Have you ever tried to work with someone who has a negative opinion on everything, who insists on debating to the death until you submit to their decision, but then refuses to take the lead on their decision, avoids accountability and absolutely abhors criticism? If you have, you may have been dealing with an argumentative personality trait – someone who prefers to sit on the sideline while criticizing everyone else. I was very relieved to see this trait covered in the Lesson 2 material, but am not unfamiliar with the concept (The Penn State University, 2013, PSYCH 485, Lesson 2: The Trait Approach {Lecture Notes], https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa13/psych485/001/content/02_lesson/06_page.html).
I have had the experience of working with a person who is characterized by a highly argumentative personality. Everyone on the team dreads talking with this individual, either for work-related or personal purposes, because this individual always has a negative opinion on the matter, and will insist on debating that their opinion is correct. What is worse, the argumentative person is highly sensitive to criticism, so they will usually make their judgmental statements but remove themselves from taking any responsibility, and actually avoid leadership roles. More than often, if they make an error on the job, they will deny having any knowledge of a matter, or say they can’t remember their actions or decisions. Simply put, they want to control people, but not lead them by example. It has been a very difficult situation.
I think that the argumentative trait is not necessarily a negative leadership trait in all situations, however, in my experience, it is not a cohesive trait for our situation. Our work environment requires team work, group decisions, follow-through, accountability, and trust. Soon after it was realized that the team was unsatisfied with the individual’s argumentative personality, I went to work on developing a formal performance appraisal with key performance indicators, that included such things as positive attitudes, team work, contributing to the job, ability to accept constructive criticism and accountability. We have seen a complete change with this individual since implementing the performance appraisal. In part, the issue this individual had was not knowing what was expected of them.
Nonetheless, I tend to agree that the argumentative trait is a hindrance for leadership, at least for our situation. It will take many years for this individual to gain the respect of their colleagues in order to attain a leadership position, because they have behaved unprofessionally in past situations. However, I do believe, that given the right leadership position, this individual might be successful. For instance, a lawyer would likely succeed with an argumentative personality.
References
The Pennsylvania State University. (2013). PSYCH 485. Lesson 2: The Trait Approach. [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved September 7, 2013 from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa13/psych485/001/content/02_lesson/06_page.html
Yes, I actually had a supervisor with argumentative trait so I know exactly what are you talking about. Supervisor with such trait creates hostile work environment and just like you said wants to control people but not lead them by example. It is very important to have positive work environment because we need to rely on each other, help each other and work as a team. This supervisor was very negative and set the bad mood for the whole section by criticizing others behind their backs spreading gossip and negative remarks. It was very difficult situation because I felt like my opinion didn’t matter and there was nothing I could do about it. I agree that person’s with such argumentative personality will be great as political leaders or lawyers.
Yes, I actually had a supervisor with argumentative trait so I know exactly what are you talking about. Supervisor with such trait creates hostile work environment and just like you said wants to control people but not lead them by example. It is very important to have positive work environment because we need to rely on each other, help each other and work as a team. This supervisor was very negative and set the bad mood for the whole section by criticizing others behind their backs spreading gossip and negative remarks. It was very difficult situation because I felt like my opinion didn’t matter and there was nothing I could do about it. I agree that person’s with such argumentative personality will be great as political leaders or lawyers.