadership;leadership;theory;trait;leadership

Leadership research has always been a hot topic in the field of education administration and management research. The theory of leadership in the past 100 years can be roughly divided into four stages： the trait theory before 1940 （think leadership is innate to some people） Intrinsic traits）， behavioralism from the 1940s to the 1960s （thinking which leadership behaviors were more effective）， contingency theory from the 1960s to the 1980s （researching suitable leadership styles in different contexts）， and the new fascination leadership theory from the 1980s to the present Period of NeoCharismatic Leadership （Chen Zhizhong， 2013）. As with our everyday language， the term leader is not precisely defined， even if it is used in organizational behavioral science.

For example， Bennis （1989） mentioned that leadership is as difficult to define as a beauty， but when you see her， you know. Martin M. Chemers （1997： 1） considers leadership to be a process of social influence in which someone can gain the support and assistance of others to perform common tasks. The claim that leadership is a process of social influence， that a person can play to organize or organize various activities and relationships in the group， and Yukl proposes that leadership is a specific role or a social influence process; the type and theory of leadership The purpose of the foundation and its influence; the controversy of leadership and management， etc. （Yukl， 1998）. Different leadership definitions lead to differences in methods such as leadership constructing， measuring， examining， and commenting. The source of leadership and the mechanism of influence are the core issues that every leadership theory must answer. The leadership sources involved in leadership theory mainly include the interaction between leaders， subordinates， leaders-subordinates， and the environment. In terms of the influence mechanism of leadership， there are mainly traits， behaviors， and cognitions. An important path communicated by four leadership forces， such as ability and emotion. In recent years， there have been some new trends in leadership research. For example， negative leadership has received increasing attention， and followers have become one of the focuses of leadership research. However， people's understanding of trait leadership theory often remains at the surface.

Since the 1940s， Western scholars have conducted a lot of research on leadership issues from different angles， and have formed three different stages of development： leadership characteristics theory， leadership behavior theory and leadership contingency theory， and new trends in leadership theory development. This article will introduce the development of trait leadership theory from three aspects， in order to enrich people's cognition of the theory and provide reference for the future development of the theory.

Ⅱ.The Origin of Trait Leadership

As Aristotle said， many people still believe that some people have been marked as slaves since the birth， while others have been marked as rulers. Aristotle believes that some people have certain qualities when they are born， and these qualities make them leaders. The concept of "genetic great man" in the 19th century， which is based on genetic factors to determine leadership， is called the trait approach of leadership.

Early leadership theory research tends to find the commonality of successful leaders， called "characteristics theory"， also known as leadership traits theory， quality theory and so on. According to different interpretations of the sources of leadership characteristics， it can be divided into traditional leadership characteristics theory and modern leadership characteristics theory. The traditional theory of leadership characteristics originated in the late 1940s. The core point is that the characteristics of leaders are born， and leaders can only become effective leaders if they have these characteristics. The modern theory of leadership characteristics believes that the quality and characteristics of leadership are formed in the practice of organizational management， and can be cultivated through the education and training of the day after tomorrow. The representative research results of this period are mainly：

In 1938， in the book The Functions of Managers， Chester Barnard， a representative of the management and social systems school， believed that the basic qualities that leaders should have were： （1） vitality and endurance; （2） Acting decisively; （3） following the temptation; （4） responsible; （5） intelligence.

Sir. F. Galton believed in 1869 that the qualities of the leader were born.

The early American management scientist Giselli proposed eight personality traits and five motivational characteristics. The eight personality characteristics he derived in his "Exploration Exploration" study are： intelligence， initiative， inspecting ability， self-confidence， determination， adaptability， gender， maturity， etc.; five kinds of incentive characteristics are： work Stable needs， the need for monetary rewards， the need to direct others' power， the need for self-fulfillment， and the need for career achievement.

William Jack Bauer， a professor at Princeton University in the United States， puts forward ten conditions for business leaders in the United States， as follows： cooperation spirit， decision-making ability， organizational ability， good at authorization， good at adapting， and courage Seeking new， courageous， risk-taking， respecting others， and noble morality.

In 1974， the Institute of Business and Industry of the Ohio State University proposed that the successful leaders must have 21 personal qualities： they are good at adapting to complex situations， pay attention to external environmental trends， have ambition and desire for achievement， and dare to calm down. Good at working with others， being loyal and reliable， acting decisively， having a desire， being energetic， being confident， being able to withstand pressure， being brave in taking responsibility， being smart and flexible， clear-minded， innovative， communicative， eloquent， clear team goals and Mission， organized， persuasive， easy to get along with.

Ralph M. Stogdill （1948） divides the relevant personal traits into five categories： competence - intelligence， alertness， language fluency， originality， determination; achievement - academic achievement， knowledge， athletic achievement; responsibility - Responsibility， initiative， perseverance， enthusiasm， self-confidence， desire to transcend; participation - activity， social ability， cooperation， adaptability， humor; status - social status， popularity.

Although the theory of leadership characteristics has conducted in-depth research on the characteristics of the leaders themselves， there are still some shortcomings， such as： not taking into account the needs of subordinates， not specifying the relative importance of various characteristics in leadership work， neglecting situational factors， etc. It has flaws in explaining leadership behavior.

Ⅲ.The Development of Trait Leadership Theory

After the trough of the 1950s and 1960s， until Lord， De Vader， Allinger （1986） and Hogan Curphy （1994） published a seminar paper， Western scholars re-recognize leadership traits and conduct research in this area from different angles. The theory of leadership traits has continued to develop. In fact， the psychologist CAGibb pointed out in his 1969 research report that the genius leader has seven qualities： （1） good words; （2） handsome and handsome appearance; （3） intellectual superiority; （4） have self-confidence; （5） mental health; （6） have a tendency to dominate others; （7） extroverted and sensitive. After an overview of 163 new trait theory studies in 1970， Stogdill （1981） pointed out in his conclusions the ten traits that a leader needs to have （see Table 1 for details） and explain them one by one：

In addition， in 1971， the psychologist Edwin Jiguel listed in the book "Management Talents Exploration"， using the Semantic Difference Scale method， selected for distribution in transportation， manufacturing， communications， finance， insurance， public utilities， etc. 90 A different organization， ranging from 26-42 years old， 90% of the academic level to 306 managers at the university level， obtained leadership traits including 3 categories and 13 factors：

The first category of traits is competence， including management， intelligence， and creativity.

The second type of trait is personality quality， including self-monitoring， decision-making， maturity， affinity of the work team， male strong or female tenderness.

The third category of traits is incentives， including five factors： career achievement needs， self-fulfillment needs， exercise of power needs， high monetary reward needs， and work safety needs.

In the same period， Glenn L. Immegart （1988） pointed out in his research conclusion that IQ， leading ability， self-confidence and full physical strength and vitality are leaders-related qualities. In addition， Similarly A. Kirkpatrick and Edwin. A. Locke （ 1991 ） The leadership traits were also studied. According to Similarly A. Kirkpatrick and Edwin. A. Locke， a range of personal qualities give individuals the "right qualifications" that make them a competent leader， and effective leaders are evident in several key areas. Different from other types of people. These qualities are the "preconditions" for a person to become a leader.

Yuke （1994）， Hoy， and Miskel （1996） classify effective traits into three categories： personal traits， motivation， and skills （see Table 2 for details）：

There is also related research： William Jack Baumol， a professor at Princeton University in the United States， puts forward ten conditions for business leaders to address the reality of the American business community： 1 cooperation spirit; 2 decision-making ability; Organizational ability; 4 good at authorization; 5 good at adapting; 6 courageous; 7 brave in seeking new; 8 dare to take risks; 9 respect others; 10 character superman.

The Top Ten Characteristics of Chinese Business Leaders selected by World Managers' Digest in 2002 by World Manager Website Users， Chinese Business Leaders and Management Experts are： 1 Establishing a vision; 2 Information decision making; 3 Configuring resources; 4 Effective communication; 5 motivate others; 6 talent training; 7 assume responsibility; 8 honest and trustworthy; 9 career orientation; 10 fast learning. In China's research on leadership personality traits， Zhao Guoxiang （2002） studied the leadership of party and government departments and found that its characteristics are composed of six factors： responsibility， emotional stability， sociality， self-discipline， decision-making and innovation. Ren Guohua and Kong Keqin （2008） on the personality traits of Chinese universities and educational system leaders found that development and organization adaptability， pleasant and cooperative， self-confidence and aggressiveness， responsibility and organization， stability and pragmatism， physical and mental health The 30 traits with seven dimensions of rationality， autonomy and maturity constitute the personality trait system of the leaders of universities and educational systems.

In recent years， the theory of trait leadership has gradually entered the people's field of vision， and has gradually been understood by people， effectively promoting the development of the theory.

Ⅳ. Evaluation of Trait Leadership Theory

（1） Diversified leadership theory research diversification

The trait leadership theory entered people's field of vision early， mainly because of the leadership qualities （capabilities， achievements， responsibilities， participation， and status） of the leaders themselves. As of today， most leadership theories use the so-called "multi-factor leadership questionnaire" （MLQ） to examine how influences of different factors or traits affect school effectiveness and what leadership behaviors utility. Early American scholars have summed up the eight characteristics of leadership traits and five incentive traits. People always want to find common ground among these leaders： Why are they able to become leaders？ What factors contributed to it？ What is the difference between a leader and an ordinary person？ The previous trait leadership theory can be said to be a one-dimensional （or one-dimensional） leadership theory， and that the effectiveness of leadership depends on the personal qualities of the leader. This view is biased to a certain extent， but with the development of the times， people's horizons are gradually broadened， and the research focus and research methods are placed in the diversified dimension， followed by implicit leadership theory， fascinating leadership theory， etc. It is a good illustration.

（2） Trait Leadership Theory Predicts The Effectiveness of Leadership

In recent years， the study of trait leadership theory has begun to use improved and diverse measurement tools to explore the traits necessary for leaders， including the projection test and assessment center， and gradually focus on theoretical research in managers and administrators. Rather than being a single leader. Yukl （1998） pointed out that although Stogdill's trait leadership theory research has greatly reduced the research interest of relevant scholars on trait leadership theory. However， to a certain extent， it has predicted the leadership effectiveness of the leader's behavior. For example， the World Manager's Digest in 2002 organized the world's top management website users， Chinese business leaders and management experts to select the top ten Chinese business leaders. Among the traits， leaders with great development are more likely to organize the blueprints needed for the organization's operations. Leaders who are good at adapting are more likely to practice flexibly in different situations. To some extent， trait leaders will act. It affects the behavior of members of the organization and affects organizational activities. But we must not lose sight of the risk of decision-making under the single leadership model.

（3） The Study of Leadership Traits Still Has Great Value

The practice of leadership development shows that individual traits are significantly associated with effective leadership， but leadership training alone is not able to complete effective leadership within the organization. In recent years， the theory of leadership traits is more consistent; personality traits can promote or hinder the efforts of leaders to influence others， and the characteristics of various situations and followers will also have an impact on the personality of leaders. The new thinking about leadership traits research believes that leadership is a dynamic process and therefore should focus on developing leadership traits with a developmental perspective. Successful leadership traits are not unacceptable， but can be learned， formed， and developed in leadership practice. In addition， the extensive use of leadership trait theory in practice also illustrates the rationality， scientificity， and value of the theory of leadership traits. It is necessary for us to re-recognize the theory of leadership traits， fully understand the value of leadership trait theory， and consciously apply this to leadership development practice.

[1] Zhao Guoxiang， Wang Jinchao. Research on the traits of leaders in grassroots organizations [J]. Psychological Science， 2008， 6： 1316-1321.

[2] Research Characteristics and Enlightenment of American Leadership Theory [J]. Wang Fang. Frontier of Theory. 2009（22）.

[3] Zhai Yufang， Wang Qinggang. History and development of leadership trait theory[J]. Journal of Shandong Institute of Light Industry （Natural Science Edition）， 2012， 26（03）： 77-82.

（作者單位：华中师范大学，湖北 武汉 430079）