Hackman And Johnson Leadership Analysis

According to Hackman and Johnson’s 2013 book, Leadership: A Communication Perspective, there are five unique characteristics that when displayed by individuals correlate directly to successful leadership. These traits outlined on page 74 and 75 of their book include: possessing high cognitive ability, an outgoing personality, a high degree of motivation and social intelligence, in addition to expertise and problem solving skills. While diverse in nature, each of these traits serves a particular and critical function in enabling an individual to gain control of followers, and guide them with a purposeful goal in mind.

Cognitive ability, the first trait examined by Hackman and Johnson is undoubtedly critical to leadership ability. According

According to Hackman and Johnson “a number of personality studies have indicated that extroversion in particular is strongly related to leadership” (74). In embodying an extroverted personality individuals present themselves as both approachable and tend to “accommodate the needs of others” (75). These characteristics help mold an individual that followers can admire, as leaders who exhibit such traits are able to easily present their ideas to followers, and tend to garner support as followers appreciate those who show personal concern for them. Possessing social intelligence, of which emotional intelligence is a key component of, ties hand in hand with an outgoing personality, as it enables leaders to personally integrate themselves with followers, and help identify and tend to the needs of those who they seek to guide. David Ortiz, a leader I personally admire, while in title is only a mere baseball player, embodies these characteristics of social intelligence and extroversion, enabling him to fulfill a leadership role almost bigger than life itself. Professional athletes in general tend to present themselves in a manner that makes them seem unapproachable to normal individuals, however Ortiz carries an aurora about him that makes him seem approachable to anyone. As a result, he has garnered both the respect of players and fans alike across the entire league.

Without motivation, it is improbable that one would ever exhibit any signs of problem solving, creativity, or any of the other key components to becoming a successful leader. As a result those who lack motivation, undoubtedly, would fail to serve in a leadership role for followers. Complementing motivation, I believe is the characteristic of possessing a vision that you are able to articulate in a well-founded manner to those who you seek to guide. Hackman and Johnson fail to acknowledge this idea of vision, however I think without it, while one may demonstrate a strong motivation to lead, and achieve, if this motivation lacks orientation, followers will often be left confused. The complementary fashion of these two traits, vision and motivation, then I believe are also essential to one’s individual success as a