PU550 Public Health Leadership and Administration - Unit 2/3 Traits, Skills, and Styles of Leadership

Question 1

What has been regarded as a key factor in determining a person’s ability to lead?

Answer 1

Personal traits

A distinguishing characteristic or quality possessed by a person.

Traits commonly associated with leadership have included ambition, conscientiousness, integrity, persistence, and honesty, among others.

However, this line of thinking soon fell out of favor. As early as
1948, Stogdill found that possession of a certain combination of traits did not
necessarily result in a person becoming a leader. Based on Stogdill’s studies,
researchers soon came to understand that models based solely on traits failed
to explain the emergence of leadership or leader effectiveness.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 2

What is the combination of qualities and characteristics that form an individual’s distinctive character?

Answer 2

Personality

Question 2

What is the realistic certainty in one’s own judgement, ideas, ability, power, decision making, and skills?

Answer 2

Self-confidence

Question 3

What is a person’s nature, particularly with regard to emotionalism or excitability?

Answer 3

Temperament

Question 3

What is the possession of the manner or skill to do something?

Answer 3

Ability

Question 4

What is something essential or strongly desired, usually physiological in nature?

Answer 4

Need

Question 4

What is a reason for doing something in response to social experiences or stimuli?

Answer 4

Motive

Question 5

What is a person’s inclination or tendencies toward a certain temperament?

Answer 5

Disposition

Question 6

What is an attitude or belief dealing with ethics, morals, or what is right and wrong?

Answer 6

Value

Question 6

What envelopes the various attributes possessed by individuals that includes personality (distinct character), self-confidence (certainty in one’s self), temperament (level of emotionalism), ability (intellectual abilities), needs (like hunger, thirst, etc.), motive (social needs like power, esteem of others, personal achievement, etc.), disposition (inclination or tendency towards a temperament), and value (attitudes held concerning right and wrong)?

Answer 6

Traits

They produce consistent leadership performance regardless of the organizational situation.

Question 7

What influences the individual’s perceptions, preferences, and behavior choices?

Answer 7

Values; the attitudes an individual holds concerning what is right and wrong.

Question 7

What are the three taxonomies of skills that are abilities to perform activities in an effective manner and are determined through a combination of learning and heredity?

Answer 7

Technical skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills.

Technical skills are concerned with the use for things such as tools and equipment.

Interpersonal skills are social skills and involve people.

Conceptual skills are based on concepts and ideas and are cognitive in nature.

Question 7

What are the two other skills that do not necessary involve leadership and pertain more to management?

Answer 7

Administrative and strategic skills.

Question 8

What is an old approach to leadership studies that was popular prior to 1950, which focused on the traits of individuals who were thought to be great men?

Answer 8

The great man theory.

Over time, however, research demonstrated poor
correlation between personal traits and successful leadership, and studies of
effective leaders suggested that leadership ability was not genetically based.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 9

What did Stogdill determine in a literature review of 124 trait studies (1904-1948) that ultimately lead to the demise of the great man theory?

Answer 9

He demonstrated a pattern in which the concept of a leader was based on people acquiring status in an organization by exhibiting the ability to work with a group in attaining mutual goals.

Stogdill found that relevant leadership traits included intelligence, self-confidence, alertness to others’ needs, understanding of tasks, initiative and persistence in addressing problems, and
desire to take responsibility and hold positions of dominance and control.

The key result of Stogdill’s work was the discovery that each trait was dependent on the specific
situation and that none of the traits were themselves required to produce success in
every situation.

Question 9

Leaders, are in fact, not like other people. What did Kirkpatrick and Locke find in 1991?

Answer 9

They proposed that traits differentiating leaders from nonleaders included drive,
motivation, integrity, confidence, cognitive ability, and task knowledge.

They also stated that these traits can be either inborn or learned.

Question 10

In 2013, Northouse conducted a review of past studies and examined a lengthy list of five major leadership traits that individuals should possess. What are they?

Answer 10

Intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability.

Question 10

What is the capacity for understanding, reasoning, and perception, including the aptitude for grasping facts and the relationships between them?

Answer 10

Intelligence

Question 11

When can leadership become impeded when referring to intelligence?

Answer 11

If the leader’s intellectual ability is significantly different from that of the followers.

Effective leaders must be able to explain complex concepts in a manner that
meets the needs of the followers.

Question 12

What is the realistic certainty in one’s own judgement, ideas, ability, power, decision making, and skills?

Answer 12

Self-confidence. Trust themselves without pride or arrogance.

Question 12

What is the motivation, paired with self-confidence, that a leader needs to come to a decision, to persevere in the face of obstacles, and to see a job through to completion?

Answer 12

Determination

Question 12

What is a adherence to personal values in day-to-day behavior; the quality of being ethical, trustworthy, and honest?

Answer 12

Personal integrity. It is the predominant aspect of interpersonal trust.

Question 13

What is exhibited when leaders truly “walk the talk” and is foundational in relationships between public health leaders and followers that when demonstrated, leaders receive admiration, respect, and loyalty from followers?

Answer 13

Integrity. Again, it is the predominant aspect of interpersonal trust.

Question 14

What is the difference between traits and skills in leaders?

Answer 14

Traits define who the leaders are, skills determine what the leaders are able to accomplish.

Technical, interpersonal, and conceptual skills.

Question 15

What skills include knowledge about an organization’s work, structure, and
rules; proficiency in specialized activities; and an understanding of the methods,
processes, and equipment used by organizational units and are more important in middle management than senior management positions?

Answer 15

Technical skills.

Question 16

What skills revolve around having knowledge of human behavior and group processes, and they should be able to understand the feelings, attitudes, and motives of their followers?

They enable public health leaders to work cooperatively with subordinates, peers, and superiors, as well as with constituents and collaborators.

Answer 16

Interpersonal or human skills.

One crucial component of the interpersonal skill set is empathy—the capacity to understand the values, motives, and emotions of other people. Empathy also involves the social insight
to determine what behaviors are acceptable in particular situations.

Other interpersonal skills useful in the leadership influence process include oral communication ability and persuasiveness.

All in all, can be summarized simply as the ability to get along with followers as they go about their own work.

Question 17

When leaders have interpersonal competence, what does it enhance with their followers?

Answer 17

Enhance group cooperation, support the pursuit of common goals, and have success with influence and impression management tactics.

Question 17

What skill involves working with ideas and concepts that incorporate a variety of attributes, including judgment, intuition, creativity, and foresight; and other skills like inductive or deductive reasoning, logical thinking, analytical ability, and concept formation—can be measured using aptitude tests?

Answer 17

Conceptual skills.

Effective strategic planning—a key responsibility for shaping an organization’s
future, particularly in economically difficult times—requires that leaders have
the ability to predict the future based on current trends. Public health leaders
must be able to deal with a variety of constituencies and complex relation-
ships.

They must understand how various organizational parts work together
and how a change in one area might affect elements in a number of different
areas.

Question 18

What is the most important skillset for senior public health leaders and upper-level managers?

Answer 18

Conceptual skills.

Question 19

What are a set of processes and characteristics that reflects a stable behavior approach that responds to people, things, or ideas in the environment and it characterized by the big five dimensions of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness?

Answer 19

Personality

Extraversion or surgency, agreeableness, conscientiousness (or dependability), emotional stability or neuroticism, and openness or intellectance.

This taxonomy was developed in the early 1990s, and particular
versions are known by slightly different titles (e.g., the five-factor model).
The big five dimensions correspond with specific personality traits as shown
in exhibit 3.2. The dimensions can be viewed as continuums, and individual
leaders may demonstrate a high, moderate, or low degree of each.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 20

What is a big five personality trait that is one’s degree of concern and engagement with what is outside the self?

Answer 20

Extraversion.

Strongly influence a leader’s behavior in group settings.

The degree to which individuals are comfortable talking with and meeting people is
based on their sociability and the outgoing nature of their personality.

They have the self-confidence to seek positions of authority and are prepared to become competitive in doing so. Meanwhile, introverts may become physically or emotionally drained by social encounters and require time alone to reflect and regain energy.

In fact, one investigator found that four in ten top executives classify as introverts. With high degrees, it must be offset by agreeableness and emotional stability.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 21

What is a big five personality trait that is the ability to get along with other people; a key characteristic for resolving conflict and gaining followers?

Answer 21

Agreeableness.

Understood to include such characteristics as compassion, trust, cooperativeness, and having a good nature.

Leaders who rate high in this dimension tend to come across as cheerful, approachable, optimistic, nurturing, and sympathetic. In short, they are seen as having warm personalities.

Question 21

What is a big five personality dimension that reflects how calm, secure, and well-adjusted a person is and includes self-esteem, self-control, and self-confidence?

Answer 21

Emotional stability.

Emotionally stable leaders are able to handle stress, deal with criticism, and
take failures and mistakes in stride; leaders with low emotional stability, on
the other hand, are often tense, irritable, anxious, depressed, or lacking in
self-confidence. Emotional stability helps public health leaders develop good
interpersonal relationships.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 22

What is a big five personality dimension that is the degree in which the individual is intellectually curious, inquisitive, open-minded, and learning oriented and these people tend to be imaginative, creative, and willing to consider fresh approaches and new ideas?

Answer 22

Openness

Individuals with low openness, meanwhile, tend to have narrower interests and often prefer to do
things the way they have always been done. Openness is an important quality
in public health, particularly because the field so heavily emphasizes change
over stability.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 22

What is a big five personality trait that is the degree to which a person is responsible, possesses personal integrity, and has a high need for achievement?

Answer 22

Conscientiousness, or dependability.

Conscientious individuals can maintain focus on specific goals and pursue them
in a purposeful manner; by contrast, people with low conscientiousness are
often impulsive and easily distracted from the task at hand.

Question 22

Out of the 5 big personality dimensions, in what order had the strongest relationship with effective leadership in a meta-analysis of 78 leadership and personality studies?

Answer 22

Extraversion was the strongest relationship, followed by conscientiousness, emotional stability,
openness, and agreeableness.

Leaders scoring high in extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and
emotional stability were found to be most effective and successful. Openness
was linked to higher performance in some leaders but not in others.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 23

What is the style in which one perceives, processes, interprets, and uses information and plays an important role in a leader’s effort to relate to followers, peers, superiors, collaborators, and constituents?

Answer 23

Cognitive style.

People differ in the ways they perceive and assimilate data, make decisions and solve problems, and relate to others; their preferred habits in these areas are based on their cognitive styles.

Many discussions of cognitive style have distinguished between “left-
brain” and “right-brain” thinking patterns. A linear approach to thinking,
emphasizing analytical and logical tendencies, is said to be based in the left
side of the brain, whereas creative and intuitive thinking is said to be based in
the right side.

This construct oversimplifies complex physiological processes
and is not entirely accurate, but it provides a useful model for two contrasting
approaches to thinking. Left-brain individuals tend to possess strong language
skills, whereas right-brain individuals are more likely to use visual images in
thinking.

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)
James Holsinger. (2018). Leadership for Public Health: Theory and Practice. HAP Book.

Question 23

What are the two approaches that individual’s cognitive styles can be assessed (for the study of this course)?

Answer 23

Herrmann’s Whole Brain Thinking model and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Question 24

Which approach when assessing a cognitive style uses 4-quadrants approach to represent 4 styles of thinking?

These quadrants represent distinct characteristics, and an individual’s preferences for each quadrant influence patterns of leadership, behavior, and communication.

Answer 24

Hermann’s Whole Brain Thinking Model.

Question 25

For the Hermann’s Whole Brain Thinking Model, what is the assessment used to determine an individuals preference for each style?

Answer 25

The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI).

Research has shown that some individuals favor a single quadrant whereas others use any or all of the styles found in the model.

Question 26

What quadrant of the HBDI assessment focuses on the logical and analytical thinking, analysis of facts, and quantitative processing?

Answer 26

Quadrant A

People who favor Quadrant A think critically and rationally and engage strongly in technical matters, including work with numbers. They enjoy knowing how things work and are willing to follow procedures.

Public health leaders utilizing this thinking style are often authoritative and directive in nature; they focus on the task at hand using specific information, often placing less importance on the opinions and feelings of others.

Question 27

What quadrant of the HBDI assessment takes a highly organized approach, developing detailed plans and working through problems in a sequential, linear manner?

Answer 27

Quadrant B

They use deadlines to ensure that tasks are completed on time. Such individuals are reliable and highly traditional, and therefore usually conservative, in their approach. Public health leaders favoring this quadrant are risk averse, seek a stable environment, and prefer to follow established rules regardless of circumstances.

Question 28

What quadrant of the HBDI assessment is part of the model where interpersonal relationships are most important?

Answer 28

Quadrant C

Quadrant C individuals are intuitive, emotional, and people oriented. They have an outgoing nature and enjoy interacting with, supporting, and teaching other people.

They are often verbally expressive. Public health leaders with this style of thinking are usually friendly, empathetic, and trusting of others. They put people ahead of projects and are concerned with the feelings of their followers.

Question 29

What quadrant of the HBDI assessment is primarily associated with conceptual thinking, in which facts and patterns are integrated and synthesized for a holistic view?

Answer 29

Quadrant D

Quadrant D thinkers are intuitive by nature, and their curiosity may lead them to experiment, take risks, and pursue adventure. Public health leaders who favor this style tend to allow their followers a significant degree of freedom, because they themselves are quite flexible. Such leaders may also take risks as they experiment with changing processes.

Question 30

For the Whole Brain Thinking model, if a leader strictly adhered to cognitive processes from one thinking style, what would happen to their leadership style and options.

Answer 30

It would result in a stunted form of leadership and a limited breadth of options.

Instead, the model assumes that an individual or leader will function using all four quadrants, even if one style tends to be dominant.

Few individuals can ever be perfectly balanced in their cognitive approach, but leaders in public health should strive to develop aspects from all four quadrants for use in their day-to-day leadership.

Efforts to develop and understand cognitive skills are especially important for public health leaders who are engaged in coalition building and collaborative enterprises; such leaders need to understand the thinking styles not only of followers but also of peers, constituents, and collaborators.

Question 31

Who used a different approach to cognitive styles in the 1920s, a held that differences in behavior were a result of individual preferences in dealing with information for evaluation and problem solving?

Who then changed added to this model by developing an indicator with a fourth dimension added?

Answer 31

Carl Jung

Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Question 32

What were the three main dimensions of Carl Jung’s model of personality?

What dimension was added in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) built off of Carl Jung’s model?

Answer 32

(1) extraversion and introversion, which describe the ways people interact with each other

(2) sensation and intuition, which describe the ways people gather information

(3) thinking and feeling, which describe how people evaluate information.

(4) judging and perceiving, which describes how people relate to the outside world.

Question 33

How many different potential personality types are in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)?

Answer 33

16.

Preferences are measured by the individual’s answers to a questionnaire. A person’s MBTI scores across the four dimensions may change over time based on life experiences, education, and training; however, very high scores in certain dimensions generally indicate styles that will remain relatively stable.

No personality type is considered the “right” one or better than the others, and each type can result in either positive or negative behavioral consequences.