There are many factors that affect the way people perceive others, including things like appearance and behavior. People can be attractive or unattractive, but they can also appear confident or shy. They can be slovenly or neat, talkative or quiet, and so on.
But what really determines whether someone is perceived as a good leader? It’s not just how you present yourself, but how you think and behave.
Leaders can inspire others to succeed under pressure because they set goals, communicate well and motivate their teams. They think strategically so they’re prepared for what comes next. And they’re optimistic – they see opportunities where others might see problems.
Your Personality Type Affects Your Leadership Style
You can’t influence whether you’re a natural leader, but you can work on your appearance and try to project the image of someone who’s confident, decisive, willing to take risks, and not afraid of conflict.
Your effective leadership will always be put to the test and it’s important to understand what leadership trait, leadership skill, and leadership ability can make you an effective leader.
People who know you well see your leadership qualities in action: your ability to influence others even when they disagree, your willingness to take charge and get things done, and your strength in times of crisis.
But sometimes others have a hard time recognizing these qualities – or are unwilling to acknowledge them.
Leadership Emergence
If you’re not sure how others perceive you, it helps to ask for their opinions and attitudes. You can also try to lead by example. If everyone sees that you enjoy taking the lead, that positive attitude will carry over to the whole group.
Asking for feedback on your leadership skills is another way to get people to give you a better idea of your leadership emergence and what can make you a successful leader.
If you feel that people don’t see your potential as a leader, make an effort to show them what you can do. If necessary, find someone to give you feedback on your leadership effectiveness – a trusted friend or colleague who knows you well enough to say it directly – and ask them to be honest about your leadership behavior.
This can be challenging, but ultimately successful leadership is also based on you working on yourself.
The Big Five Personality Traits
The Big Five Personality Traits is a theory of personality that identifies five different factors as the basic personality dimension structure. Although these factors are correlated, each represents a relatively distinct facet of human personality.
The Five Factor Model of Personality dimension is also used model of personality in leadership theory.
- Openness: open to new ideas and experiences, complex and creative. – vs. consistent/cautious
- Conscientiousness: Responsible, organized, hard-working, meticulous. – vs. extravagant/careless
- Extraversion: Outgoing, sociable, enthusiastic, energetic, assertive. – vs. solitary/reserved
- Agreeableness: Friendly, compassionate, cooperative. – vs. critical/rational
- Neuroticism: Anxious, depressed, irritable. – vs. resilient/confident
They are useful because it groups related traits together, making it easier to talk about them.
For example, you can describe the personality trait “extroversion,” which has many different facets – outgoing, assertive, energetic, and so on.
The Five Factor Model gives a name to all these aspects (“extroversion”) and tells you that they’re all connected.
This is just a base, if you want to know more about your personality traits, I recommend you to take a personality test.
Personality Influences Leadership Behavior
Have you ever worked with someone who’s so different from you that they’re hard to get along with?
If so, you’ve probably experienced the challenges of working with someone who’s a different personality.
Leaders personality help determine how that person will lead.
Here are some examples of the characteristics of five leadership styles:
Authoritarian Leaders
They’re decisive, cautious, assertive, confrontational, controlling, demanding, directive, dominating, results-oriented, efficient, independent, strong-willed, and sometimes forceful.
Authoritarian leaders have an autocratic leadership personality. They make decisions quickly and ensure that their instructions are followed. They are action-oriented, but they don’t encourage creativity or contributions from others.
Authoritarian leaders also tend to think in the short term, while democratic leaders take a longer-term view of problems.
Laissez-Faire Leaders
They dislike confrontation and avoid it at all costs, but they confront others when necessary, especially when ethics or values are involved.
They like stability and routine in the workplace.
Laissez-faire leaders are the opposite of authoritarian leaders and tend not to interfere as much as other types of leaders, such as task-oriented or relationship-oriented leaders.
They trust their teams and give them freedom, but also keep an eye on them through regular feedback and progress reports.
They’re very effective leaders when dealing with an efficient team, however employees may like having a lot of freedom in completing their tasks, but if they don’t get anything done, it quickly becomes frustrating and demotivating.
Democratic Leaders
They’re diplomatic, ethical, and principled.
They’re also open-minded and therefore more willing to consider other points of view.
They value the opinions of their group members and encourage open discussion before making decisions or taking action.
They want everyone to have a say in next steps. They may be less effective in times of crisis or urgency – when quick decisions must be made or actions taken without delay.
Transformational Leaders
They tend to be creative, adventurous, and confident, as well as charismatic and inspiring.
A great leadership ability they’ve is their cognitive ability. They’re also very aware of their own emotions and perceive the emotions of others.
They’re empathetic but also realistic about what needs to be done to achieve goals, and they’ve great confidence in their abilities.
Transformational leadership understands the importance of connecting with employees at all levels of the organization, from beginners to managers to senior executives, and they promote leadership development.
They’re known for their leadership effectiveness. However, studies show that they can display narcissism and an authoritarian communication style.
Servant Leaders
They’re loyal, trustworthy, committed to the growth and development of others, honest, humble, inclusive, and sincere.
Servant leaders focus primarily on improving the lives of others rather than achieving their own goals. Their ultimate goal is to enable those they lead to reach career success. They lead by example and are successful in an environment based on trust and collaboration among employees.
However, they’re less successful when dealing with negative situations or difficult people because they find it difficult to hold people accountable for poor performance in order to keep emotional stability in their team, which can be counterproductive.
What Personality Type and Leadership Style Make the Most Effective Leaders?
Personality is defined by our tendency to act a certain way in different situations.
Whether you display introversion or extroversion is just one of many personality traits. Leadership style, on the other hand, depends on the particular leadership role and the particular organization.
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is assuming that their leader traits don’t change. But we all go through changes throughout our lives, and those changes can affect how we lead people.
Leadership is also about context. What makes a person a great leader in one situation may not work as well elsewhere, and the same is true for leadership styles.
A very direct leadership style, for example, is often best suited to a crisis situation, but isn’t effective in the long run if left unchanged.
Leadership is a multi-faceted concept. It encompasses a wide range of skills and abilities that can be expressed in many ways.
You can do this, for example, by creating a vision for others or convincing them of your point of view. In these cases, you act like a leader because you influence people’s thoughts and actions.
This includes making people aware of what needs to be done and making them aware of their role in achieving your vision.
Leadership ability includes influencing different personalities.
The most effective leaders I know are those who’re able to communicate their vision, whether through their personality, leadership style, or skills. What matters is the result and positive outcomes.