Pros and Cons of Trait Theory

"Leaders are born, not made"

With the Great Man theory, it is very easy to define what is leadership and who can be a leader because it is simple, they are born with necessary traits of leadership. Traits Theory shares the similar concept as the Great man theory in the bottom line which is, "they do need to have the 'right stuff' and this stuff is not equally present in all people" (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991). Having clear idea what general traits make a successful leader helps in identifying potential leaders. As one of my favorite quotes by Tom Peter says, "Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders." Leading others to be leaders is not an easy task, but I do think that is an ultimate goal for leaders. Thus, allowing leaders to identify potential leaders is the biggest pro of the Traits theory.

On the other hand, there are some cons. First of all, it is very subjective. There are so many traits each individual has different opinion which one(s) is essential to be a successful leader. If there were 10 people and asked them to choose top two traits make a leader successful, there most likely would be 10 different combinations of traits. Also, there is a trap in this theory. Just having traits does not mean the person is a great leader, he or she have to use them in order to make those traits meaningful. "Traits alone, however,are not sufficient for successful business leadership---they are only precondition. Leaders who possess the requisite traits must take certain actions to be successful" (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991).

Leadership: do traits matter? By Shelley A. Kirkpatrick and Edwin A. Locke