MSLD 511 Reflection Blog: Assignment Prompt
“In considering the traits approach to leadership, what are some of your traits you consider enhancing or detracting from your ability to lead? Considering Stogdill’s findings that leadership traits must be relevant to a leader’s actions (Northouse), how are traits important to your leadership style?”
When I consider the traits approach to leadership and what my own traits are, I am certain that I have traits that are beneficial for leadership and others that are not as beneficial. In fact, there are some characteristics about myself that do not contribute much when it comes to leading others. The good thing is, I realize these things about myself and understand that if I want to be effective as a leader, I need to draw from my strengths and work on my weaknesses. Where I am strong, I can just run with it. But where I am weak, I need to make concerted efforts to step outside my comfort zone and do what it takes to be effective. It actually feels like there is a constant sort of balancing act required to keep it all in order.
As for my own traits, I believe I was born with some of them. This is because I know I am naturally the nerdy little girl with thick glasses and no desire to be picked for the team in phys ed. I would rather have my nose in a book and be alone with my thoughts and art supplies. Could these qualities make me leadership material? At first glance, I’d say no. However, on second look I know that nerdy me is very intelligent, strategic, articulate, perceptive, persistent, determined, trustworthy, dependable, conscientious, diligent, sensitive, responsible, and empathic.
Where the problems lie are in the areas I am weak; the areas that might detract from my ability to lead. I’m not very outgoing; I’m not unfriendly, but I’m also not overly friendly; I lack self-confidence and am not as self-assured as I should be; I’m lacking in sociability. I tend to be introverted, socially awkward, and prefer to be alone rather than with people. I’m very task-oriented and goal focused. I can become obsessed with work and have to force myself to shut down and spend time with other people. The strange thing is, I have a very strong desire to affect the lives of others and to make an impact for good.
In the textbook Leadership: Theory and Practice, Stogdill noted that a person can be a leader in one situation and not be a leader in another situation (Northouse, 2018). An example in our readings was of a person who is dominant when with subordinates but subordinate himself when with superiors. I recognized this in my own life a few years ago. In my previous blog I mentioned that I have a history of abuse. In the process of recovering, I noticed while in group settings with both males and females, I shut down. However, if I’m in a group of only women, I am bolder to speak up and to lead the women. As Stogdill determined, leadership traits need to be relevant to the situation (Northouse, 2018).
My leadership style is strategic, focused on goals and how to attain them. My traits of intelligence, perceptiveness, determination, diligence, and persistence are all useful for my leadership style. However, my leadership style could be derailed by my traits of lacking of self-confidence and self-assurance. No matter how accomplished I am or focused I am on reaching goals, there is always a voice within me that says I can’t do it, my lack of self-confidence.
In my opinion, some leadership traits are innate and beneficial innate traits should be enhanced by developing leadership skills to work in conjunction with them. For example, if someone is naturally charismatic, they should develop leadership skills that would enhance charisma. Maybe they could develop skills in the area of sociability so that they could reach more people and win them over with charisma. For non-beneficial innate traits, the development of leadership skills to overcome them should be applied. It’s only through balancing leadership traits and skills that a leader can utilize the greatest number of tools needed to lead effectively.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice 8th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publishing.
Cynde Puckett | MSLD 511 | Dr. Douglas | April 1, 2021 | Reflection Blog Assignment
Cynde Puckett-Valenti 