This paper will not bore with the definition of a profession. The United States Army is about more than words, it is about action. The action of over 238 years of tradition and service. The Army is a profession. A profession requires its members to adhere to prolonged training and learn specialized skills. A member of a profession must wholly commit himself and his skills to a calling which is entrusted by the public. A profession provides its members with intrinsic value which motivates beyond financial gain. The Army is a higher calling which demands all of these qualities and more.
Finally, in spite of lack of agreement on a complete list of leadership traits, there is some agreement on a few: intelligence, social maturity and breadth, inner motivation and achievement drives, and human relations attitudes. These traits are in no sense “universal” traits. However, as Keith Davis notes in his discussion of these traits, “Studies show that there is a better than chance probability that a leader will have more of these traits than the general population and sometimes even more than the average of his followers”.
Leaders are those who motivate and guide others to enhance patient care and achieve organizational goals (Giltinane CL, 2013). Specific personality traits unique to a leader have been described as courageous, confident, ability to prioritize, display ethical fitness, and work with purpose (Grimm, 2010). The traits of a leader can extend to any individual, not just those in a management position.
Trait theories are theories that consider personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders." Early results aimed at confirming this theory were inconclusive. Many research studies were conducted and each identified key traits supposed to differentiate leaders from nonleaders. The problem is that they didn't get the same results, thus failing to discover common traits, which should have shown in each research study. When applying the Big Five Personality framework (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience) to the study and research of leadership traits, results were more encouraging. They showed that the most important trait for leaders was extraversion. Still, this founding sh...
Skills are a basic requirement, but traits are essential in leadership. Traits are unique in defining an individual’s character. A combination of strong skills and traits that include emotional intelligence and knowledge of leadership behaviors become critical factors for a leader to lead effectively. It is important for a leader to possess “effective managerial skills at some level” (Kreitner 465). On the other hand, a leader will be equipped to turn a “…vision into actionable items and successful implementation” (465) by possessing traits that are needed to achieve results.
The United States Marine Corps has values drilled into our head at day one at recruit training. A marine lives by the Values of Honor, Courage, and commitment. Honor covers a lot of traits such as ethics, moral, integrity, respect, and maturity to name a few. Courage covers our mental, moral, and physical toughness. It focuses on doing what is right. It requires high personal standard and to lead by example with making decisions. This relates to the inner strength that tells us we can go further. Finally, commitment instills professionalism, discipline, pride, and concern for others. We must carry these values at all times 24/7.
In my career…in my life I have been exposed to a handful of exceptional leaders that have influenced me in positive ways. For me, it took time to ascertain who those good leaders were – mostly because of my tendency to perform long and drawn-out analysis of their traits before forming a conclusion - typical ‘C’ personality (DiSC). The person that has always been at
Assessing positive leadership traits is very essential to acknowledging a good leader. The following positive leadership traits are, “Task competence, interpersonal competence, intuition, traits of character, biophysical traits, and personal traits” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 469).
Personality is one of the key aspects that must be addressed when considering what type of attribute a leader needs. Personality has two meanings. The first meaning refers to the impression a person makes on others his social reputation. It describes him or her as pushy, honest, outgoing, impulsive, decisive, friendly or independent. From the standpoint of leadership, this view of personality addresses two issues: “What kind of leader or person is this?” and “Is this somebody I would like to work for or be associated
When comparing my Big Five Personality scores to the class average, I received a score of 6 and the average was 5.7, one score did not come to a surprise. My personality is reliant on my strength of conscientiousness. Individuals who score high in conscientiousness tend to be methodical, well-organized, achievement orientated, and ethically guided. The conscientious personality type has a strong correlation to leader emergence which I can attest is true. I often am the first individual in the group to take reigns because of my organization, self-discipline, and need to create a plan before acting.
Leaders posses a variety of personality traits, but there are only a few traits that define a great leader.
Central Theme: The most important trait of a great leader is humility. By definition to be humble means to be modest and free from vanity. Jim Collins explores the idea of paradoxical characteristics that make a Level 5 leader (Collins, p.116). According to Collins a level 5 leader is a person that combines “humility and professional will” (Collins p.116). What that essentially means is that the best leaders are humble and they care about making their business or work the best it can be even after they leave their position. Collins mentioned various leaders that combined traits like shyness, modesty, and calmness in combination with will, fearlessness, determination, and ambition. He also explains that these types of leaders do not motivate through charisma but through discipline and strategy. Some leaders, like Smith, tend to be seen as out of place but in reality their work and their ideas create a boost in a company’s success.
It is well known that there are many personality tests that attempt to divide individuals in certain categories, or personality types, and who are also believed to include many qualities that help shape leadership. Even though, most of these personality tests do not fully accomplish or are successful at accurately stating an individuals personality type, due to the complexity of human nature, there has to be an understanding of the importance of personality in leadership. The understanding of personality depends only on the individual’s introspection, his or her approach...
Upon taking the Myers Briggs personality test on the human metrics website I was not surprised that I received the conclusion of an ENTJ or “the natural born leader”. The role of an ENTJ is that you conduct yourself in a manner that is very logical and rational (“Personality”). The Myers Briggs Type Indicator test has been around for over 65 years and has continually evolved to become more accurate in identifying personality traits. I find that the ENTJ type of personality reflections are accurate due to the fact that I am a no nonsense type of leader that likes to take charge and get the job done. In order to become a better leader for your organization you can take the time to educate yourself on the other 15 types of personality traits. This will help a leader in better understanding the views of their coworkers and will give them the tools of deal...
The general personality traits, which are related to success both in and outside the workplace, are all inherent in my answers given in the Leadership Assessment Quiz. With statements such as, “it is easy for me to compliment others” and “team members listen to me when I speak,” it is apparent I possess these characteristics. Whereas my task- related personality traits associated with successful leadership, such as courage, still need to be developed. Not only do I know this in myself, but it is clearly pointed out throughout the test, with statements such as, “resolving conflict is an activity I enjoy” and “I would enjoy coaching other members of the team”.