A new study from Michigan State University suggests that the traits that help someone rise to a leadership position may not be the same traits that make them a successful leader. Published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the research highlights that while qualities like achievement motivation, orderliness, self-discipline, and optimism are important for effective leadership, people who become leaders often possess different characteristics. For example, being assertive increases the likelihood of being promoted to a leadership role, but assertiveness is not linked to leadership success. This distinction could have important implications for how organizations choose and train their leaders. Christopher Nye, co-author of the study and a professor in MSU's Department of Psychology, emphasized the importance of this finding. He noted that leadership significantly affects how well an organization performs and how motivated employees are. Therefore, he said, it's crucial for organizations to understand which personality traits are most relevant to leadership success when hiring or developing leaders. The study also found that effective leadership traits vary depending on the type of leadership role. For instance, the personality traits that contribute to success as a student leader differ from those that help lower-level or upper-level managers succeed. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis, which is a method that combines results from many different studies to draw more comprehensive conclusions. They reviewed all existing research on how personality traits relate to leadership effectiveness or the likelihood of becoming a leader. By aggregating these findings, they identified which traits are most strongly associated with leadership success. Nye hopes this research will help organizations refine their leadership selection and development processes to focus on the traits that truly lead to success. The study was led by Nathan Baker, an assistant professor at Wright State University and a former doctoral student in psychology at Michigan State University. The research was highlighted as an Editor's Choice article in the Journal of Applied Psychology due to its relevance to real-world applications and its potential to influence how organizations approach leadership development.