Running head: PERSONAL LEADERSHIP READINESS 1

Personal Leadership Readiness

Thomas N. Bailey

GB600-04N

Leadership Strategies for a Changing World

March 13, 2012

Professor

James Schiro

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP READINESS 2

Personal Leadership Readiness

Leadership is one of those terms that we hear it often, especially in the military, in the

corporate world, and in politics. In this year Presidential primary season, we have heard it from

many candidates as each one claimed they have necessary leadership skills to run the country

better than the incumbent, and we will hear it much more as the Presidential campaign is in full

swing. Most of us claim that we have better leadership skills than the other people, but what is

leadership exactly? Are there leadership traits, behaviors and attitudes that distinguish the great

leaders from mediocre leaders?

This paper will attempt to answer what leadership is, what are the leadership traits,

behaviors and attitudes, and assessing my leadership skills in relation to those traits, behaviors

and attitudes, as well as my personal leadership readiness.

Leadership Definition, Traits, Behaviors and Attitudes

Leadership Definition

Dubrin (2010) defines leadership “as the ability to inspire confidence and support among

the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals” (p. 2-3). General (Ret.) Collin

Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Clinton and former

Secretary of State under President Bush, spoke of “leadership is an art of accomplishing more

than the science of management says is possible” (Powell, n.d., chart 20). Whatever definitions

we use, leadership seems to be the ability to influence others in the accomplishment of a

common objective. Great leaders lead not by power but by inspiration and influence.

Leadership Traits, Behaviors and Attitudes

There have been many studies, researches, debates, and papers written about whether

leaders are made or born. What all of these studies agreed on are the unique traits, behaviors and

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attitudes of leadership. These traits, behaviors and attitudes are “a prescription for improving

individual and organization effectiveness, morale, good order, and discipline” (Horton, 2001,

p.247). They are by no mean the only traits, behaviors and attitudes, but they captured what

most great leaders possess. The leadership traits are respect, empowerment, accountability,

listening, sincerity, reward, discipline, mission, credit, communication, attitude, integrity and

courage (Horton, 2001). The most important leadership behaviors are being a role model for

integrity and ethics; demonstrating optimism; establishing a vision and mission; setting strategy

and priorities; listening; delegating; motivating and inspiring others; building high performance

teams; coaching and developing talent; managing complexity and ambiguity; managing time;

evaluating risk; resolving conflict; driving innovation; influencing others; collaborating across

the organization; being a champion for work/life balance; and keeping things in perspective

(humility and gratitude) (Arneson, 2009). Finally, the most important attitudes that great leaders

have are positivity, purpose, empathy, compassion, humility and love (TerryStarbucker.com,

2011). By showing the right leadership traits, behaviors and attitudes, the leader can build trust.

Assessing Personal Leadership Readiness

In assessing my personal leadership readiness, I went back to review the materials I have

from the Air Force Squadron Officer School, the Air Command and Staff College and the

Defense Systems Management College. What I have found is that there are many resemblances

between the military leadership traits, behaviors and attitudes and the corporate leadership traits,

behaviors and attitudes. Leadership effectiveness is influenced by these traits, behaviors and

attitudes. They complement and supplement each other.

In evaluating Horton’s leadership traits to my personal leadership readiness, I find that I

have most of the traits, except for empowerment, discipline, communication and attitude

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(Horton, 2001). As an introverted person and naturally shy person, discipline and

communication are difficult. I can brief but if there is a choice, I would rather not. Although I

try to have positive outlook on most things, I am a natural pessimist. I have been told of unduly

worrying. For the leadership behaviors identified by Arneson (2009), I have found it is easy for

me to be a role model for integrity and ethics, to set priorities, to listen and delegate, to manage

complexity, to manage my time, to evaluate risk, to collaborate, and to keep things in

perspective. I attribute these to my strict upbringing. However, I find it very difficult to

demonstrate optimism, to establish a vision and mission, to set strategy, to motivate and inspire

others, to build high performance teams, to coach and develop talent, to manage ambiguity, to

resolve conflict, drive innovation and to influence others. Finally, in assessing my personal

leadership readiness against the leadership attitudes presented by TerryStarbucker.com (2011), I

feel that I have the attitudes to be a leader even though I don’t have positivity all the time. The

leadership self-assessment quiz 2-1 and 2-2 in Dubrin (2010) confirmed that I am a trustworthy

person but is a non-assertive person. Good leaders are typically extroverted and assertive,

according to Dubrin (2010), which I am not, but good leaders are much more than extroverted

and assertive. I believe that I can be an effective leader with introverted and non-assertive

personality.

Recommendations

In developing my personal leadership readiness in order to progress to the next level of

leadership, I feel that I need to work on learning to be more optimist and positive, to learn how to

establish a vision and mission, to learn how to set strategy, to motivate and inspire others, to

learn how to build high performance teams and develop talent, to learn how to resolve conflict,

to learn the art of influencing people and empowerment, to learn how to discipline when needed,

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to develop more assertiveness and to learn how to offer honest criticism of others when

necessary. These recommendations are not easy for an introverted and naturally shy person, but

with time, efforts, dedication, patient and a little luck, I can be an effective leader.

Conclusion

There is no one right formula for making a successful leader. There are also many

different leadership traits, behaviors and attitudes, but the most common factors are summarized

in this paper. To be an effective leader, one will need to work hard at all aspects of leadership,

not just one aspect. One should commit to building trust, focusing on results, and motivating and

influencing others as one learns and grows. One should also have a heart and be compassionate.

The success of a leader is really based on the perceptions others have of that leader. One needs

to remember that everyone has a role in accomplishing the mission and everyone directly

impacts the effectiveness of the organization, so everyone needs to be a leader. As General

(Ret.) Collin Powell said, “Leadership is an art” (Powell, n.d.), but this is an art that one can

learn. We should adhere to that advice.

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References

Arneson, S. (2009, June 14). The 25 most important leadership behaviors. Examiner.Com.

Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/leadership-in-national/the-25-most-important-

leadership-behaviors

Dubrin, A. J. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. (6th ed.). Mason, OH:

South-Western Cengage Learning.

Horton, H. W. (2001). Thirteen traits of effective leaders. In R. I. Lester & A. G. Morton (Eds.),

Concepts for Air Force Leadership (pp. 247-248). Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University

Press.

Powell, Collin. (n.d.). A Leadership Primer. Retrieved from http://www.think-energy.net/Colin-

Powell-on-Leadership.pdf

TerryStarbucker.com (2011, January 20). The 5 keys attitudes of a leader. Retrieved from

http://www.terrystarbucker.com/2011/01/20/the-5-key-attitudes-of-a-leader/