Peak Potential Article

The Nature of Leadership

Despite a popular myth that all people have an equal ability to lead, research leaves us in no doubt that personal characteristics impact on your habitual leadership behaviour and therefore your effectiveness. Whilst no single list of personal characteristics can ensure success, personal characteristics can help or hinder your leadership.

Personality influences your habitual behaviour, which in turn impacts on your leadership effectiveness.

One aspect of personality that positively correlates with effectiveness in any job, including leadership, is conscientiousness. Conscientious leaders have a strong achievement drive, high levels of energy and they are willing to work hard in order to achieve the results that they desire.

In addition to being conscientious, which is a characteristic associated with effectiveness in any job, leaders will find it easier to influence others if they are extraverted, self-confident and have a strong desire to take charge. All of these tendencies are associated with the personality trait dominance and a strong need for power.

Effective leaders are likely to show resilience and an internal locus of control – taking personal responsibility for their own behaviour, the behaviour of others and the performance of the unit as a whole. Internalizers know what they want to achieve, they plan ways to bring it about, action those plans, learn from temporary setbacks and fail forward with persistence towards eventual success.

Great leaders also have a tendency to be great thinkers. Specifically, creative, analytical and strategic thinking are traits associated with effective leadership.

There also aspects of your personality that influence your on-the-job learn-ability. These factors are important, as most leaders develop their knowledge and wisdom through experience. These include the previously mentioned traits of a strong achievement drive, high levels of energy and self-confidence, yet also include ‘openness to experience’.

 You do not need to possess all of these traits to be an effective leader – very few people do or in Peter Drucker’s words, ‘there are not enough natural leaders to go around’. However the possession of such traits will help you to lead well, whilst the absence of such traits can hinder your effectiveness. Your personality, whilst not a measure of ability, highlights potential strengths and weaknesses in your leadership behaviour. To improve your leadership effectiveness:

• Use the above information to note down your own leadership strengths and weaknesses that are relevant in to your context.
• Reflect on ‘what results truly matter’ within your organisation and how you can use your strengths to bring those results about.
• Consider situations where you may be overusing or over-indulging in your strengths and cut back where you are.
• Plan to overcome your weaknesses through a combination of focused behavioural development and using the strengths of those around you.

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