PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY 2011, 64, 7–52
TRAIT AND BEHAVIORAL THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP: AN INTEGRATION AND META-ANALYTIC TEST OF THEIR RELATIVE VALIDITY
D. SCOTT DERUE Stephen M. Ross School of Business University of Michigan JENNIFER D. NAHRGANG W.P. Carey School of Business Arizona State University NED WELLMAN Stephen M. Ross School of Business University of Michigan STEPHEN E. HUMPHREY Smeal College of Business The Pennsylvania State University
The leadership literature suffers from a lack of theoretical integra- tion (Avolio, 2007, American Psychologist, 62, 25–33). This arti- cle addresses that lack of integration by developing an integrative trait-behavioral model of leadership effectiveness and then exam- ining the relative validity of leader traits (gender, intelligence, personality) and behaviors (transformational-transactional, initiat- ing structure-consideration) across 4 leadership effectiveness crite- ria (leader effectiveness, group performance, follower job satisfac- tion, satisfaction with leader). Combined, leader traits and behaviors explain a minimum of 31% of the variance in leadership effectiveness criteria. Leader behaviors tend to explain more variance in leadership effectiveness than leader traits, but results indicate that an integrative model where leader behaviors mediate the relationship between leader traits and effectiveness is warranted.
Leadership is one of the most discussed and debated topics in the social sciences (Avolio, Sosik, Jung, & Berson, 2003; Bass, 1990; Bennis, 2007). Research on leadership began with a search for herita- ble attributes that differentiated leaders from nonleaders and explained individuals’ effectiveness as leaders (Galton & Eysenck, 1869). In effect, this early research was the beginning of the trait paradigm of leadership re- search. Subsequent studies have established that individual characteristics,
Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to D. Scott DeRue, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations, Stephen M. Ross School of Busi- ness, University of Michigan, 701 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; dsderue@ umich.edu.