e early leadership researchers were not sure about what traits and skills would be
essential for leadership e ectiveness but were con dent that they could be identi ed with
empirical research. Trait research was facilitated by the rapid development of psychological
testing from 1920 to 1950. e kinds of traits studied more o en in the early leadership research
included physical characteristics (for example, height, appearance), aspects of personality mea-
sured by psychological tests (for example, self-esteem, dominance, emotional stability) and
aptitudes measured by psychological tests (general indulgence, ...
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