Leadership Traits, Behaviors, and Styles. Social Sciences Essay

Leadership Traits, Behaviors, and Styles
Student’s Name
Institution
Leadership Traits, Behaviors, and Styles
Introduction
The leadership of an organization plays an integral role in its success. Without effective leadership, success is not guaranteed, particularly in the modern competitive business environment. A key question in organizational behavior is ‘what makes an effective leader?’ While there exist common traits that describe successful leaders in the business environment, Larry Ellison seems to possess different traits, but has been successful in leading Oracle to be one of the biggest technology firms in the world. Ellison possesses a combination of traits that set him apart from other leaders in the business. This paper examines the personality, behavior, and leadership exhibited by Ellison.
Ellison’s Personality and Leadership Traits
Ellison exhibits a series of personality and leadership traits that make him a different yet successful leader. According to Hiriyappa (2009), the Trait Theory stipulates that there are particular sets of traits that are necessary for an effective leader. The author also points out that there exist certain characteristics relating to one’s personality that makes them an effective leader. Ellison possesses distinct personality traits that distinguish him from other leaders. First, Ellison comes out as intelligent. In the article by Mendleson (2010), Ellison is described as a person who understands himself and the people he needs to work with.
Given that he understands himself, he is in a position to manage his emotions and consequently make sound business decisions. With the ability to understand the people he needs to work with in order to achieve success, Ellison can be described as an emotionally intelligent person. It is deducible that this trait has been instrumental in success as the leader of the Oracle. Mendleson (2010) describes Ellison’s decision to hire former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd as ‘spot on.’ The decision helped the shares of Oracle rise by 5.5%, while that of HP dropped 1%. This decision among others, depict Ellison as an intelligent person.
Another trait that describes the leader well is self-confidence. This is one of the personality traits associated with effective leadership, according to Hiriyappa (2009). Right from the start of Oracle, Ellison was confident in his abilities to make the company succeed. His confidence in the company was evident when he bought 60% of its shares while the other partners shared the remaining portion Mendleson (2010). Furthermore, Hymowitz (2005) points out that Ellison rejects the management model followed by many CEOs. This shows that he is confident in his way of things and it is deducible that this aspect contributed to the success of the company to a great extent.
Determination is another key trait that can be used to describe Ellison. He was determined from the beginning to make the company a success. Through his determination, Oracle continually acquired many other companies as it sought expansion. One specific example is the acquisition of PeopleSoft. Hymowitz (2005) describes the 10.6 billion acquisition as ‘bitterly fought’ while Mendleson...