The Role of Personality in Leadership

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The Role of Personality in Leadership

• Presented by
• Bob Barnwell
• Debbie Dover
• Allyson Haga
• Gary Hughes
• Ryan Dailey

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Personality

• 1 a the quality or state of being a person b
  personal existence 2 a the condition or fact of
  relating to a particular person specifically
  the condition of referring directly to or being
  aimed disparagingly or hostilely at an individual
  b an offensively personal remark ltangrily
  resorted to personalitiesgt 3 a the complex of
  characteristics that distinguishes an individual
  or a nation or group especially the totality
  of an individual's behavioral and emotional
  characteristics b a set of distinctive traits
  and characteristics ltthe energetic personality of
  the citygt 4 a distinction or excellence of
  personal and social traits also a person
  having such quality b a person of importance,
  prominence, renown, or notoriety lta TV
  personalitygt
• (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2008)

3
Leadership

• 1 the office or position of a leader 2
  capacity to lead 3 the act or an instance of
  leading 4 leaders ltthe party leadershipgt
• (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2008)

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Leadership

• Leadership involves persuading other people to
  set aside for a period of time their individual
  concerns and to pursue a common goal that is
  important for the responsibilities and welfare of
  a group
• This definition is morally neutral
• Leadership is persuasion, not domination persons
  who can require others to do their bidding
  because of their power are not leaders
• (Hogan, Curphy and Hogan, 1994, p. 493-504)

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Leadership

• Leadership only occurs when others willingly
  adopt, for a period of time, the goals of a group
  as their own. Thus, leadership concerns building
  cohesive and goal-oriented teams there is a
  causal and definitional link between leadership
  and team performance

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History of Personality
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History

• Astrology
• Ancient Greece - 4 Humors
• Melancholic
• Sanguine
• Choleric
• Phelgmatic

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History

• Phrenology 18th Century
• Franz Josef Gall--Body Types
• (Treveno Konrad - Science Education, v17 n5,
  p477-491, May 2008)

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History

• 1930's Allport identified more than 17,000
  terms for personality traits
• (Schneider, Human Resource Management, 2007)
• 1940's WWII sparks rapid growth in evaluation
  technologies
• Isabel Myers begins work on a personality test
• (Kennedy, Journal of Employment Counseling,
  2004)
• Military focus on personality leadership
• (Schneider, Human Resource Management, 2007)
• William Sheldon's Somatypes

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History

• 1950's 60's  - Tupes and Christal
• Boiling down thousands of terms into 5 key
  factors
• (Schneider, Human Resource Management, 2007)

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The Big Five Factors

• Personality Testing

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Conscientiousness

• Characteristics
• Responsible
• Dependable
• Able to plan
• Organized
• Persistent
• Need for achievement
• Scrupulousness

• Illustrative Adjectives
• Organized
• Systematic
• Thorough
• Hardworking
• Neat
• Dependable

• (McCrae and Costa, 1989)
• (Mount et al, 1994)
• (Hogan, 1991)

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Extraversion, Surgency, Sociability

• Characteristics
• Sociable
• Talkative
• Assertive
• Ambitious
• Active
• Dominance
• Tendency to Experience Positive Emotions

• Illustrative Adjectives
• Extroverted
• Talkative
• Assertive
• Gregarious
• Energetic
• Self-dramatizing

• (McCrae and Costa, 1989)
• (Mount et al, 1994)
• (Hogan, 1991)

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Agreeableness

• Characteristics
• Good-Natured
• Cooperative
• Trusting
• Sympathy
• Altruism

• Illustrative Adjectives
• Sympathetic
• Cooperative
• Warm
• Tactful
• Considerate
• Trustful

• (McCrae and Costa, 1989)
• (Mount et al, 1994)
• (Hogan, 1991)

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Emotional Stability, Adjustment

• Characteristics
• Calm
• Secure
• Not Nervous

• Illustrative Adjectives
• Not Envious
• Relaxed
• Calm
• Stable
• Confident
• Effective

• (McCrae and Costa, 1989)
• (Mount et al, 1994)
• (Hogan, 1991)

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Openness to experience, Intellectance,
Culture

• Characteristics
• Imaginative
• Artistically Sensitive
• Aesthetically Sensitive
• Intellectual
• Depth of Feeling
• Curiosity
• Need for Variety

• Illustrative Adjectives
• Intellectual
• Creative
• Artistic
• Imaginative
• Curious
• Original

• (McCrae and Costa, 1989)
• (Mount et al, 1994)
• (Hogan, 1991)

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The Big Five Factors

• It is important for any hiring manager to
  remember the Big Five personality factors are
  not Hard and Fast, but rather a guide to
  identifying personality traits of future
  employees!

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Measurement and Theories

• Endless supply of both

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Left, left, left, right, left

• The Military studies leadership?

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Are Leaders Born or Made?

• Three ways to become a leader (Bass, 1989 1990)
• Trait
• Great events
• Transformational leadership

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The Dark Side, Why Does Leadership Matter?

• Because when they fail there are negative
  consequences!

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Leadership Effectiveness

• Beliefs, values, and ethics
• Not who they are, but what they do
• Hard to change imbedded personality traits

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• In Clark Aldrich's book, "Simulations and the
  Future of Learning," he tells the story of a
  manager who listened to the ideas presented to
  him by his subordinates and then went to his boss
  and presented them as his own. He then had the
  subordinates dismissed so that there were no
  witnesses left. I imagine that he was considered
  a good leader by both his boss and himself, yet
  the subordinates would of course have said
  otherwise. In most circumstances the best judges
  of leadership are the followers.

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ApplicationLeading Down

• Role of a leader
• Creating a team
• Delegate responsibilities
• Motivate subordinates

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ApplicationLeading Down

• Leader Big Five personality characteristics
  have an effect on subordinate attitudes (Smith
  Canger, 2004)

• High levels
• Agreeableness
• Emotional Stability
• Extraversion
• Low levels
• Conscientiousness
• Positive ratings

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ApplicationLeading Down

• Subordinate Big Five personality characteristics
  only have a moderate effect on leadership style
  (Hetland, Sandal Johnsen, 2008)
• Agreeableness
• Emotional stability

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• Possible reasons why subordinates do not have
  an effect on leadership style
• Frequency of contact
• Learning climate
• Job responsibilities

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• When leading down, leaders must use their
  strongest and most effective personality traits
  to direct and influence subordinates. While there
  is not necessarily a "wrong" personality trait to
  use, agreeableness and extraversion appear to
  have the highest level of positive feedback.

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Conclusion

• The bottom line is performance.  Whether you are
  working in a team, leading a department, or
  selling a service or a product, the way you
  communicate and persuade is critical to your
  personal success and you company's overall
  effectiveness
• (Dr Maynard Brusman, Working Resources, Vol 4, No
  8)

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Conclusion

• Personalities at work are like cars in the city
  They often can keep us from our destination.
• (Pierce J Howard, The Owner's Manual for
  Personality at Work, 2001.)

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• Questions?