Reply 1 Hello Sheri, thanks for your post.

Week 3: Trait Theory-The Nature of the Leader In the late 1970s, flanked against Cold War strife, Dr. Halfden Mahler, a leader possessing specific traits, addressed a public health initiative. With a complimentary mix of buoyant energy and no-nonsense candor, Dr. Halfden Mahler’s innate traits enhanced his leadership position as director of the World Health Organization (WHO). These traits helped him earn support for a controversial health initiative—universal, primary healthcare—and establish a sincere bond with followers in support of global healthcare change (WHO, 2008). Dr. Mahler’s innate traits contributed to a specific type of leadership for WHO. Dr. Mahler’s leadership serves to highlight another leadership perspective—Trait Theory. This week, you examine the theory’s strengths and limitations as well as its usefulness in assessing leader effectiveness. Additionally, as a scholar-practitioner in the field of public health, you analyze your own locus of control and how it may

Reply 1
Hello Sheri, thanks for your post. I like your choice for picking Clarence Avant for this
assignment. I think he is a great learning opportunity in regards to Trait theory. As you have
described him, Avant is an influential individual who did things without letting color define him.
As you have said, he was able to participate in events where black individuals ordinarily
couldn’t. through his impact on the African American history, Clarence Avant can easily be
described as an individual who was born a leader, as the theory implies. I like your argument that
the existence of a trait is not all that matters, rather, the impacts of the trait on the quality of a
leader.
Reply 2
Hello Iheako, thanks for your post. I like the perspective you have used to portray Barrack
Obama. As you have described him, he has inherent leadership qualities such as communication,
perseverance, and conviction. These qualities got him elected two terms as president. His
communication skills, for example, enabled him to interact with different individuals in spite of
the background or beliefs. Obama was well loved around the world and as one could describe
him, he was born a leader. He is a great example of how the trait theory categorizes obvious
behavior in an individual. His various traits, based on trait theory ensured his success as a leader.
His charisma and flexibility are definitely traits that suit his leadership role.