Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
In sum, projective tests are more useful as icebreakers to get to know a person better, to make the
person feel comfortable, and to get some ideas about topics that may be of importance to that
person than for accurately diagnosing personality.
Psychology in Everyday Life: Leaders and Leadership
One trait that has been studied in thousands of studies is leadership, the ability to direct or inspire others to achieve
goals. Trait theories of leadership are theories based on the idea that some people are simply “natural leaders”
because they possess personality characteristics that make them effective (Zaccaro, 2007). [32] Consider Bill Gates, the
founder of the Microsoft Corporation, shown in Figure 11.7 "Varieties of Leaders". What characteristics do you think
he possessed that allowed him to create such a strong company, even though many similar companies failed?
Research has found that being intelligent is an important characteristic of leaders, as long as the leader communicates
to others in a way that is easily understood by his or her followers (Simonton, 1994, 1995). [33] Other research has
found that people with good social skills, such as the ability to accurately perceive the needs and goals of the group
members and to communicate with others, also tend to make good leaders (Kenny & Zaccaro, 1983). [34]
Because so many characteristics seem to be related to leader skills, some researchers have attempted to account for
leadership not in terms of individual traits, but rather in terms of a package of traits that successful leaders seem to
have. Some have considered this in terms of charisma (Sternberg & Lubart, 1995; Sternberg,
2002). [35] Charismatic leadersare leaders who are enthusiastic, committed, and self-confident; who tend to talk
about the importance of group goals at a broad level; and who make personal sacrifices for the group. Charismatic
leaders express views that support and validate existing group norms but that also contain a vision of what the group
could or should be. Charismatic leaders use their referent power to motivate, uplift, and inspire others. And research
has found a positive relationship between a leader’s charisma and effective leadership performance (Simonton,
1988). [36]
Another trait-based approach to leadership is based on the idea that leaders take
either transactional or transformational leadership styles with their subordinates (Bass, 1999; Pieterse, Van
Knippenberg, Schippers, & Stam, 2010). [37] Transactional leaders are the more regular leaders, who work with their
subordinates to help them understand what is required of them and to get the job done. Transformational leaders, on
the other hand, are more like charismatic leaders—they have a vision of where the group is going, and attempt to
stimulate and inspire their workers to move beyond their present status and to create a new and better future.