I until the 1950's, many thought the key to unlocking our understanding of leadership had to do with certain personality traits. The theory was if the leader of an organization possessed certain traits, this would ensure that person's ability to lead. Eventually, authorities gave up on trying to explain leadership in terms of general traits such as intelligence, creativity, resourcefulness, and enthusiasm. The pendulum began to swing from an emphasis on broad traits to an understanding of how specific personality traits influence behavior. To understand properly the dynamics of leadership, we must avoid the peril of the pendulum.
Leadership is neither the domain of mere traits nor is it a matter of only observable behaviors.
In other words, an effective leader possesses certain traits as well as the matching behaviors. In this article, we'll consider six general traits and corresponding trait behaviors. By better understanding the relationships of traits with behaviors, we'll also gain new insight into the complex and fascinating subject of leadership. First and foremost, great leaders have to be people of vision. They have to be able to see into the future and visualize how things ought to be.