The Trait Approach of leadership identifies differing personality characteristics and behaviors which successful leaders have in certain situations. One of the main arguments for this approach is that leaders are born, not developed. The trait approach has many strengths, but I believe that the weaknesses, such as failing to take situations into account, an endless indefinite list of leadership attributes, and the differing opinions of which traits are considered to be the “most important”, outweigh the strengths.
An example that highlights the weakness of the trait approach is the emergence of my favorite president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR, the 32nd president of the United States, led our nation out of the two greatest crises of our nation, The Great Depression and World War II. Having the opportunity to lead the country out of The Great Depression, shined the world’s spotlight on the emerging leader in America. FDR proved himself invaluable in times of turmoil and the American people granted him the exception of allowing him to run for president for more than two terms. President Roosevelt was so popular that he won an unprecedented fourth presidential election.
The second situation that cemented our president’s spot among being one of the greatest ever elected was his leadership of our nation through World War II. His ability to rally and unite the United States with his epic “a day that will live in infamy” speech, the morning after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, has gone down as one of the most memorable and powerful presidential addresses ever. The country was in such dire straits during FDR’s tenure, it presented Franklin Delano Roosevelt a chance to show the true character and leadership he possessed. In the absence of these two mammoth crises, FDR might have served his two terms and slipped into ex-presidential obscurity. In my opinion, his ability to rise to the challenge, know what needed to be done, and rally the nation to his vision, secured his spot among one of the greatest leaders in American history.
The trait approach to leadership would certainly have found many of its main characteristics in Franklin Delano Roosevelt, such as integrity, self-confidence, and persistence. These were undoubtedly evident in the 32nd president of the United States. However, to base his meteoric rise on the world’s stage solely because of his God given talent and ability is short-sighted. Our nation needed a strong, almost super-human leader to pull us out of The Great Depression. The timing and situation was perfect for our president to prove himself equal to his Herculean task.
If you discount the crisis that FDR led this nation though, and how badly our country needed a strong leader in the 1930’s and 1940’s, you are overlooking a key factor in the opportunity and ascension of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In my opinion, FDR is arguably the third greatest president in American history, behind only George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
References:
Andirudh, A. (2016, February 20). 10 Major Accomplishments of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from https://learnodo-newtonic.com/fdr-accomplishments
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P.T. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers. Journal of Psychology and Social Psychology, 52, 81-90.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
ban5104 says
The trait approach is great, but the trait approach is not everything in succeeding as a leader. Though many people are born with one trait or another that does not guarantee their success as a person. People many times do not take into account the different situations and context the leader will be presented with. Many times these situations can lead a good leader to drown.
FDR is a good person to take into account when thinking about the trait approach. FDR was not just born with certain traits to allow him to succeed, but he was also president at a hard time. This time was not able to be overcome by just anyone, but a special someone who knew what they were doing. FDR was lucky in a sense too, if FDR was not president during this time he may not have been as glorified as a president as he is today. Though, he also did succeed in handling the situation and leading us out of the terrible time we were in.
FDR had a gift, a gift of leadership that led him to succeed in one of the worst situations. Some people may be good leaders, but may only be good leaders within certain context. Being put into various situations and being able to overcome them shows a true leader in my opinion. This is why you cannot just take the traits into account, there is many other aspects that must be taken into consideration when it comes to becoming a successful leader.Therefore, people who may not be as lucky and are not born with certain traits in relation to leadership can still succeed and should not be brought down.
Tanya Tara Arora says
Wow I loved this! It seems like you have spent a good deal of time thinking about this topic. If I may ask, what prompted your interest in FDR?
This is a very clear example of an individual whom had many of the traits that would be listed as favorable, according to the Trait Theory. However, I believe you are completely correct in your assessment that without the luxury of good timing and a favorable situation, another individual with similar attributes may not have been able to achieve the same outcome. Of course it is nice to be born confident, decisive, and intelligent; however, good traits are nice but not everything.
I have similar thoughts, and actually wrote about how the trait theory does not hold up against my personal experiences. I am a firm believer that anyone can be a leader, as each person is so complex and has a unique set of experiences that will allow them to thrive in the correct environment for the specific individual. This reminds me of Albert Einstein’s famous quote, “Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid (“Albert Einstein”, 2013).”
Albert Einstein. (2013). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/06/fish-climb/