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Traits, Motives, and.Characteristics of Leaders

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: d-re baseline gravel seems coarser. Butthat appears the same from this on_field

m,e is /oe Torre,s cool game face. TheTranager prides himself on his calm, on

:re field. It is key ro an understated man_r sn-le that enabled him since he took,' 1996 to lead a culturally diverse ,""_ of

-lirh huge salaries and egos_to eighi' :r-e postseason appearances and six World

TMITS, MOTIVES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS 33

"My greatest talent is calmness and being posi_tive," says Torre, 64. "I concentjrate or, *h-ujyo.,can do even in the worst of times. you d.on,t judgeby last week's errors, or lost opporturrif.;-u. k".p,that attitude throughout the season.

. "F{e never panics,,' says team captain and all_star

shortstop Derek Jeter. Even when 1"i", *.nt Htless inthirty-two at-bats in the early 2004 season, Torre said/eter was ..still the one I tru;t. It's a long ,.urorr.,,

Torre pushes his players for results, iut onty, hesays, by treating them as he woulj wish to betreated-with fairness and honesty. I

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v1sn5n1 just presented describes a well-known manager who has several ofI d. leadership traits discussed in this chapter, p"r,i.J;;fi;ability under pres_' sure and honesty. v\&en people evaluate managers in terms of their leadershipeffectiveness, they often scrutinize ,h. -nr."g..s, traits and personal characteristics.Instead of focusing only on the resurts ,h. -*ng.rs achieve, those making the eval_uation assign considerable weight to the manager,s attributes, such as adherence to

[ti'ilil3i:*;ffi:n::,i:1"::":* i"*i*'ri'r'"'p.,'o""i''hu*.t.,i,ti., strongrvThe belief that certain personal characteristics and skills contribute to leadershipeffectiveness in many situations is the universal theory orr.uJ.rrrrip. According tothis theory, certain leadership rraits are orrirrlrr"tty i-port".rt; ,rr"ilr, they apply in alrsituarions' This and pe, tliowing .!"r. .gncentrate on personal characteristics;chapter 4 describes the behavio^ *a ,rair, thar are pnr, or irr" .rrriversal theory. ofcourse' personal characteristics are closely associated -itrr r."a..rrrif skills and behav-iors' For example, creative

F:H"g "b'iry i" .il";,;;i;;ilili leader formulatean exciting vision (leadership behaiior).characteristics associated with leadership can be classifiecl into three broad cate-gories: personality traits, motives, and .ognirir,. factors. These categories of behaviorserve as helpful guides. Frowever, they

"ri not definitive, ;.;;;;.i"g argument canoften be made that an aspect of leadership ni":* in one category could be placed inanother' Nevertreless, no matter ho- p..ronul characteristic, ir" ir*riri.d, they pointtoward the conclusion that effective ie"d".. are^made of the r.igbt stwff publishedresearch about the trait (great^lterson) approach first appeared at the turn ofthe cen_tury, and it continues today. since

"'r.riitircng of every personal characterisric everfound to be associated with readership ;;[ Lke several'h.rrrJJpng.s, this chap-ter discusses only the major and -*, .orrrlrrently found characteristics rerated toleadership effectiveness.

34 cHAPTER 2 / TRAITS, MoTIVES, AND cHARACTERISTICS oF LEADERS

I PersonalitV Traits of Effective Leaderst__- :

Observations by managers and human resource specialists, as well asresearch studies, indicate that leaders have certain personalitv traits.2 Theseteristics contribute to leadership effectiveness in many situations as long asleader's style fits the situation reasonably well. For example, an executive mightform admirably as a leader in several different high-technology companies withferent organizational cultures. l{owever, his intellectual style might make him afit with production workers. kaders' personality traits can be divided intogroups: general personality traits, such as self-confidence and trustworthiness,task-related traits, such as an internal locus ofcontrol.

We define a general personality trait as a trait that is observable both within andside the context of work. That is, the same general traits are related to successsatisfaction in both work and personal life. Figure 2-l lists the generaltraits drat conffibute to successful leadershio.

Self-Confidence Self-confidence improves one's performance in a variety ofincluding leadership.3 A leader who is self-assured without being bombastic orbearing instills self-confidence in team members. A self-confident team leader ofgroup facing a seemingly impossible deadline might tell the group, "We are ustaffed and overworked, but I know we can get this project done on rime. I,vethrough tough demands Iike this before. Ifwe work like a true team, we can pull it off-

Self-confidence was among the first leadership traits researchers identified, andhas recently received considerable attention as a major contributor to leadershipeffectiveness.a In addition to being self-confident, the leader must project that self-confidence to ttre group. He or she may do so by using unequivocal wording, main-

FIGURE 2-1 General Personality Traits of Effective Leaders

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PERSONALITY TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS 35

taining good posture, and making appropriate gestures such as pointing an indexfinger outward.

Self-confidence is not only a personality trait. It also refers to a behavior and aninterpersonal skill that a person exhibits in a number of situations. It is akin to beingcool under pressure. We can conclude that a person is a self-confident leader when heor she maintains composure when dealing with a crisis, such as while managing alarge product recall. The interpersonal skill comes in being able to keep others calmdurine turmoil.

@ o xNowr-nDGE BANr(: The Knowledge Bank for this chapter includes sug-gestions for developing self-confidence as required for leadership effectiveness.

Humility Although self-confidence is a key leadership trait, so is humility, or beinghumble at the right times. Part of humility is admitting that you do not know every-thing and cannot do everything, as well as admitting your mistakes to team membersand outsiders. A leader, upon receiving a compliment for an accomplishment, mayexplain that the group deserves the credit. The case for humility as a leadership traitis made strongly by Stephen G. Harrison, the president of a consulting firm, in hiscomment about how the definition of great leadership has changed: "Great leader-ship is manifested or articulated by people who know how to undersrate it. There isleadership value in humility, the leadership that comes from putting people in theIimelight, not yourself. Great leadership comes from entirely unexpected places. It'sunderstatement, it)s dignity, it's service, it's selflessness."5

Research by Jim collins on what makes companies endure and dramaticallyimprove their performance supports the importance of humility. He uses the termLepel 5 Lender to describe the most accomplished leaders. Level 5 Leaders are mod-est yet determined to accomplish their objectives.6

Trustworthiness Evidence and opinion continue to mount that being trustworthyand/or honest contributes to leadership effectiveness.T An effective leader or man-ager is supposed to walk the talk, thereby showing a consistency between deeds (walk-ing) and words (talk). In this context, trust is defined as a person's confidence inanother individual's intentions and motives and in tJre sincerity of that individual'sword.8 Leaders must be trustworthy, and they must also trust group members. Giventhat so many people distrust top-level business leaders, as well as political leaders,gaining and maintaining trust is a substantial challenge. The following trust buildersare worthy of a prospective leader's attention and implementation:e

*fi Make your behavior consistent with your intentions. Practice what you preachand set the example. Let others know of your intentions and invite feedback onhow well you are achieving them.

# \4lhen your organization or organizational unit encounters a problem, moveinto a problem-solving mode instead of looking to blame others for what wentwrong.

ffi Honor confidences. One incident of passing along confidential informationresults in a permanent loss of trust by the person whose confidence was violated.

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36 CHAPTER 2 / TRAITS, MOTIVES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS

ffi Mantain a high lever of integrity. Build a reputation for doing what youis morally right in spite of the potitic"t .orr.qrr.r..r.w Tell the truth. It is much easier to be consistent when you do not have topatching up your story to conform to an earlier lie.* Mf: trust pay in terms of receiving rewards. Trust needs to be seen as againing advantage.

It takes a leader a long time to build trust, yet one brief incident of untrurbehavior can permanently destroy it. L.";;; are usually allowed a fair shareest mistakes. In contrast, d-ishonest mistakes quickry ..oa. t.ua.rJip "re.aiuo,..K::?l:"*:-: _n:i..tu"d 1r.*"jrygrthy, the organization benefits. r*t rlrrs. \urt I. lJand Donald L. Ferrin examined the findings n ra i-p[."tro.r, or."**ch during thl

lx,,*.:li"r-about trust in leacrership. ii. r."i.* involved 106 studies and 27_tqres ano,individuals. The meta-analysis (quantitative rynthesis of studies) emphasized srsory leadership based on the imptrtance of trust i' a"y-to-J"y iri,..".orr, *irimembers. Trusting a leader was moretrighly nsso.ratei *rr, J"*0.., Ji-"#h:of group members. The highest rp..in.i.litionships with trust were as follows:r'

w Job satisfaction (2,: .51)ffi Organizattonal commitm ent (r, = .49)fd Turnover intentions (r, = _.ae (If you trust your leader, you are less likelyintend to leave.)s# Belief in information provided by the leader (r = .35\eie Commitment to decisi ons ( r = .24\ry Satisfaction with the leader (r, = .73\'{'4 LMx (r = .69) (LMX refers ro favorable exchanges with the leader. )The relationship of trust to job performance was statistically significant but quieIow (r = '16). one reason may be that many_people p.rro.- -.it for a leader thrydistrusr out of fear of being firld or bad_listed.Being trustworthy and earning trust are considered so essential to effective lead-ership that some companies use ihese factors to evaluate leaders and managers. Forexample, IBM evaruates its leaders on ten key factors, orr. or*ti.t is earru,ing trust-A leader who earns *y:,j-'llg.r wfrat is right"for trr. ro.rgi*'g"o-;a orr.htionshipsinside and outside of IBM." As with th. #h". traits (some of wiich are really behav_iors), the relevance of earning trust was .rrr.ou"r.d from interviews with thirty_threeIBM executives who had been regarded n, o.rtrturrdirrg readers within the company.rrLeadership self-Assessment quiz 2-r gives you the opportunity to examine yourown tendencies toward ftustworthiness.

Extraversion Extraversion, (tle scientific speting for exh,oyersion) has been recog_nized for its contribution to leadership effectiven.i b..uor. it i, rr.rpn r for leaders tobe gregarious and outgoing in most si?oatronr. Also, extraverts are more rikely to wantto assume a leadership r9r9 a1d participate in group *ri"iii"r. A -"tu-urr"lysis ofseventy-three studies involving,ll,zOS r"Upa, foorrd thut .",ruu"rrio'was the mostconsistent personality factor related to leaiership "ff..tiu"rr.r,

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16. Col laborates wi th orhers to makc creaf ive decis iorrs

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_ Even though it is logical to think that extraversion is related to leadership,

effective leaders are laid-back and. even introverted. Michael Dell, the famous fcof Dell Inc., is a reserved individual who is sometimes described as having a vanilpersonality. Yet Dell has been working to become more extraverted in ,..*t y"ro

Assertiveness Letting ^others.know where you stand contributes to leadership <

tiveness. Assertiveness refers to being forthright in expressing d.-*dr, opinions,ings, and attitudes. Being assertive helps leadirs perform m"n:y tarks and, achieve goah.

iX:*:: i::|q:":ns sroup.members a6out their mistaker, d"-*di'g hisbclperformance, setting high expectations, ancr.making legitimut. i.-*d, on highermanagement' A director of her company's cell phoni seivice unit was assertive whenshe said to her staff, "our cell servicels th. *o.ri in the industry. we have to improve.-An assertive person is reasonably tactfirl rather than being aggressive and obnoxious.

Leadership self-Assessment euiz 2-2 givesyou ttre ofpJr"tunrty to determine howassertive you are.

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PERSONALIry TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS 41

whether to bring problems to Larry's attention. Some days he would complimentme for taking customer problems seriously. Other times he would rant and raveabout the ineffectiveness of the sales department. We all worry about having ourperformance appraised on one of Larry's crazy days." In contrast, you will recall thatcalmness and stability contribute to the leadership of Joe Torre, the New yorkYankees manager.

One study found that executive leaders who are emotionally unstable and lackcomposure are more likely to handle pressure poorly and give in to moodiness, out-bursts of anger, and inconsistent behavior. Such inconsistency undermines their rela-tionships with group members, peers, and superiors. In contrast, effective leaders aregenerally calm, confident, and predictable during a crisis.13

Enthusiasm In almost all leadership situations, it is desirable for the leaderto be enthusiastic. Group members tend to respond positively to enthusiasm,partly because enthusiasm may be perceived as a reward for constructive behav-ior. Enthusiasm is also a desirable leadership trait because it helps build good rela-tionships with team members. A leader can express enthusiasm both verbally("Great job"; "I love it") and nonverbally (making a "high five" gesture ). An exec-utive newsletter made an enthusiastic comment about enthusiasm as a leadershiptrait:

People look to you for fenthusiasm] to inspire them. It is the greatest tooi formotivating others and for getting things done. As a leader, you have to ger our infront of your people. Even the most enthusiastic employee is loath to show more ofit than his or her boss. If you don't project a gung-ho attirude, everybody else willhold back.la

Sense of Humor \44rether humor is a trait or a behavior, the effective use of humoris an important part of the leader's role. Flumor adds to the approachability and peo-ple orientation of a leader. Claudia I(ennedy, as a three-star army general and thearmy's senior intelligence official, occupied a key leadership position. During aninterview for a magazine article, she mentioned that although she had no regrets, herdemanding career had not allowed for having a husband and children. The reportercommented, "You could still get married." I(ennedy retorted, "well certainly-putmy phone number in this article."ls

Laughter and humor serve such functions in the workplace as relieving ten-sion and boredom and defusing hostility. Because humor helps the leader dissolvetension and defuse conflict, it helps him or her exert power over the group. Self-effacing humor is the choice of comedians and organizanonalleaders alike. By beingself-effacing, the leader makes a point without insulting or slighting anybody.Instead of criticizing a staff member for being too technical, the leader might say,"wait, I need your help. Please explain how this new product works in terms thateven I can understand." Notice that General I(ennedy's comments were slightly self-effacing by implying that she needed to have her phone number widely disseminatedin order to obtain dates.

Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 2-1 provides an opportunity to use humoreffectively.

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PERSONALIry TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS 43

The truth is yes. Sure I like being the poster child instead of the pifi'nta a litde bit

more. But I'm a change junkie. I love the rate of change. I love the intellectual

challenge of what we're doing. I love the people I work with. It's not like me against

the world. We've got a big team of people. It's fun'r7

Being passionate about the nature of the business can be a major success factor in

it, ,rrruirr"l. Randy I(omisar, a strategy consultant to many dot-com business firms'

argues that the purpose of business cannot be simply to make lots of money. He says

th"at too many business start-ups lack a deep foundation in values and are managed by

a drive for success, not by puttiott. "Drive pushes you toward an objective, and you

can deny part of yourself by sheer will to achieve a goal," I(omisar explains' "Passion

irresistibly pulls you toward the need to express yourself and has to come from within

and be nurtured." A problem with drive alone is that the end justifies the means'r8

EmOtionat Intettigence Leadership researchers and experienced workers have

long known that how well a person manages his or her emotions and those of others

infliences leadership effectiviness. For example, recognizing anger in yourself and

others, as well as being able to empathize with people, can help you be more effec-

tiv. ai exerting influince. In recent years, many different aspects of emotions,

motives, and pirson"lity that help determine interpersonal effectiveness and leader-

ship skill h"rre b"en placed undei the comprehensive label of eruotional intelligeruce.

Bmotional intelligence refers to the ability to do such things as understand one's

feelings, h"rre .mp"'thy for others, and regulate one's emotions to enhance one's qual-

ity ofiife. This type oiintelligence generally has to do with the ability to connect with

peopl. -d ,rnd.rrtand theii emotions. Many of the topics in this chapter (such as

*ut-atty and throughout rhe text (such as political skill) can be considered related to

emotional intelligence.

FIGURE 2-2 Task-Related Personality Traits of Leaders

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44 CHAPTEB 2 / TRAITS, MOTIVES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS

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If leaders do nollrave emotional inrelligence, the1, mn1. not achieve their full poten_rial' steve Freyer, a former high-level ."..irirr" at coca-cora, ir;:"r. in point. F{e washired into coca-cola u. "

p-.r.on with the potential to become trre next cEo. Butlreyer's personality ran against the company's ingrained ..rrr.,r., "rra

he did not pick upon the subde cues about holv he should behave (part of emotional intelligence). He washarsh with people and flaunted his position. Because cok" d;;;, on irs bottrers) com_pany executives have a sayi'g: "Ifyour bottrer drives a cndrrur, yordrive a Buick. Ifyourbottler drives a Buick, you dtiu. u po.d. tf ,uo.,, bottrer drives a Ford , yow wark.,, Heyerdrove a Mercedes' f".F.l:g1., he purchased a house on trre same street as coke,spatriarch, Robert w?gd:.]tr" lre,.s1 wnr denied p.o-otio' to Cgo, nrrd he left thecompany in June 2004' He also clashed with key ieople in his next execurive position,as key executive in an investment banking firm. In contrast to Heyer, many of the lead_ers described in this text have high emod-onal intelligence.

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Research on emotional intelligence and leadershipias also focused on the importanceof t]'e leader's mood.in infl'en"cing performance. Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis,and Annie McIGe believe that thJleaaer's mood and his or her associated behaviorsgready influence bottom-line performance. one reason i, trrot -ooas are contagious. Acranky and ruthless leader creates a toxic organization of underachievers (who perform11_tess

thy their potentiar). In contrasr, an'upbeat *a ir-rrfirntiorrJ r."a.. breeds fol_lowers 'r'ho can surmolrnr most chaneng.r. Th.r, -""d firrJt"ir..* proti, and loss.The implication for leaders is that they hulu. to develop .-otionul intellige'ce regardingtheir moods' It is also ldontr

to der,.lop a sense of humor, because lightheartedness isthe most contagious of moods.22Despite all the attention paid to emotional i'tenigence, it is a supplement to) nota substitute for, mental abiliqr A person cannot be an effective reader on the basis ofemodonal intelligence alone.

Flexibility and Adaptability A leader is someone who facilitates crrange. It there-fore follows that a reader rnust te flexible .rro.rgr, to cope with such changes as tech-nological advances, downsizings, o.,troo..ing, a shifting customer base, and achanging work force. FlexibilitJ', or trre ability to adjusr ,lo am.."rr, situations, haslong been recognized as an important leadership characteristic. Leaders who are flex-ible are able to adjust to the demands of cirurgirrg conditions, much as antlock brakesenable an automobile to adjust to changes in road conditions. without the underly_ing trart of flexibility, a person could be an effective l."d;.-;orrif orr. o,. rwo situa_tions' The manufacturing industry exemplifies a field in which situation adaptability isparticularly imporrant because top ."..rrtiu11 ar1 1e_qrired to provide leadership forboth traditional production .-proy.e, o, *.tt as highly-skiil.cr iror.rriorrutr.

lnternal Locus of control People with an internal locus of contror believe that theyare the prime mover berrind events. Thus, an internar roc's of contror helps a leaderin the role of a take-charge person because the leader believes r,rr.Ju-.rrt"ily in his orher innate capacity to take .Ln.g.. An inter'J locus ofco'rrol is closely related to self-confidence' A strong internal locus facilitates self-co'fidence because the person per-ceives that he or she can control circumstances enough to perform we'.A leader r'vith an irrternal rocus of contror is rikely to b. arror.d by group mem_bers' one reason is that an."internal', person rs perceived as more powerfur than an"external" person because he or she t"r.., ,.rporrsibility for events. The reader with


an internal locus of conuol would emphasize that he or she can change unfaroconditions, as did Allen Questrom during his time atI.C. penney (Chapter I r.may recall thar he also encouraged the managers reporting to him io ,lro t.k.sibility for their part in Penney,s turnaround.

Leadership skill-Building F,xercise 2-2 provides you with an opportunity to brstrengthening your internal locus of control. Considerable furtir.. work wouldrequired to shift from an external to an internal locus ofcontrol.

DEVELOPING AN INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROLA person's locus of.conrrol is usually a deepry ingrained thinking partern thetdevelops over a period of many years. Neveirhereis, you can begln.d_evelopinga stronger internal locus ofconrrol by analyzing past successes and failures tidetermine how much. influence you had

"n rni ir,.on'. of these events. By

repeatedly analyzing the relative conuibution of internal versus exrernal factorsir shaping events, you may learn to feer more in charge of key events in yourlif 'e. The events l isted below are a good starting point.

l. A contest or nthletic event tbat yow either w.,n.0r wade agood showing in

ffi:ilili:::l':il:;ithin vour contror trlat r'J to v5;';;:;;;;;';

ffiil[i::1':il:$vond vour control that led to vour winning or

' (;:?':,:; ",y,"!^!::,,";:,K:;:#:{::!;rhat red to this poor srade I

what were the factors beyond your conrrol that led to this poor gradef


FIGURE Z-g Leadership Motives

to exert their power; (2) drey invest much time in thinking about ways to alrerbehavior and thinking of others; and (3) they care about their personal standingthose around them.2a The power motive is important because it means that theis interested in influencing others. without power, it is much more difficult to iothers. Power is not necessarily good or evill it can be used for the sake of theholder (personalized power motive) or for helping others (socialized power motive)-i

Personalized Power Motive Leaders with a personalized power motivepower mostly to further their own interests. They crave the trappings of power,as status symbols, luxury, and money. In recent years) some leaders have taken r4rpower boating, or racing powerful, high-speed boats. s4ren asked how he liked hilpower-boating experience) an entrepreneurial leader replied, "It's fun, but the starnqtcosts are about $350,000."

Because of his love for the trappings of power, Donald Trump@ is seen as a leaderwitlr a strong personalized power motive. Even the name Donald. Trwnap is registere{that is, it is supposed to be written with the "registered" symbol upon fust mention-Trump has a penchant for naming yachts, hotels, and office buildings after himself-His drive for power is intertwined with his immodesty and lack of humility. Trump'stelevision show, The Apprentice, helped make him a national symbol of power, and hisfum even tried to make the term "Towtre f,red,tt a registered trademark.

Despite Trump's elevated personalized power motive, he does not fit all threecharacteristics stated above. Trump gives his financial managers considerable latitudein managing his enterprises. In contrast to Trump) some leaders with strong person-alized power motives typically enjoy dominating others. Their need for dominancecan lead to submissive subordinates who are frequently sycophants and yes-persons.

Socialized Power Motive Iraders with a socialized power motive use power pri-marily to achieve organizational goals or a vision. In this context, the term socinlizedmeansthat dre leader uses power primarily to help others. As a result, he or she is likely to pro-

I

LEADERSHIP MOTIVES 49

vide more effective leadership. kaders with socialized power motives tend to be more

emotionally mature than leaders with personalized power motives. They exercise power

more for the benefit of the entire organization and are less likely to manipulate others

through the use of power. Iraders with socialized power motives are also less defensive

and more willing to accept expert advice. Finally, they have longer-range perspectives.26

It is important not to draw a rigid line between leaders with personalized power

motives and those with socialized power motives. The distinction between doing

good for others and doing good for oneself is often made on the basis of very subjec-

tive criteria. A case in point is H. Ross Perot, the highly successful business founder,

social activist, and two-time candidate for U.S. president. Perot supporters attest to his

genuine desire to create a good life for others and to serve the public. I{is detractors,

however, regard Perot as a leader obsessed with power and self-importance.

Leaders are known for working hard to achieve their goals. Drive refers to a propen-

sity to put forth high energy into achieving goals and to a persistence in applying that

energy. Drive also includes achievement motivation-finding joy in accomplishment

for its own sake. Entrepreneurs and high-level corporate managers usually have

strong achievement motivation. Such people have a consistent desire to:

1. Achieve through their own efforts and take responsibility for success or failure

2. Take moderate risks that can be handled through their own efforts

3. Receive feedback on their level of performance

4. Introduce novel, innovative, or creative solutions

5. Plan and set goals2T

l .riter thcxlinc'rri$the leaderr iniluencelhe pos-ermodve ).5

otir e seeknr er, suchtahen up

: hlied histre starnrp

Ls .1 leaderegrstered;rnention.r himself., Trump'sr- and his

: rll threeb latitude

E pcrson-or-unance-Pe rsons.

5u'er pri-t*-,/ meansh-to pro-

ili'ix,jj;ii#Effective leaders typically have a strong work ethic, a firm belief in the dignity

of work. People with a strong work ethic are well motivated because they value hard

work. Most leaders need this quality because they have a hear,y worldoad. A strong

work ethic helps the organizational leader believe that the group task is worthwhile.

For example, the outside world might not think that the production of specialty soft

drinks (such as high-caffeine cola) and botded spring water is important. Yet the

founder of one such company said that he delights in the pleasure his company brings

to so many people. He also added, "A lot of IT finformation technology] specialists

wouldn't be nearly as productive without getting enetgized by our cola."

A final observation about the motivational characteristics of organizational leaders is

that they are tennc,iou.i. Leaders are better at overcoming obstacles than are nonlead-

ers. Tenacity multiplies in importance for organizational leaders because it takes a

long time to implement a new program or to consummate a business deal, such as

acquiring another company. A study of 150 leaders conducted by Warren Bennis rein-

forces the link benveen leadership effectiveness and tenacity. A1l interviewees embod-

ied a strongly developed sense of purpose and a willful determination to achieve what

CHAPTER 2 /TMITS, MOTVES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS50

#ffiyourd have quit . ";"iJl;;;h; " ffi:il::j :ffi,l;X;: T#::"Jgi;ffi:1,HjTffi="fffrom shrunken power ana tlait"a t,iuiifr,, .rp"- the number 2 position. In the past, Motorola hadcially if they were independently ,"nt,hy.''nr..r, tr".kJ_i;;;tlne insiders for iti top spots. Aflaidnot only stayed, but he also flourish.j in-L" ,r.- of rosing -Br""rr,

.however, in ianuary 2001company' Breen's strategy was to ,.t"in ,r.u.ly un il";;;;ti #ed him head of its network sectory":?Tr:'.T#"ffffiilTfrr1"r" a" i"l,l"'r, ""a g"'" r',- ,.,,.r"1r.*"rds, including restricted.",Iff .,-f ;t**"'iffi i"?ffi ;:,'ff;#i*r#l;lk[:.'h1T:'f,:.'";xJ$chief operating officer of Generj f"rrr"

;:,I[i+,:;**f ,:,:.T.#*H#$:ffi ;lJII"ffi !i;,::#il'"{::i:tment just ten vears Lter. rn 200r he *n, ,rr. ;ry -* u'J Ji;.T::l#"H:j":'liilr;*::

ipff;::?1J::::._"*H"-ff"f t'tr*fi :ffi *:,nJ"hi,s::l:f,:"__,rp,aguedwi,h;i"T*"#"'

the chairm*,-cEO, u'd fo,r,'d",', ili;;;;;*Xl$.':Ti:i,1,,t",fru::::twh'e a division head, the r."I"r.y u...:.?: ;f.li!Tt.f,:;J:,ll1i:X,,lh *f.H:tered with fifty fotr:I General i"tit"-."t

"i." p*u r""ar'a adorn his corporate offices and hispresidents paid off' AII but t"" r"ii"*"il- ." ;;.;o.'J;.lrorrur..ria"rr..r. Hr, i.rr-y.ur r.ig'Motorola. "Evervbodv *"' p;;;-';;;;1r; ;i;.*, #'.*t

"uug"r,.e had reft the congrom_team"' said one insider. "A lot orth.m thought "d;t;;;tion in tafters. In 2005, Kozlowskihe would move up in the compu"u'"-""

"" was sentenced tg up to 25 years in prison fbr steal-Breen and his team represented the kind of tat- t"t rr""Jr.L

"f m'lions of dollars from rhe com_ent Motorola needed,

".td.h. roor "-"rli ur_u p;y.

-H;;;o

,ou". an eight_year period Tycokey architect of Motoror"" *ttt"ty'ffii q" ir'*"*.,,';"; lad acquirea i,oob businesses, andagreed to remain for one year, and Motorola -*t:iil:. we...relatively unharmed by thepromised him a $1'7 million u"""t irn"1'oy"a nnun.iui.*..rres of the former regime.for two. As head of Motorola,, ".;

;;;;iuurra !\4rile audit<c-ommunications division, Breen r.r"rJ .l.l ,"":l::"":^:"r:lt: *:It

1trl. digging into Tvco'sdemoted u. i,,,i,i"a :l .;r;;; ::.i q;:H:#i"J#:tn:1_:r"***;iH:L3flTlTJ[:"

n" could visitastant cus- -urf."r"r,." happgned on his watch. rn his tust five*:ir:; *i ffiHt* Hl#;'.l,ffi :rii+;""ffi,",'.ht'**t tffi;:;- . k l ^ ^ ^ ^ - - r

: : l

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EPF edber ofcFrair-Inter-i l t i t hment.t L \ a nbrmer

l com-nd his'reign

Flo--bsski'steal-

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52 CHAPTER 2 / TRAITS, MOTIVES, AND CHABACTEBISTICS OF LEADERS

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;ffi :ffi :xj;1:H[::#:::t;:'f :1,".",::T.;:{"J"I:',#:i::,1"^.H,:,J:1. Mostly disagreei:T:::,1:::^::' vou' po n" b,,he i;';;J#il ;Tlil ;::':ffi j:;::2. Mostly clisagree3. Mostly agree4. Mostlv disagree5. Mosdy disagree

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company finances, use advanced software, manage inventory, and deal with itional trade regulations. Research spanning 100 years has demonstrated thatreceive higher scores than most people on mental ability tests, including Ie (afor a test score that for many people is synoq.nnous with intelligence). A meta-ilof l5l studies found apositive relationship between intelligence and job perof leaders in many different settings. The relationship is liliely to be highe,leader plays an active role in decision making

"nd it not overly

"stressed-

researchers also found support for the old idea that intelligence contributes theto leadership effectiveness when the leader is not vastly smarter than mostmembers.2e

Intellectual ability is closely related to having knowledge of the business or thcltask the group is performing. An effective leader has to be technically competedsome discipline, particularly when leading a group of specialists. It is difficult faIeader to establish rapport with group members when he or she does not knourrthey are doing and when the group does not respect the lead,er's technical skills-

A representative example of the contribution of knowledge of the business to kership effectiveness is the situation ofJim press, the executive vice president andoperating officer of royota Motor sales, u.s.A., Inc. press is considered to be cthe most influential executives in the American auto industry. A middle-aged man,conducts regular pep rallies with royota employees. press has a rare blend of af,butes. He is a thirty-four-year Toyota veteran who has mastered the company's hiregarded engineering and manufacturing systems. r{is interpersonal skills combwith his intimate knowledge of auto manufacturing give him enormous clout wiToyota, and within the U.S. automotive industry in general.30

The importance of knowledge of the business is increasingly being recognizedan attribute ofexecutive leadership. Leaders at every level areixpected to bring foruseful ideas for carrying out the mission of the organizatton cr organizational rAn analysis of cEo leadership concluded that one of the basic ways in whichexecutives lead is through the expertise approach. Executives who lead by using tapproach think that the leader's most important responsibility is providirrg

".r *!.

expertise that will be a source of competitive advantage. suci cios devote mosttheir time to continually improving their expertise tluough such means as studyinew technological research, analyzing competitors' products, and conferringcustomers and engineers.3r

Knowledge of the business or rhe group task is particularly important whenoping strategy and formulating mission statements. chapter ti deats with sformulation at length.

Many effective leaders are creative in the sense that they arrive at imaginatiu. *A{original solutions to complex problems. Creative ability lies on a continuum, withlsome leaders being more creative than others. At one end of the creative .orrtinou-!

COGNITIVE FACTORS AND LEADERSHIP 55

are business leaders who think of innovative products and seryices. One example isSteve |obs of Apple computer, Inc., and pixar Animation studios. Jobs has con-tributed creative product ideas to both firms, including endorsing the developmentof the iPod' At the middle of the creativity continuum are lead.ers who explore imag-inative-but not breakthrough-solutions to business problems. At the low end ofthe creativity continuum are leaders who inspire group members ro push forwardwith standard solutions to organizational proLlems. Creativity is such an importantaspect of tlre leader's role in the modern organization that the developmeniof cre-ative problem-solving skills receives separate attention in chapter ll.

Another important cognitive trait of leaders is insight, a depth of understanding thatrequires considerable intuition and common sense. Intuition is often the rnentalprocess used to provide the understanding of a problem. Insight helps speed decisionmaking. Lawrence weinbach, chairman, president, and cEo of unisys, puts it thisway: "Ifwe want to be leaders, we're going to have to make decisions with maybe 25percent of the facts. If you wait for 95 percent, you are going to be a follower.;32 seffBezos of Amazon.com believes that the bigger the decision, such as whether or notto enter a particular business, the greater the role of insight and intuition.

Michael Dell endorses the importance of insight anJ hunches in making majordecisions, yet he emphasizes that one cannot n.gl..t hard data. Dell says, "i1 teaa-ership, it's important to be intuitive-but .tot ui the expense of facts. Without theright data to back it up, emotional decision making during difficult times willinevitably lead a company into great danger.',33

Insight into people and situations involving people is an essential characteristic ofmanagerial leaders because it helps them make the best use of both their own andothers' talents. For example, it helps them make wise choices in selecting people forkey assignments. Insight also enables managers to do a better job of irainirrg ^radeveloping team members because they can wisely assess the members' strength-s andweaknesses. Another major advantage of being iniigtrtfut is that the leader c"i sire upa situation and adapt his or her leadership

"ppron.h u..ordingly. For instance, in a cri

sis situation' group members welcome directive and decisive leadership. Being able toread people helps the manager provide this leadership.

Insight also helps one perceive trends in the environment. Leaders must be able toprocess many different types of information and use their perceptions to predict thedirection of environmental forcis. For example, Dffiy hrr-an ,.ioor.. managers sizeup the environment to identify factors that will attract talented professionals to theirfirm during a labor shortage. Among the key factors ur. opportiorrity for continuouslearning, flexible work schedules, and stock options. A more traditional approachmight emphasize high starting salaries and opportunity for promotion.

. You can gauge your_insight by charting the accurary of yt.r, hunches and predic-

tions about people and business situations. For exampie, ,ir. op a new coworker ormanager as best you can. Record your observations and test thim against how thatperson performs or behaves many months later. The feedback from this t\,,De of exer-cise will help sharpen your insights.

56 CHAPTER 2 / TMITS, MOTIVES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS

To develop visions and corporate strategy, a leader needs farsightedness,to understand the long-range implications of actions and policies. A farsirecognizes that hiring talented workers today will give the firm a long-petitive advantage. A more shortsighted view would be to hire less-talentedto satisft immediate elnployment needs. The farsightedleader/manager isious to short-range needs but will devise an intermediate solution. such as tporary workers until people with the right talents are found.

Conceptual thinking refers to the ability to see the overall perspective, and itfarsightedness possible . A conceptual thinker is also a systeru.s thinhar because hunderstands how the external environment influences the orsanization andferent parts of the organizatton influence each other. A good conceptual thiognizes how his or her organizational unit contributes to the firm or howmeshes with the outside world.

Being farsighted benefits the leadership of basic businesses as well as thattechnology firms. Two twin brothers, Norman Irenhouts and Nelsonstarted a real estate business fifty-three years ago that is now called HomeToday their total properties are valued ^t $2.9 billion and include 49,000in twelve states and more than I million square feet of commercial space-Leenhouts have been able to see the possibilities in properties that others mightsider undesirable. Their basic concept is to buy older, mosdy brick complexesdeteriorating kitchens and bathrooms. Home Properties then fixes up theand bathrooms, raises the rents, and turns a profit.3a

Yet another important cognitive characteristic of leaders is their openness to eence) or their positive orientation toward learning. People who have a greatopenness to experience have well-developed intellects. Traits commonly associwith this dimension of the intellect include being imaginative, cultured, curious,inal, broad-minded, intelligent, and artistically sensitive .

Robert ]. Sternberg has developed a new approach to understanding leadershipon cognitive factors. The WICS model of leadership encompasses andwisdom, creativity, and intelligence to explain leadership effectiveness. To be a hieffective leader, one needs these three components working together or synthesias diagrammed in Figure 2-5. Intelligence in this model includes both the traditiand ana\tical intelligence, as well as practical intelligence. The last-mentionedbute refers to the ability to solve everyday problems by using experience-knowledge to adapt to and shape the environment-sometimes referred to asswa,rts. Creativity is the same type of creativity mentioned in this chapter. Wisdomthe most important quality a leader can have, but it is relatively rare. The insightintuition referred to earlier in the chapter are much like wisdom. A leader with widom would use intelligence, creativity, and experience for a common good.35

According to the WIICS model, a leader needs the following for the successful utibzairon of intellieence :

IilD erperi-n deal ofssociatedlus. orig-

lace.

ngi,tEIES \I

l k i t

tip basedhthe sizesa higtrlyfiesized,tdrtionaled attri-;e-basedas ff1/eetbdom isg:trt andrith wis-t

of Heredity and Environmenton Leadership

58 CHAPTER 2 / TMITS, MOTIVES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERS

Does heredity or environment contribute more to readership effectivenessr Arc

,,:,#:Xn$j"?:.::liT' :? T'.:l'i :*n: ":nt' u'" l-rlJ.,r Many pponder these issues nowthat the study orteaaelrsnip r, -"."1" ".#;ffiI$

3ff,"r.Jrl:i:,T'^T:r"r:.T trri

1aits, motiygs, ani characterir.i.r-."q*.ed fortership effectiveness are caused by a combination of heredity J;:;H::*l_:i|t,

*q mental.ability ".rrr "r.

based on certain inherited

;ffi :l#ir::ii,:111,:^nli':t'igii:pr**nitvtodeverop';iffi 't"Tffiret hnrc^^^.., _ __.^ __,,,",|

a b::rc capacity tiat sets an outer limii to how much inow muchtal horsepower we will,have Vi, g*oi" ir.J ,fr. right opportunity to developmental ability so thar they can b.lhu". u.igh;y enough to be chosen for a leadeposition.The physical factor of energy also sheds light on the nature-versus-nurture i

i,:ffj::li:5,::::l:1.1,riir"si."r,r,"r.1,,i.rr., u"i"g -",. ."ergetic than:ffi.J"Tl;:.riatener'yispropelrtychanneled,'ir",ill;;?;;h;ilrr"""T#n:

The nature-versus-nurture issue arso surfaces in reration to the leadership c:::t-tT:l:1_._",ri"l,y.and

innovati"". t,po.t"nt genetic contriburors to imaoithinking include brainpower and emotional expressiveness. yet *"r"?;:r;;ff:;:* ::J::lT_,.11

.: h.urish. Such ;;;;""_ent would include encourasenfrom others and ample opportunity to experiment with ideas. i encourag

,"",1::.^i:l^1}"^,.1r:;nal intelligen.. i"info..", rhe srarements made so farnade so far ileadership being a combinarion

"riirr"rii.i^*d l""..r.d factors. The outermost;iff ,t:::l::::1l-P: 1"::",r"", go; anarl,ticar thinking and technicarwhich are associated with cognitive

".t?iiir"Jlffi;;; fi- lT"ff:}ftIffi }ru;:n': i1:ff :::::.Y1 la*. +. r..h ;i;; ;"i", ..,o.i,.d by a crtomer. Emo tional intelli gence ori gin ate s ;",h. ;;;;;;ir,""^:ffi,.T;il;tem of the brain, which governs d"lirrgr, imfulses, and drives.A person therefore has genes ,rrua i"ri""f.e the emotional inteligence necesr.f.o;i.:i:::1',1;:::;;::,"!r,..i.,,.. i"ffi.r*, for emotionur i,,t.utg.,,.e becaeurgence becat

:i:T,:::.il::i1*".:,3:l^lo:,:; ",""dfi;comes better ar managing rerationshithe more practice he or she har. As ";;;;;;il#;;#ffili?il::::LT:#trff;$S*"t

companies, and've learned to do it *,,1116o, .orirpletely destroyingThe case histories of six sets of brothers highlight the complexity of sorting outthe influences of heredity versus .nuiron-"rr, on leadership. All twelve achieved thetide of president or higher

"t.o-p*i., oiu, t"ur, I00 employees or gl0 million inannual revenues. For example, the Leiwekes became cEos odto.r..y teams: Tod isthe president of the Minnesoia wra, ""J-ii-

i, trr. pr.ria.rri"oi rrr" Los AngelesI(ngs' The reporter who gatherea trr.r.-."r" histories presented them as evidence of'cEO DNA."37 \44rether or not the author was totally serious, the implication is thatherediry was the primary reason that these brothers had similar ,rr...rr"r. FIowever,they also had quite similar.ntironm".rtr' ,u-" pnr.rrts, primary and seconcr.ary schoorstudy in the same neighborhood, ,i-ilar-"Jucation, similar iearned values, and soforth. Thus this issue li f", from settled. - -*

THE STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS oF THE TRAIT APPROACH 59

Sffe-;:hs and Limitations of the Trait Approach

A compelling argument for the trait approach is that the evidence is conyilcing thatleaders possess personal characteristics that differ from those ofnonleaders. Based on

llol, *It:-.of the type of research reported in this chaprer, Icrrpatrick and Locke

concluded: "Leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectualgeniuses or omniscient prophets to succied. But they do need to have the ,rightstuff'and this stuffis not equallypresent in all people',a8 The current emphasis onemotional intelligence and ethical conduct, *hi.h^ are really traits, attitudes, andbehaviors, reinforces the importance of the trait approach.

Urderstanding the traits of effective leaders serves as an important guide to lead-ership selection. Ifwe are confident that honesty and integrity, as well as creativity andimagination, are essential leadership traits, then we can concentrate on selecting lead-ers with those characteristics. Another important strength of the tr-ait approach is thatit can.help people prePare for leadership responsibility Jnd all of the issues that accom-pany.it, A person might seek experiences that enable him or her to develop vital char-acteristics such as self-confidence, good problem-solving abiliqr, and assertiveness.

A limitation to the trait approach is that it does not t.it .r, which traits areabsolutely needed in which leadership situations. We also do not know how much ofa trait,_characteristic, or mgtiye is the right amount. For example) some readers getinto ethical and legal trouble because thiy allow their ambition to cross the border-line into g'eed and gluttony. In addition, too much foc's on the trait approach canbreed an elitist conception of leadership. peopre who are not outstanding on key

i.:"*lf traits and characteristics might be discouraged fiom seeking readershipposrtlons.

The late Peter Drucker, a key figure in the modern managemenr movement, wasskeptical about studying the quattGs of lead.ers. He believed that a leader cannot becategorized by a particular personality type, style, or set of traits. Instead, a leadershould be understood in terms of his oi her constituents, results, behaviors, andresponsibilities' A leader must look in the mirror and. ask if the image there is the kindof person he or she wants to be. (However, Drucker in this instaice may have beenalluding to the leader's traits and values!)3e

. A balanced perspective on the trait approach is that certain traits, motives, andcharacteristics increase the probabilrty triai a leader will be effective, but they do notguarantee effectiveness' The leadership situation often influences which traits will bethe most imDortant.ao

In this chapter we focused on the traits, motives, and characterisrics ofthe leader-his or her inner qualiries. In the next chapter we dig fu;,"il,.

;:ff J.:lt"t ip q u al i ti es bv stud I'i n g ch ari sm a ti c ;; i;;;d;;? ;;

"i


I Summary

A universal theory of leadership contencls that certainpersonal characteristics and skills conuibute to leader_ship effectiveness in many situations. The traitapproach to leadership studies the traits, motives, andother characteristics of leaders. General personalitytraits associated with effective leadership include (l)self-confidence, (2) humility, (3) trustworthiness, (4)extraversion, ( 5 ) assertiveness, ( 6) emotional stability,(7) enthusiasm, (8) sense of humor, and (9) warmth..

Some personality traits of effective'leaders areclosely associated with task accomplishment. Amongthem are (I) passion for tlre work

"nd the people,

(]),.em9tional intelligence, (3) flexibility and adapt_ability, (4) internal locus of control, and (5) courage .Emotional intelligence is composed of four traits:self-awareness, self-management, social awareness,and relationship management.

Certain modves and needs associated with leader_ship effectiveness are closely related to task accom_glrh3."-,, Among them are (l) the power modve,(2) the drive and achievement motive, (3) a strongwork ethic, and (a) tenacity and resilience.

Cognitive factors are also important for leadershipsuccess. They include general mental ability andknowledge of the businiss or group task: that is,

college. hmco.com/pic/dubrin5e

technical competence. Creativity is anothertant cognitive skill for leaders, but effectivevary widely in their creative contributions. frriinto people and situations, including the abilitfmake effective judgments about busiiessties, also contributes to leadership .ff..tlFarsightedness and conceprual thinking help leato understand the long-range implications of actiand policies and to take an ou.."ll perspective. Bdopen to experience is yet another cognitive chanteristic associated with effective leadJrs. The

F.:rt of leadership in organizations emphasizesleaders must synthesize wisdom, inteligence,creativity (all cognitive factors).

The issue of whether leaders are born. or bredquendy surfaces. A sensible answer is that thc

Universal theory of leadershipTrust

Assertiveness

Emotional stability

Emotional intelligence

Flexibility

Internal locus of controlDrive

motives, and characteristics required for leadershieffectiveness are a combination tf heredity and enrironment.

The trait approach to leadership is supportedmany studies showing that leaders are diffe.errtnonleaders and that effective leaders are differentless effective leaders. Nevertheless, the trait approacdoes not tell us which traits are most important iwhich situations or how much of a trait is required.

Achievement motivation

Work ethic

Cognitive factors

Expertise approach

Insight

Farsightedness

WTCS model of leadership

Key Terms

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES 61

s for Action and Skill DeveloPment

tmotional intelligence is so importdnt for different from you.) Ifyou have external or internal

customers) ask them how well you appear to under-

stand their position.If you find any area of deficiency, work on that

deficiency steadily. For example, perhaps you are not

perceived as taking the time to understand a point of

view quite different from your own. Attempt to

understand other points of view. Suppose you

believe strongly that money is the most important

motivator for practically everybody. Speak to a per-

son with a different opinion and listen carefully until

you understand that person's perspective.

A few months later, obtain more feedback about

your ability to empathize. If you are making

progress, continue to practice. Then, repeat these

steps for another facet of emotional intelligence. As

a result of this practice, you will have developed

another valuable interpersonal skill.

for success, many organizations sponsor

intelligence training for managers. One

gnt started on improving emotional intelli-

be to attend such a training program.

like all forms of training, emotional intel-

u:ining must be followed up with consistentined practice. A realistic starting point in

fois vour emotional intelligence is to work

of its four components at a time) such asy aspect of social awareness.

in bv obtaining as much feedback as you can

pcople who know you. Ask them if they think

mderstand their emotional reactions and how

hff think you understand them. It is also help-

esk someone from another culture or someone

hrs a severe disability how well you commum-

ridr him or her. (A higher level of empathy is

foed to communicate well with somebody much

Dscussion Quesfions and Activities

l- How much faith do voters place in the trait the-

on'of leadership when they elect public officialsf

"- Suppose a college student graduates with a

major for which he or she lacks enthusiasm.\llhat might this person do about becoming a

passionate leaderf-3- \Yhat would a manager to whom you report

have to do to convince you that he or she has

emotional intelligencef4. What would a manager to whom you report

have to do to convince you that he or she has

humilityf5. Describe any leader or manager whom you

know personally or have watched on television

who is unenthusiastic. What effect did the lack

of enthusiasm have on group membersf6. If emotional intelligence is considered to be so

important for high-level leadership, where does

traditional or cognitive intelligence fit as an

important characteristic of executive leadersl

7. What are your best-developed leadership traits,

motives, and characteristicsf How do you knowf

B. A disproportionate number of people who received

an M.BA. at Harvard Business School are top

executives it Fortwne 500 business firms. How

does this fact fit into the evidence about the roles

of heredity and environment in creating leadersl

9. Visualize the least effective leader you know.

Identify the traits) motives, and personal charac-

teristics in which that person might be deficient.

10. Many people who disagree with the trait

approach to leadership nevertheless still conduct

interviews when hiring a person for a leadership

position. \444y is conducting such interviews

inconsistent with their attitude toward the trait

approachf


LEADERSHIP CASE PROBLEM A:

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Talk with the ever-voluble McNcaly, and yorrmay hear one ofthis favorite quips: .,Conventional

wisdom doesn' r conta in e whole lo t of wisdom."He bel ieves i t because of h is own exper ience. In1995. when Sun's major compedtors were busyoevetoprng ne\v servers to run Microsof tCorporat ion 's Windows sof tware, insread ofsnowrng common sense. McNealy increased h isrnvestment in Sutr 's own sof tware cal led Solar is .Wftat happened ucxr made McNcaly look bril_l ianr . fura ls cotr ld not metch the speed, re l iab i l iw.and security of Sun's servers) and as th. t.chboom rool< of{; thel' became the must_have searfbr rhotrsands of Interrrer srarlups and firraicialf irms. Sales soared and profits cxploded.

Frvc years larer , rs the boom of rhe la te 1990scame to a crashi r rg end, Wal l Street had moreadvice for McNealy: barren down rhe harches lorthe. s torm ahead. s lash research, lay o l . f s t r f fers,and get ser ious about low-cost products. Oncerg r i n , McNea ly he ld h i s g roun j , bu t t h i s r imehe rvas dreadfu l l l ' \vrong. Sun.s salcs have tum_bled 48 percenr in rhe Iast rhree ycars, i t has losta th i rd of i ts markcr share, . r .nd i r cont inues tohead south even as i ts r iva ls r ide the economicrecovery. No other major p layer has been weak_e ncd as mr - r ch du r i ng the tech down t r r rn .

Through in lerv iervs rv i rh th i r f l ._e ig,ht currentand lormer Sun cxecut ives, inc ludl r rg"n ine . l "par_tees on the record, BusinessWeeh leerned rl..,ai- asSr. rn 's s i tuat ion derer iorared, McNealy was bucl<_ing not jusr the courrsel of outs iders but a lso rharof h is orvn l ieutenants. Af ter thc tech industrvwen t i n ro i t s l ong s l i de i n 2000 , v i r t ua l l y h i sent l re n lanagemenl ream pleaded u i th McNeal l .to scale bacl< h is v is ion and ad jusr ro leaner r imes.

By 2004, McNealv had cur back somewhar b, rlaying ol'f l0 percenr of rhe workf.orce.

Time and rirne agaiu, McNealy refused. ̂ \aeconomics major lrom Harvard Universirv. he s.asconvinced that rhe economy would snap backquicldl ' lrom irs slump. He also believed tirat the]nternet was so crit ical to companies thrt thescould not hotd off buying gear for lone. ,.ThcInterner is s t i l l wi ld ly underhyped, underut i l ized-and under implcmenrcd." he said in err ly 2001. * Ith ink wc' re looking r r rhe largesr equipmenr busi_ness irr t le hisrory of anyrhing. The gronthopporrurriries arc sfurrnin g', ( BwsinessWeeh, r>. 66t.Prepar ing for rhc next upfunr , he fc l t , was muchnrore imporranr rhan whirtl ing exper.lses for a briefl u l l ." l 'M NOT G0ING AWAY" As the rech rvrec l< wenrf rom bld ro \vorse, McNealy 's contrar) , insr inctsl< ic l<ed in. Af ter r l l . l re had bcen r ighr to ignorethe consequences wi th in Surr 's ranl<s beFore. Inthe 1980s, he overru led e xecs who were sk i r t ishabour dropping Motor-o la, Inc. 's microproces_sors for ch ips developed by Sun-a move rharpaid of f in a b ig way. This r ime, as h is teamurged him ro cur bacl<, he felt rhe srakes we reeven h igher . Hc was derermined to f isht of fr,r,hat he rhought vvere short-term thinkeis. Dar-t icu lar ly on Wal l Streer , so rhar Sun coul j bepreserved as an i r rnovat ive force.

Arhough he had r l rought abour qrr i r t ine, dur_ing thc boom, McNealy commir te j h imie l t roSLLn in la te 200 I , convinced that h is credib i l i rv .exper ierrce. arrd sheer nerve were what the com_parry nceded dur ing i ts dar l<est days. . , l . rn hereend I'm nor going awal'. This is a really toup.h sir_uation, and we're going ro ger rhrough *i i,. ' i ,.told sraffers (BusinessWen. p. oO). BIr McNealvbadll ' underestimeted lhe severiry of rhe do*nl

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LEADERSHIP CASE PROBLEM A 63

$: l ismissed customers' desire for low-end-\ nme wore on, the losses piled up. and-' 's high-minded resolve began to look to

:ie simple-minded obstinacy. One by one,iost faith and departed. All told, almost a

change the rules of the game. At rhe high end of rheserver market. SLrn is d.eveloping chips that crn han-dle dozens of tasks at the same time. At tJre low cno,Sun servers built around incxpensive chips will han-dle not onJy processing tasks but also the basic net-working that rivals' boxes cannor handle. And Sr_rn'spricing approach is some*Ling no server companyhas dared to try: it is planning to give away low-endservers to customers who agree to buy its softwarefor several years. "We have a maverick strategy," saysMc\.eal,. "l think

ferella huge oppo.r,rniry r;gt.,t

now" ( BuinessWeeh. p. 67 ).

. McNealy conrends rhat Sun is more focused

than major rivals. Dell Inc., for instarrce. sellsprinters and digital music players, while IBM gershalf its revenues from services. "We're not doingdig i ta l cameras. We're not doing pr inters," saysMcNealy. "We're fiLndamentally focused, muchmore so than any company I see out there."

Q U E S T I O N S

t .HirJ',J0"xJ,,,?liii,!n

or scott McNearv's2. W4rat"personaliry. trair or traits does McNealy

possess that could be crearing problems forh im)

3. \\4rat .do

you recommend McN;al1, and his

;[ili'"t

team do to restore their former

S^g!lcl' Adapted from Jim l(er5errer arrd lercr Burrows. '.AC.F.O's Lasr Stmd_: Scorr McNea. ly_l t rowl H,e Made Many

H':t;f:;ri ' lt

roo Late to Recotcr)" Bnsineswreh,lulv 2o.2004'

i : I lcNealy's most trusted l ieutenants have=e past three years, including the chief of

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irc dur-mself toeJibility,he com-l-cr herelush sit-lL ! . ne

It;\ealyr dog,'n-

'er busiless.ui: many others, Masood Jabbar, Sun's long-

irles chief who retired in 2002, says hei \{cNealy's courage. But the standoff

cor-rnterproductive. "The fight just didn'rt orth it anymore." says Jabbar. "lt was an

le situation" (BusinessWeek,p.66). Yet the:rr.ird has no plan for McNealy ro srep down,:r-.rrd members perceive him as a great leader.

\i;\ealy says he sti l l has whar it takes to bring5ack. "Maybe it 's t ime ro ger rid of me," he-But th is company has a lo t invested in

M'r-rtng and developing me. I have twenry years'qutrience. l 'm 49 years old. I 'm in good shape.[ i :a ] rhr ' . Lot of energy. Lot of wisdom.k-rdonships around the world" (BwsinessWeek,

; o ' . He seems remarkably unperrurbed by rheo:- .her ing cr i t ic ism of the pasr few years.L-}lough he admits ro some mistakes, he is just-. .rcerbic and cocky as ever. He is not prone to*-r:doubt, or even much self-reflection.

Instead, McNealy is focused on rurning Sr-Ln::ound with what he calls disvuptive innovation, the$rne approach rhat has saved it so many dmes:ctbre. While mosr rivals make plain-vanille com-:uters and slug it out on price, Sun's plan is to


T .nr.t Clazer admits. his latesr project is a bit of

l ,an exper imerr t . A long wirh par tncr HaroldSamloFf, Glazer is in the middle of rclrabil iratingthe l ong -vacan t M ichae l -S re rns bu i l d i ne

"nNorth Cl inron Avenue in Rochesrer , New-york.After purchasing the building in March 2004,Glazer and SamloFf upgraded the decor in boththe common areas and indiv idual apar tmenrs. Forhigher-rerrt lofts, tenauts can have exposed brickwalls and higher-qualiry counrerrops. parr of thebuilding is dedicared to office space.

I t is a pro ject rhat is a b i t out of character forGlazer and Samlof f 's Buckingham properr ies."We're gambl ing a b i t , " Glazer savs. . . l f i tworks. we mighr t ry ' i t again." That rv i l l inqnessto branch out in to d i f ferent areas has turncdBuckingham Propert ies iuro one of Rochester 'stop developers. Buckingharn has made i rs nameby p iec ing together assemblages of propert ies-

f i t :nu: t t 'o tnt ia l ' then industr i r l . Glazer l ikes

Now Glazer , 59. and Samlof i , 68, have rurnedtheir attention to alt cclectic mix of properries inthe Inner Loop, a highrval around thi downrownarea. They are hoping to find a profit in the grow_ing demand fier lashionable office space. Thev savthey have

l. l.-- .g.*itmenr to improuing l ife in

the city. "We've always said rhar just l ike urbanblight spreeds. urban improvernent spreads too.'.

Glazer and Samlof t credi t an even d i l is ion oflabor wi th help ing rhenr succeed. Glazer 's r i t le ischieF e xecutr 've of f icer i Samlol . f is ch ie f operat iueofficer. Samtoff tachles management issues whil lGlazer pores over new prospects lor the com-pany. The sraff members rhe1, have assembledl rave a l lowed Glazer and SamlofF to focus moreon the straregic furure of the company than onthe day-_to day intricacies of managing proper-t ies. "When we star ted out , \ \ .e rvere dornqever1,thing." Glazer says. But rhe nvo sti l l l<ee!

close tabs on rheir lroldings. . 'We,re tire-kicSamloff says. "We like to visir our projec-na regLr lar basis . "

The partnership is more rhan thirfy-fire ro ld. Glazer and Samlof f met each other in Idur ing a Suuday morning tennis game organilry some friends. Samloff decided ro ask Glazerhe wanted to partner on a re ntal propern.. SLhey were buying more houses together. Att ime, Samlof f was a fu l l - r ime arrorney andwas wor l< ing in rhe pr inr ing industry . Gthe real estate venfure became e f-ull-t ime job.

They continued ro expand their holdings, brning houses and stores in the city not far t iqdowntown. Then an opportuniw to reno\ratcold industrial sitc presented itsclf-andrnd Glazer found they l iked managing industri{properties. "We never really did have a garrrplan." Samloff says. "We jtrst revierved opportunit ics as t l rey came ro us."

The Michrel-Sterns building was formerlr. emen ' s c l o rh ing p lan t t ha t c l osed i n l gTT-Bucki r rgham hrs spenr about $6.5 mi l l ion on ren-ovation; but that price rag is nor so bad consider-ing the comprny boughr rhe building l.rom theciry for $ 10,000.

One of the renanrs irr rhe brri lding is theCatholic Family Cerrrer. Carolyn portanova, rheCEO of the cenrer. says that she has great admira_tion for her new landlords. She says the projecrcould be a catalyst for rehabil itating the wholeneighborhood. "There's an energy there whenyou work wi th someonc who has a v is ion aboutwhat somcthing can be." Another renanr seys heappreciares the fact that the Bucldngham partnersstrike a deal and srick bv it.

Botlr Glazer and Samloff enjoy the hands-onnature of rhcir work urd arc also acrive in theconrmurriry. The two men are now looldng to thefuture. Both admit they are looking at l i fe f.or their

$i-icr they leave. "We've got a business*: drink should be continued," Samloff

= -;ke somerhing and say, this is pretry

: --fie re a gem in this ore we can extractf "

2. ln what ways do the traits and characteristics of

Glazer and Samloff complemcnt each other|

3. What evidence do you find that Glazer and

Samloff are Farsightedl4. \44rat cognirive skil ls are reflected in the leader-

ship of' Bucldngham Properties)

SOURCE: Davicl Tyler. "Bucldngham to Broadwcy." Rochester'

Neu York. Drmocrnt and Chroniclc. April ll, 2002. pp. lE. 8E;

persorral intcrrnew ui th Harold Samlof f . ILrne 21.20021Octolrer 5 '

LEADERSHIP SKILL-BUILDING EXERCISE 2-4 65

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T S T I O N S

::r u hether or not Glazer and Samloff

:'' as leaders.

MY LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO

For this addition to vour leadership portfolio, f irst select f ive of the traits,

morives, and characteiistics described in this chapter that you think you have

already exhibired. Foreach ?f,P.r.

arrribures, explain why you think you have

" :,;;:::,;:;::;;,,:,:";;",As a res,aura,,, mana*er, my job yi:.,help hire nn ,rrirtun, manager who would share some of the responsibil i t ies

of rupning the restaurant. I invited a ftend of mine, Laura. to apply l 'or the

position e-ven though she had trever worked in a restaurant. I noticed that

,h. *u, businesstike and also had a good touch with peop]e Laura was

hired, and she proved to be a fantastic assistant manager. I obviously sized

her up correctly.

Second, select several leadership raits, motives, or characteristics that you

think you need to develop to enhance your leadership skil ls. Explain why you

thinl< you need this development and how you thinlt you might obtain it. An

example would be as follows:

Passion:So far I am not particularly passionate about any aspect of work or

any cause) so it is hard for me ro ger very excited about being a leader. I

plrn to read more about my field and then.intervie* 1:?upl..of

successftrl

!::?fllr::is field to find some aspect of it that would be a ioy for me to

dubrin chapter 2

Documents

i trut

general traits

chapter traits

leadership traits discussedin

general personality

hg biry i

taskrelated traits

certain personalitv