Review the leadership traits described earlier. Are there any people, living or dead, who have those traits? To which traits do you respond most positively?

Leadership

Leadership is a social influence process involving two or more people: the leader and a follower (or a potential follower). The influence process has two dimensions: 

(1) The leader’s intention to affect the behavior of at least one other person, and 

(2) The extent to which the target of the influence effort perceives the behavior as acceptable. Perception and attribution, which Chapter 5, “Perception, Attitudes, and Personality,” discusses, are important parts of the leadership process in organizations. The person who is the target of the influence effort must attribute the behavior to a specific person and consider that behavior acceptable.

Leaders can hold formal organization positions or emerge spontaneously within an organization. The formal positions carry titles such as manager, supervisor, foreman, or vice-president. Both the formal qualities of the position and the characteristics of the person holding it contribute to leadership. Other people who are not in formally appointed positions can also play leadership roles. Such leaders are emergent leaders and often found within formal and informal groups in organizations. This chapter begins with a discussion of the differences between management and leadership. The chapter then discusses some major leadership theories in the temporal order of their emergence since the early 1900s. This chapter closes with a discussion of: leadership and self-managing teams; substitutes, neutralizers, and enhancers of leadership; leadership perceptions; and women, men, and leadership.