Personality_Traits_and_Leadership_Styles_of_Great_Leaders

Personality Traits and Leadership Styles of Great Leaders By Rachelle Reamer History has seen many successful leaders. In the last 50 years businesses have seen many remarkable persons of diverse backgrounds excelling in their endeavors by motivating people to help accomplish shared goals for themselves and their businesses. Not only do leaders come in all shapes and sizes but they practice different leadership styles to attain their objectives. Many leaders possess a distinct and constant style of leadership that they use in any given situation. Autocratic leaders tend to have their followers “do as they are told” while Participative or Bureaucratic leaders ask opinions from their groups to help make a decision on the best action. The best and most successful leaders will alter their usual style leadership to a style that best fits the situation they face in order to accomplish the desired results. A usually autocratic leader should employ a participative style if he/she is not an expert on the subject that requires the decision. A participative style leader may have to make a decision alone because of a conflicting consensus from the group members. Choosing the correct style to use is at a distinct moment in time is the key to being a successful leader. Great leaders are found to usually possess several of the following personality traits: self-confidence, an outgoing nature, trustworthiness, integrity, optimism, assertiveness, drive, imaginative, visionary, authenticity, humility, sense of humor, enthusiasm, warmth. Some leaders may even possess all of these traits! As you read the list of traits they may conjure up images of historical figures. When you think of traits like humility and integrity you may think of such leaders as Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa. Self-confidence and assertiveness may invoke Donald Trump, imaginative can bring Walt Disney to mind. But Gandhi possessed self-confidence and was a great visionary. Mother Teresa was reputed to have a terrific sense of humor. Knowing what leadership style to use also pertains to using personality traits. Great leaders must also know when and how to use their different personality traits to effectively lead. Probably one of the most successful and recognizable business leaders in the last 25 years, Bill Gates practices a successful problem-solving, autocratic type of leadership. As Microsoft’s co-founder and Chairman, Gate’s impressive analytical and detailed oriented leadership style helps Microsoft reinvent and reorganize every few years. He is seen to be self-confident, imaginative, visionary and assertive. Gate’s use of his problem solving style leadership saw Microsoft through the US Justice Department’s monopoly accusations a few years back by surprising the industry with a cooperative move, by being the first in the industry to allow their operating systems to interface with any XML device on the market. Gates often employs a Participative leadership style. He surrounds himself with competent industry people who serve as his department heads and whose opinions he solicits daily. This type of leadership style can make for more of a macro manager, a leader who relies on his group to conduct the “daily business”, but Gates true autocratic style as a “hands on” leader, one who is a stickler for details, is most prevalent in his daily business activities. Whether the problem is a business or technological one Gates realizes that information is key to decision making. His philosophy on what it takes to be a remarkable employee is proof of his problem solving leadership style: “Use your head. Analyze problems but don’t fall prey to ‘analysis paralysis.’ Understand the implications of trade-offs such as acting sooner with less information and later with more. Prioritize your time effectively. Learn how to give advice crisply to other groups”. (Beck & Yeager, 2001) Entrepreneurial leadership style is one that lends itself to personality. Not all business owners possess entrepreneurial leadership qualities. You can own a McDonald’s and be an autocratic type of leader. But qualities like drive, risk taking, enthusiasm and creativity are what define an entrepreneurial leadership style. Richard Branson, the charismatic and enterprising founder and owner of Virgin Group-with 360+ businesses under its umbrella-was asked what the most important quality of a good leader is. His reply was one he constantly reinforces to his CEOs: “Having a personality of caring about people is important. You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them”. Successful leaders like Branson realize how important it is to be connected with those you lead. Getting others enthused about your goals is paramount to the success in realizing them. (“The Importance of Being Richard Branson” Knowledge@Wharton, 2005) Leaders like Richard Branson know that you can not achieve lofty goals with out employing help from your group. “As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you must also understand the art of delegation.” He believes placing trust in his employees and managers is crucial in expanding and building his businesses. He even makes it a point to communicate with his employees on a personal level. “Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work' I think leaders have got to make a bigger effort to make sure the people who work for them are enjoying what they’re doing.” (Knowledge@Wharton, 2005) Oprah Winfrey is another prime example of an entrepreneurial leader, one that strives to do well in the “big picture” and that believes “playing small doesn’t serve the world”. (“Oprah’s Brand of Leadership”, 2008) Oprah is perceived to be warm, caring, self-confident, and probable most of all, trustworthy. Millions of people watch her daily show, read her magazine. “What would Oprah do” has become a cliché saying. The beef industry recognized the fortitude of Oprah’s leadership when they reportedly lost $11 million dollars in sales after Oprah remarked on her show she’d stop eating beef. The beef industry sued, lost and Oprah added icon for free speech to her attributes. Much of Oprah’s leadership is said to be caused by her celebrity. But she was not always a celebrity. Oprah possessed the leadership qualities that made her a world famous celebrity and an extremely successful businesswoman. And Oprah the businesswoman does not make business decisions solely upon profit. She demonstrates constantly that people matter to her. But this was a lesson she acknowledges she learned this the hard way. She admits that “in the early days she ran people ragged”. An almost fatal accident with one of her producers (overworked and tired the producer fell asleep in her garage parked car with the engine running) changed Oprah’s work ethic. “We were like overzealous moms who are proud that they do everything themselves, without any help.” Still most that work closely with Oprah regard her as an authentic humanitarian and a very generous boss. She identifies and rewards talent. Her company Harpo has 221 employees with a modest turnover of 10-15% a year and good stability at the top. (Sellers, 2002) Although Oprah surrounds herself with some of the brightest industry people she can find, any final decisions are hers alone to make. If a leader always has the final decision, than why give employees decisive responsibility' What happens if the leader can’t make a decision' When asked by U.S. News if she ever found herself indecisive she replied “yes…, but a true leader can still hear his or her own voice”. “What I’ve learned is that when I don’t know what to do, do nothing. Sit still and listen for that small voice that will always lead you and guide you. If you’re quiet, you will hear it.”(LaGesse, 2005) Take a moment to think about the leaders that have inspired you. What are some of their personality traits' Most leaders have to possess at least self-confidence and a passion that drives them. The “voice” Oprah refers to can be viewed as the accumulation of knowledge absorbed through the years from everyone you’ve been in contact with, or read about; thoughts of an admired leader whose motto you impressed into your deep conscious; your mother or father’s imparted life lessons; your favorite teacher’s favorite quote’s from history. We are slates upon which time’s events and figures write history that shapes our personalities. People look up to a leader who is self-confident but humble, aggressive and charismatic, even hard nose and honest. We tend to measure ourselves up against those who lead us, especially those leaders that we admire the most. This practice starts with us as children emulating our hero’s strengths and traits. We don capes and believe we can fly. If we keep a bit of this hero attitude with us as we mature in life, it can serve our leadership abilities well. Study those people that you admire. Think about the qualities they exude that draw people to them and their ideas. Find and nurture those same qualities in yourself and apply them in your leadership position. Being a leader is hard but rewarding work. But leaders have help. They can delegate. Remember that every one you meet has leadership qualities so try to capitalize on their qualities if they are part of a team you lead and make sure to lend your leadership qualities to any team you are a member of. Vince Lombardi, famous football coach, believed this: “Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile”. (After Quotes) After Quotes (2010) Famous Vince Lombardi Quotes. Retrieved July, 29, 2010, from http://www.afterquotes.com/great/people/vince-lombardi/ index.htm Beck, J. & Yeager, N. (2001) Nothing “Soft”, But No “Micro” Managing Either. The Leader’s Window: Mastering the Four Styles of Leadership to Build High-Performing Teams. Davies-Black Publishing. Black Enterprise (2008, June) Oprah’s Brand of Leadership. Retrieved July, 27, 2010, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/ 17997343.html Knowledge@Wharton. (2005) The Importance of Being Richard Branson. Retrieved July 27, 2010, from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ article.cfm'articleid=1109 LaGesse, D. (2005, October) Heeding Her Own Voice. Retrieved July, 27, 2010, from http:// www.us.news.com/usnews/news/articles/ 051031/31winfrey.htm Sellers, P. (2002, April) The Business of Being Oprah. Retrieved July, 27, 2010, from http://www.mutualofamerica.com/articles/Fortune 2002_04_08/Oprah1.asp