Abstract. Solid and effective leadership qualities are paramount in shaping and influencing students' academic performance. These leadership attributes motivate and inspire students to strive for and attain their full potential. Furthermore, such qualities are instrumental in fostering the development of essential skills among students and encouraging their active participation in contributing to the progress and advancement of their community and nation. This descriptive-correlational study examined the leadership traits and academic performance of the grade 12 accountancy, business, and management (ABM) of Mabolo National High School. Using Slovin’s formula, the study drew seventy-three (73) respondents selected randomly to represent the school's ABM students. The authors used a modified tool to gather data from the respondents, and the tool has undergone a validity and reliability test. The study employed a weighted mean and Pearson correlation coefficient to analyze the data. Based on the results, the respondents perceived social skills and emotional intelligence as dominant leadership traits, while conflict resolution and people management were weak traits as perceived by the respondents. Also, it was found that leadership traits have a significant relationship to academic performance. Therefore, the study concludes that leadership qualities exhibited by students in the ABM strand have a noteworthy influence on their academic achievements, their capacity to engage in productive collaboration with their peers, and their positive contributions to the overall learning atmosphere. The study offered a sweeping set of recommendations to address deficiencies in leadership qualities. These recommendations are intended to cultivate well-rounded societal leaders among students.

Keywords: Leadership traits; Academic performance; Well-rounded leaders, Descriptive-correlational; Mabolo National High School; Cebu City.