Chapter 2 - Trait Theory Insights | Môn Leadership - Trường Đại học Quốc tế, Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

lOMoAR cPSD| 58605085 Nguyễn Đức Duy BABAWE21249 Nguyễn Hà Anh BABAWE20236 Dương Ngọc Anh BABAWE20225 Nguyễn Minh Bảo Ngọc BABAWE20231 Trương Trần Thủy Tiên BABAWE20112 CHAPTER 2:
The trait theory of leadership has been established as the foundation for the field of leadership studies, in which
attitudes & ethics tremendously play a vital role to impact followers’ behaviours and performance. Traits and
personality are core factors building up talent leadership. Traits are differentiating individual characteristics,
while the character is a set of features that categorises personal behaviour. Some authors believe that attributes are
more important than skills in evaluating a leader's ability. To analyse employees' behaviour and improve their job
performance, leaders must gain a better understanding of personality and traits through personality profiles which
help recognize individual strong and weak characteristics changing our behaviour to be more effective. Big Five
Model of Personality classifies traits as dimensions of surgency, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness,
and openness to experience. In real life, no leader has all types of traits; instead, they have some qualities that are
stronger than others. The surgency personality dimension involves dominance, extraversion, and an intense level of determination.
The Big Five Personality Models delineate the fundamental traits essential for exceptional leadership. Surgency,
the first dimension, encompasses dominance, extraversion, and resolute determination. Successful leaders exhibit
assertiveness, a desire for managerial roles, and a proactive approach to leadership. They are outgoing individuals
unafraid of confronting challenges, demonstrating unwavering energy and determination in their pursuits.
Agreeableness, the second dimension, underscores sociability and emotional intelligence traits critical for
effective leadership. Leaders must embody qualities of understanding, friendliness, courtesy, and diplomacy in
their interactions, recognizing the importance of emotional intelligence in cultivating productive relationships.
Adjustment, the third dimension, focuses on emotional stability and self-confidence, imperative for maintaining
composure and fostering positivity amidst pressure. A successful leader must possess self-awareness regarding
their strengths and weaknesses to navigate challenges and achieve goals effectively. Conscientiousness, the fourth
dimension, emphasises dependability and integrity as cornerstones of trustworthy leadership. Dependable leaders
exhibit loyalty and commitment, ensuring tasks are completed with diligence. Integrity is a foundation for building
trust within teams, further enhancing leadership effectiveness. Finally, the Openness dimension highlights
flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to embrace change as essential traits for innovative leadership. Leaders
with high openness demonstrate cognitive agility, critical thinking, and the capacity to adapt to evolving
circumstances, empowering them to effectively steer their destiny and performance.
According to The Personality Profile of Effective Leaders, effective leaders possess distinct personality
features. McClelland's characteristic theories, Achievement Motivation Theory and Leader Motive Profile
Theory, have significant scientific support and are very relevant to leadership practice.
Achievement Motivation Theory seeks to explain and predict behaviour and performance based on a person's
desire for achievement, power, and affiliation. The need for achievement (n Ach) refers to an unconscious desire
for excellence in personal endeavours. People with a strong n Ach tend to have an internal centre of control, self-
confidence, and high energy levels. High n Ach is one of the Big Five dimensions of conscientiousness. The
need for power (n Pow) is the unconscious desire to influence people and attain positions of authority. People
with high pow have a dominant personality and are self-confident and energetic. High n Pow is one of the Big lOMoAR cPSD| 58605085
Five dimensions of surgency. The need for affiliation (n Aff) is an underlying need to form, maintain, and
restore intimate personal ties. People who have a high level of n Aff are more sensitive to others. High NAF is
one of the Big Five dimensions of agreeableness. A motivation profile is valuable for explaining and predicting behaviour and performance.
Leader Motive Profile Theory seeks to explain and predict leadership effectiveness by focusing on a person's
desire for achievement, power, and affiliation. The Leader Motive Profile (LMP) features a strong, socialised
demand for power, which is stronger than the need for connection, as well as a moderate need for success. The
achievement score is typically situated between the power and affiliation scores. Power is vital for leaders because
it allows them to influence their following. Leadership cannot exist without power. To be effective, leaders must
desire to be in control and love their work. Power may be beneficial or evil. It can be utilised for personal gain at
the expense of others (personalised power), or to benefit oneself and others (socialised power). Effective leaders
employ socialised power, which encompasses attributes such as sensitivity to people and stability, as part of the
Big Five adjustment dimensions. To be effective, leaders must have a modest desire for success. They are
energetic, self-confident, and open to new experiences, as well as conscientious (Big Five dimension). Effective
leaders have a lesser demand for affiliation than power, which allows them to influence followers without
compromising their connections.
In terms of attitude, successful leaders typically have an upbeat and enthusiastic attitude toward everything in their
environment. Therefore, this study employed three approaches—the Pygmalion effect, self-awareness, and Theory
X & Y—to determine how talented leadership influences followers' behavior management. According to Douglas
McGregor, with two different belief systems, opposing leadership behavior and effectiveness will be produced,
with the leader's attitude Y generally being more effective than theory X. Second, the Pygmalion effect represents
the relationship between the expectations and treatment of leaders and the responses of followers through the idea
that “just putting employees in a good mood when they start their day can have a huge impact on performance.”
The final approach focuses on the individual's reflection of themselves from a positive or opposing perspective,
indicating that what they think determines what happens to them. In particular, self-efficacy represents belief in
their ability to perform tasks, including self-awareness and confidence. Combining attitudes with the Leadership
Motivation Profile (LMP), an effective leader tends to possess theory Y attitudes and have a positive self-concept.
Besides, ethical values also need to be prioritized in those people's profiles to achieve sustainable business development.
In conclusion, traits and personality play a vital role in forming a good leader, especially the feature of dominance.
According to the big five models of nature, theories X and Y, the Pygmalion effect, and self-concept, we can figure
out our strengths and weaknesses as leaders; thus, leading to personal changes & improvements is the purpose of
this course. Besides that, the attitudes & ethics of a leader are crucial as well. Before making a decision, leaders
should always be excellent listeners and consider whether the corporate decision will affect others negatively or
positively. Then, they can set a couple of questions following the five guides to ethical behaviour to find out which
decision is the best, whether it can maintain fairness and profitable relationships in the workplace.
Ethical Leadership: The subsection emphasizes how important it is for leaders to influence the ethical culture of
their firms and the fallout from unethical behavior. It highlights how common business scandals are and how this
affects people's faith in leadership. Ethics are the standard of right and wrong that influence behavior. The
Sarbanes-Oxley Act is brought up to highlight the legislative efforts to stop financial irregularities, but it also
recognizes the limits of enforcing moral behavior. The realization that ethical understanding may be developed
can be seen in the inclusion of ethics in business education. The purpose of this section is to examine how ethical
behavior, individual traits, and the broader organizational environment interact.
Your research demonstrates the beneficial relationships that exist between ethical behavior and a number of
factors, including social interactions, leadership efficiency, mental and physical health, and bottom-line
performance. It highlights how important honesty and integrity are to fostering relationships, persuading people,
and avoiding unfavorable outcomes like penalties and reputational harm. In summary, ethical behavior is
advantageous to people on an individual basis as well as to organizations and society at large.
Factors Influencing Ethical Behavior? Why Do Good People Do Bad Things? A person's moral compass,
outside incentives, and gradual desensitization to immoral activity all interact to create complicated human
behavior and ethical decisions. In "The Wolf of Wall Street," the development from minor breaches to larger ones lOMoAR cPSD| 58605085
emphasizes how difficult it is to turn around once one has embarked on an unethical road. Understanding these
relationships can aid in promoting moral decision-making.
Personality Traits and Attitudes: Your analysis highlights the complex interplay between personality traits,
ethical behavior, and leadership choices. It emphasizes that ethical conduct is influenced by a combination of
individual characteristics, attitudes toward ethics, and the situational context.
Moral Development: Certainly, moral development plays a crucial role in influencing ethical behavior. The three
levels often mentioned in moral development are pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional, each
representing different stages of ethical reasoning and decision-making. Continuous efforts towards character
development can contribute to higher levels of moral development and ethical decision-making.
Levels of Moral Development
3. Postconventional: The universal concepts of right and wrong drive behavior, independent of the group's or the leader's expectations.
2. Conventional : Conduct that satisfies others' standards of appropriate behavior inspires people to carry out their
commitments and tasks. It is typical for followers to imitate the group's and the leaders' actions. Lying, cheating,
stealing, and other such behaviors are accepted by the group (which might be society, an organization, a
department, etc.) when dealing with clients, suppliers, the government, and rival businesses. Peer pressure is
employed to establish social standards, however if these actions are not accepted, the individual will not engage in them either.
1.Preconventional: Conduct that satisfies others' standards of appropriate behavior inspires people to carry out
their commitments and tasks. It is typical for followers to imitate the group's and the leaders' actions. Lying,
cheating, stealing, and other such behaviors are accepted by the group (which might be society, an organization,
a department, etc.) when dealing with clients, suppliers, the government, and rival businesses. Peer pressure is
employed to establish social standards, however if these actions are not accepted, the individual will not engage in them either.
Integration: The interconnectedness of personality traits, attitudes, and moral development, along with situational
factors, plays a crucial role in determining ethical behavior.
Moral justification : justification is the thinking process of rationalizing why unethical behavior is used.
Higher purpose: is rationalizing immoral behavior in terms of a higher purpose.
Displacement of responsibility: is the process of blaming one's unethical behavior on others.
Diffusion of responsibility: is the process of the group using unethical behavior with no one person being held responsible.
Advantageous comparison: is the process of comparing oneself to others who are worse.
Disregard or distortion of consequences: is the process of minimizing the harm caused by the unethical behavior.
Attribution of blame: is the process of claiming the unethical behavior was caused by someone else's behavior.
Euphemistic labeling: is the process of using "cosmetic" words to make the behavior sound acceptable.
Guides to Ethical Behavior: Ethical principles such as the golden rule and the four-way test are highly
beneficial. They emphasize treating people as you would like to be treated and take into account truthfulness, lOMoAR cPSD| 58605085
fairness, kindness, and the value to all parties involved when making decisions. It is true that using ethical
frameworks helps people make ethical choices in a variety of life circumstances.
Finally, Codes of ethics are important because they direct businesses toward moral behavior. The goal of the
stakeholder approach is to ensure advantages for the business, employees, and stakeholders by focusing on
establishing beneficial results for all parties involved in decision-making. One way to evaluate the ethical quality
of a decision is to ask if you would be proud to share it. Ethical behavior is less likely when one takes the time to
exercise judgment and consults with ethical sources, which is important in a global setting where ethical standards vary widely.