Our personality has an impact on many areas of our life. It can regulate how we interact with our family, our friends, and our spouse. However, could our personality also play a role in our effectiveness as leaders? By reviewing the big five traits of personality, we can better understand how a leader’s personality is perceived by followers and the impact this has on leader effectiveness.
First, it is important to understand the role or personality in our life. Personality drives our automatic or natural tendency in a situation (PSU World Campus, 2014, L2). It is difficult to change a person’s personality, however we can grow and adapt is we become aware of the strengths and weaknesses within our personality (PSU World Campus, 2014, L2). For those in leadership positions, it is even more important that they recognize the impact of their personality. From an observer’s perspective, or from the follower’s perception of the leader based on the leader’s personality, researchers have found a relationship between this perception and the leaders overall performance.
Photo (Thakkar, 2011)
Someone who is perceived as leaderlike tends to hold a few key personality traits. Many of us have heard of the big five factors of personality including dependability, agreeableness, emotional stability, intellectance, and surgency. This list may vary slightly in the defining names for the key traits; however this list is recognized among many cultures. Dependability is the leader’s ability to be hard working and responsible. Agreeableness is the leader’s ability to be sympathetic and good natured. Intellectance is their ability to be open-minded and innovative. Surgency is the leader’s ability to present sociable and assertive qualities. Lastly, emotional stability is the leader’s ability to stay calm, cool and collected in the heat of pressure. Countless studies have found that these personality traits lead to greater leadership performance and effectiveness, while the opposite of these traits leads to ineffectiveness (Hogan, 1994).
Multiple studies including research by Stogdill (1974) and Bentz (1985, 1987, and 1990) found that leadership effectiveness and the big five personality traits are related (as cited in Hogan, 1994). In using measurements such as the Guilford-Marin Personality Inventory, Bentz (1985, 1987, 1990) found that executives at Sears were promoted to higher levels of leadership when they possessed the big five personality factors (as cited in Hogan, 1994). This same research found that the perception of the leader from the followers’ perspective has played a role in leader performance.
This could answer why researchers have also found that overall team performance is affected by the leader’s personality. Followers tend to work harder for leaders who possess these traits. A study performed by Foushee, Chidester, Helmreich (1991), found that flight crews’ performance was directly related to the captain’s personality (as cited in Hogan, 1994). Crews, who had a captain that was emotionally stable, agreeable and confident, were better able to stand up to stress and pressure and made less errors. However, crews who had captains who were hostile or passive aggressive made greater errors and performed poorly.
Leaders have the unique job of persuading individuals within a group 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 the group” (Hogan, 1994, p. 493). In order to continue to persuade and influence followers, it is important the leaders understand how they are perceived by their followers. By recognizing the role of the big 5 personality traits, dependability, agreeableness, emotional stability, intellectance, and surgency in our position to leadership, we can learn to make a greater impact on those who work for us.
References
Hogan, R., Curphy, G. J., & Hogan, J. (1994). What we know about leadership: Effectiveness and personality. American Psychologist, 49(6), 493-504. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.49.6.493
PSU World Campus, (2014). Lesson Commentary 2: Trait Approach. Retrieved January 20, 2014, from: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp14/psych485/001/content/02_lesson/01_page.html
Thakkar, H. (2011, December 7). 5 Factor Model Affecting Personality & Job Performance. Retrieved from Human Resource (HR) Articles: http://www.hrgyaan.com/5-factor-model-affecting-personality-job-performance/