Personality Orientation & Executive Leadership: Examining the Relationship - Essay Sample

Introduction

Different scholars have examined the relationship between leadership and personality. The interaction between these two variables has been examined to pave the way for the establishment of significant practice recommendations and implications. A study by Church and Waclawski (1998, p. 99) focused on the association between personality orientation and the behaviors characterizing executive leadership. The scholars gathered data from 253 executives to evaluate the existing relationship between the two factors. In their study, Church and Waclawski (1998, p. 121) generated four major clusters in line with the conceptual framework of transformational leadership. The data from these clusters were analyzed using ANOVA models to determine the existing significant difference. The study showed that there was a significant correlation when the model was focused on the perception of the executives and their subsequent behaviors. Church and Waclawski (1998, p. 99) ascertained that motivators and inventors had a higher level of transformational outcomes when compared to managers and implementors. When further focused on personality clusters, it was evident that the behavior-based tendencies impacted the leadership approach. In this case, the study showed the existence of a relationship between personality or behavioral identities and leadership practice. Church and Waclawski (1998, p. 121) concluded that these outcomes stemmed from the link between personality and the outcomes exhibited by organizations.

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Personality and Leadership Behavior

Another essential study that focuses on personality and leadership was carried out by Parmer et al. (2013, p. 55). The researchers focused on employees from both small-scale organizations as well as Fortune 500 companies. The move to gather data from workers in different settings was to guarantee the validity and reliability of the outcomes. A total of 132 workers from South Texas were recruited to fill the Project GLOBE Leadership Questionnaire as well as the NEOPI Big Five Personality Assessment. The two tools allowed the scholars to determine whether there was a link between the personality of followers and their respective leadership preferences. The participants responded to 112 items that represented the factors associated with the behaviors that impede or support effective or outstanding leadership. According to Parmer et al. (2013, p. 55), personality was a predictor of 13 leadership dimensions out of the total 21 included in the study. The scholars also found that the Big Five Personality Trait defined by the level of agreeableness was the highest predictor of followers' attitude towards specific leadership behaviors. The results from the multiple regressions for different variables as used in this study showed that there is a significant link that exists between leadership behavior and personality where some dimensions directly predict the outcome or attitudes. Parmer et al. (2013, p. 55) therefore concluded that agreeableness was a strong predictor of leadership behavioral practices among followers.

Personality Traits and Leadership Styles

Tatlah, Nizami, and Siddiqui (2012, p. 172) also examined the influence that originates from personality traits on the commonly known leadership styles. The research focused on teachers' personality. The previously reviewed studies have examined the personality of leaders and follower but Tatlah, Nizami, and Siddiqui (2012, p. 172) took a different approach to examine how this relationship is exhibited among teachers. Therefore, their study was designed to investigate the link that exists between the teacher's personality and how they impact leadership behaviors. The quantitative study gathered data using surveys from 228 teachers from Labore high school. Through regression methods, the trio managed to present the existing relationship between the primary variables. The use of convenient sampling allowed scholars to target their analysis of the two variables in line with the identified research gaps. The study showed that dominant personality traits were associated with people and task-oriented leadership styles. The findings also showed that the common traits influenced the leadership traits based on the study sample. Tatlah, Nizami, and Siddiqui (2012, p. 172) ascertained that the understanding of personality traits could be strategically used to influence leadership behaviors and shape the impact of leaders on followers. The conclusions of this study were not limited to education settings because the scholars further attested that the findings could be generalized to other practices.

Proactive Personality and Leadership Creativity

Pan et al. (2018, p. 852) focused on a proactive personality where the objective of their analysis was on the extent to which it impacted creativity. The multilevel examination incorporated both informal and formal leadership. In this study by Pan et al. (2018, p. 858), a total of 247 participants corresponding to 54 work teams were allowed to fill the questionnaires, which was used to gather the relevant data. The research that was carried out in China compared the proactive personality of the 247 workers and their creative abilities or characteristics. Pan et al. (2018, p. 858) first developed a moderated-mediation model to create a link on how the relationship is depicted in formal and informal leadership. From the assessment carried out in the study, it was evident that informal leadership position or status was a mediating factor in how proactive leadership impacted the level of creativity. In this case, under informal leadership, proactive personality trait positively impacted the degree of creativity among workers. On the other hand, the influence of proactive personality on the creativity level of a leader in informal leadership status is controlled or remain moderated by the visionary capacity and behavior of the individual. In this case, visionary behavior and informal leadership status permit and moderate the relationship between the level of creativity among proactive individuals. Based on the findings, Pan et al. (2018, p. 868) concluded that a significant relationship exists between the two variables under investigation.

Emotional Intelligence, Personality, and Leadership Behaviors

Additionally, when examining the issue of leadership effectiveness, scholars have been keen to incorporate the role of emotional intelligence. A study by Palmer, Gardner, and Stough (2003, p. 140) investigated how emotional intelligence, personality, and leadership behaviors interact. The researchers generated three cluster samples to effectively examine the relationship between the selected variables. In the first two sample groups, the scholars evaluated the relationship between the first three personality domains among the commonly known five aspects and Workplace SUEIT. Workplace SUEIT is a model for measuring the emotional intelligence of workers. The three out of five personality domains included in this study were Openness, Extroversion, and Neuroticism. In the third sample of the study, the researchers combined the three aspects, which are emotional intelligence, leadership effectiveness, and personality: however, in this sample, all the personality dimensions were included. The research found out that a small correlation existed between workplace SUEIT and the three personality dimensions (Openness, Extroversion, and Neuroticism). Data from the third sample showed that emotional intelligence accounted for a higher influence on effective leadership when compared to personality. A similar scenario was evident even after including all the personality dimensions. Therefore, Palmer, Gardner, and Stough (2003, p. 140) concluded that although personality plays a key role in shaping leadership behavior, emotional intelligence has a higher influence.