Another early leadership theory, the trait theory, focuses more on certain physical, personal and appearance qualities of leaders rather than on their greatness itself. Different researches were carried out to identify those characteristics. Martin & Cashel (2006) produce a set of traits that were seen as attributes of a good leader. Amongst them are assertiveness, keeping right posture, confidence and ability to speak distinctly. Richard Daft (2007) adds that in 1940s and 1950s series of psychological tests were used to explore the concept further and provide specific list of characteristics of effective leader. The results showed that age, levels of energy, flow of speech, ability to carry on despite difficulties or popularity play a major part. What is more, Daft continues to explain further that in 1948 Stogdill carried out an additional study on the trait approach. He discovered that the importance of a particular characteristic is dependent on a situation the leader is found in, therefore the perception of certain trait changes with context, meaning the success of a leader is not guaranteed by simple possession of that trait. Stogdill added that intelligence, confidence, integrity and no fear of responsibility also define good leader. In his later study, in 1970 he identified aggressiveness, being resistant to stress and being independent as additions to his earlier discoveries.
David Bertocci (2009) puts forward the biggest criticism of the trait theory. He asked a question as to the reasons why some of the great leaders do not come from generations of great men, would it then mean the theory is not valid as leaders do not actually possess the inborn attributes? The clarification may come from Gibson, Ivancevich and Donnelly (2012) who suggest that leadership traits work in combination and are dependent very much on the situation and environment an individual is found in. They carry on by stating that new traits are added every year which creates an additional confusion as to the true traits of a leader.

The uncertainty whether leaders are born with the above attribu