Leadership Traits
Purpose
1. To gain an understanding of the role of traits in the leadership process
2. To examine the traits of selected historical and everyday leaders
Directions
1. Based on the descriptions of the historical leaders provided in the chapter, identify the three major leadership
traits for each of the leaders listed below.
2. Select and briefly describe two leaders in your own life (e.g., work supervisor, teacher, coach, music director,
business owner, community leader). Identify the three major leadership traits of each of these leaders.
Historical leaders The leader’s three major traits
George Washington
Winston Churchill
Mother Teresa
Bill Gates
Oprah Winfrey
1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________
1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________
1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________
1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________
1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3.
Everyday leaders
Leader #1 ________________________________________________________________________________________
Brief description _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Traits 1. _________________________ 2. _________________________ 3. _________________
Leader #2 ________________________________________________________________________________________
Brief description _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Traits 1. _________________________ 2. _________________________ 3. _________________
Questions
1. Based on the leaders you observed, which leadership traits appear to be most important?
2. What differences, if any, did you observe between the historical and everyday leaders’ traits?
3. Based on your observations, what one trait would you identify as the definitive leadership trait?
4. Overall, what traits do you think should be used in selecting our society’s leaders?
Reflection and Action Worksheet
Leadership Traits
Reflection
1. Based on the scores you received on the Leadership Traits Questionnaire, what are your strongest leadership traits? What are your weakest traits? Discuss.
2. In this chapter, we discussed five leadership figures. As you read about these leaders, which leaders did you find most appealing? What was it about their leadership that you found remarkable? Discuss.
3. As you reflect on your own leadership traits, do you think some of them are more “you” and authentic than others? Have you always been the kind of leader you are today, or have your traits changed over time? Are you a stronger leader today than you were five years ago? Discuss.
Action
1. If you could model yourself after one or more of the historical leaders we discussed in this chapter, whom would you model yourself after? Identify two of their traits that you could and should incorporate into your own style of leadership.
2. Based on the case study of Tim T., which of his traits could you incorporate into your own leadership? Discuss.
3. Although changing leadership traits is not easy, which of your leadership traits would you like to change? Specifically, what actions do you need to take to change your traits?
4. All of us have problematic traits that inhibit our leadership but are difficult to change. Which single trait distracts from your leadership? Since you cannot easily change this trait, what actions can you take to “work around” this trait? Discuss.
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PortfolioWeek2WorkSheet1.docx
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