Transformational Leadership: Relations to the Five-Factor Model and Team Performance in Typical and Maximum Contexts.

This study examined the 5-factor model of personality, transformational leadership, and team performance under conditions similar to typical and maximum performance contexts. Data were collected from 39 combat teams from an Asian military sample (N = 276). Results found that neuroticism and agreeableness were negatively related to transformational leadership ratings. Team performance ratings correlated at only .18 across the typical and maximum contexts. Furthermore, transformational leadership related more strongly to team performance in the maximum rather than the typical context. Finally, transformational leadership fully mediated the relationship between leader personality and team performance in the maximum context but only partially mediated the relationship between leader personality and team performance in the typical context. The Discussion section focuses on how these findings, although interesting, need to be replicated with different designs, contexts, and measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of leadership development in Canadian Forces officer candidates.

This study investigated the relationship between personality and leadership development in a sample of Canadian Forces officer candidates. At Time 1, personality assessments were obtained from candidates, interviewers, and references at various Canadian Forces Recruiting Centres. Six to nine months later at Time 2, 174 military officer candidates were evaluated by instructors and peers on various aspects of the Basic Officer Training Course (BOTC). Results revealed that BOTC final grade and instructors' ratings of leadership were predicted by self-ratings of the Locus of control factor and its subordinate trait, internal control. Also, the references' ratings of the Surgency factor and its subordinate trait, dominance, predicted the BOTC final grade and ratings of leadership. Four years later at Time 3, we examined the extent to which self-ratings of personality obtained at Time 1 predicted leadership performance and perceptions of leadership styles. Dominance, energy level, and internal control predicted some leadership criteria, with dominance predicting the most. Overall, these results indicate that measures of personality are associated with leadership development in the military. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality-focused coaching for leadership development.

The science of personality measurement in the workplace has developed a great deal in the past 2 decades, and the five-factor model (FFM) is generally recognized as the most notable taxonomy of "normal" personality. Meanwhile, coaching has become a well-established method of one-on-one leadership development in many organizations. Given the research investigating the relationship between the FFM and work-related behavior and performance, including leadership, the authors' aim is to advocate the profiling of personality against the FFM to provide a useful framework for behavioral change in executive coaching. Coaching typically deals with skill deficits, performance problems, change challenges, and issues raised by the executive himself or herself, and a research-based understanding of personality--behavior linkages can provide valuable insights for the coach and coachee and a path forward to a wide range of coaching challenges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring personality at work: A meta-analytic investigation of construct validity.

The validity of self-monitoring personality in organizational settings was examined. Meta-analyses were conducted (136 samples; total N ?=?23,191) investigating the relationship between self-monitoring personality and work-related variables, as well as the reliability of various self-monitoring measures. Results suggest that self-monitoring has relevance for understanding many organizational concerns, including job performance and leadership emergence. Sample-weighted mean differences favoring male respondents were also noted, suggesting that the sex-related effects for self-monitoring may partially explain noted disparities between men and women at higher organizational levels (i.e., the glass ceiling). Theory building and additional research are needed to better understand the construct-related inferences about self-monitoring personality, especially in terms of the performance, leadership, and attitudes of those at top organizational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analysis of the relation between personality traits and leadership perceptions: An application of validity generalization procedures.

Reexamines, via meta-analysis, the relation between personality traits and leadership perceptions or extent of leader emergence, arguing that prior research on trait theories and leadership has been misinterpreted as applying to a leader's effect on performance when it actually pertains to the relation of leadership traits to leadership emergence. Further, based on current theories of social perceptions, several traits were expected to be strongly related to leadership perceptions. The meta-analytic technique of validity generalization was used with the 15 articles identified by R. D. Mann (see record 1960-04194-001) as investigating the relationship between personality traits and leadership. These studies were then pooled with 9 subsequent studies in an additional set of meta-analyses. Results support the expectation in that intelligence, masculinity–femininity, and dominance were significantly related to leadership perceptions. Findings show that variability across studies in the relation of these traits to leadership perceptions could be explained largely by methodological factors, indicating that contingency theories of leadership perceptions may not be needed. Both of these results contrast with the conclusions of earlier nonquantitative literature reviews on traits and leadership perceptions and with conventional thinking in the leadership area. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trouble at the top: Causes and consequences of managerial incompetence.

Analyzes the causes and consequences of managerial incompetence (i.e., those cases where managers with excellent social skills ultimately derail, usually because they are unable to build a team) and presents empirical findings that are important for consultants who advise organizations about leadership problems. Topics addressed are effectiveness, personality from the perspective of the actor and from the perspective of the observer, personality and leader effectiveness, key tasks of leadership, determining the base rate of flawed leadership, the dark side of charisma, how to detect flawed managers, and what to do about flawed managers. It is argued that short-term interventions will not have enduring effects in terms of improving a manager's performance; it is necessary to continue intervention for a prolonged period of time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The bright-side and the dark-side of CEO personality: Examining core self-evaluations, narcissism, transformational leadership, and strategic influence.

This article reports on an examination of the relationships between chief executive officer (CEO) personality, transformational and transactional leadership, and multiple strategic outcomes in a sample of 75 CEOs of Major League Baseball organizations over a 100-year period. CEO bright-side personality characteristics (core self-evaluations) were positively related to transformational leadership, whereas dark-side personality characteristics (narcissism) of CEOs were negatively related to contingent reward leadership. In turn, CEO transformational and contingent reward leadership were related to 4 different strategic outcomes, including manager turnover, team winning percentage, fan attendance, and an independent rating of influence. CEO transformational leadership was positively related to ratings of influence, team winning percentage, and fan attendance, whereas contingent reward leadership was negatively related to manager turnover and ratings of influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership style, subordinate personality, and task type as predictors of performance and satisfaction with supervision.

Investigated interactions between leadership style, subordinate personality, and task type, and the effects of different combinations of these variables on group performance and satisfaction with supervision. Three different types of leaders (N = 48) were selected from 500 male undergraduates using Troldahl and Powell's short-form Dogmatism Scale: (a) high in human relations and high in task orientation, (b) low in human relations and high in task orientation, and (c) high in human relations and low in task orientation. Each leader worked with 8 high- and 8 low-dogmatism Ss on 4 tasks that differed in ambiguity and difficulty. As predicted, there were significant interaction effects for Leader * Subordinate * Task combinations. These effects on group performance were strongest for difficult-ambiguous tasks. Subordinates, regardless of their personality, were significantly more satisfied with leadership behavior that was high in human relations orientation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance in relation to job skill importance: A consideration of rater source.

Investigated relationships between the performance levels of incumbents on job skills and the importance attributed to those job skills. Supervisors and job incumbents rated both the performance of skill dimensions and the importance of those skills for respective incumbents' positions. Results indicate that the ratings of performance and importance on matched skill areas correlated positively, although relationships were somewhat stronger for incumbent data as compared with data provided by supervisors. Supervisors and incumbents agreed moderately on which skill areas were important for various positions, but the interrater agreement was much lower for performance ratings of the skill areas. For some skill areas, incumbent-rated importance and supervisor-rated performance, as well as incumbent-rated performance and supervisor-rated importance, were significantly correlated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership, Collective Personality, and Performance.

By viewing behavior regularities at the individual and collective level as functionally isomorphic, a referent-shift compositional model for the Big 5 personality dimensions is developed. On the basis of this compositional model, a common measure of Big 5 personality at the individual level is applied to the collective as a whole. Within this framework, it is also hypothesized that leadership (i.e., transformational, transactional, and passive) would predict collective personality and that collective personality would be significantly related to collective performance. The results supported these hypotheses using a sample of franchised units. On the basis of recent research at the individual level, several interactions among the various personality dimensions were hypothesized and supported. Implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analysis.

This study was a meta-analysis of the relationship between personality and ratings of transformational and transactional leadership behaviors. Using the 5-factor model of personality as an organizing framework, the authors accumulated 384 correlations from 26 independent studies. Personality traits were related to 3 dimensions of transformational leadership--idealized influence-inspirational motivation (charisma), intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration--and 3 dimensions of transactional leadership--contingent reward, management by exception-active, and passive leadership. Extraversion was the strongest and most consistent correlate of transformational leadership. Although results provided some support for the dispositional basis of transformational leadership--especially with respect to the charisma dimension--generally, weak associations suggested the importance of future research to focus on both narrower personality traits and nondispositional determinants of transformational and transactional leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of response distortion on preemployment personality testing and hiring decisions.

Response distortion (RD), or faking, among job applicants completing personality inventories has been a concern for selection specialists. In a field study using the NEO Personality Inventory, Revised, the authors show that RD is significantly greater among job applicants than among job incumbents, that there are significant individual differences in RD, and that RD among job applicants can have a significant effect on who is hired. These results are discussed in the context of recent studies suggesting that RD has little effect on the predictive validity of personality inventories. The authors conclude that future research, rather than focusing on predictive validity, should focus instead on the effect of RD on construct validity and hiring decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality characteristics related to leadership behavior in two types of small group situational problems.

Using male United States Air Force Officer Candidate School Ss several hypotheses implied in the "great man" theory of small group leadership were focused on small group behavior and situational testing. "The results… personality traits associated with successful performance in two types of small group activity do not differ in relative importance." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Presidential style: Personality, biography, and performance.

Past research in the personality basis of leadership has led several investigators to study the characteristics of American presidents using content-analytical and biographical measures. In this article, biographical information on 39 U.S. chief executives provided the basis for assessments by seven raters on 82 items concerning presidential style. The presidents could be reliably discriminated on 49 items, which a factor analysis reduced to five dimensions: the interpersonal, charismatic, deliberative, creative, and neurotic styles. These styles were shown to be related to broader personality traits, biographical experiences, and both objective and subjective indicators of leader performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership and followership: Same animal, different spots?

This study examined the relationship between the constructs of leadership, as operationalized through the Leadership Personality Survey (LPS), and followership, as operationalized by the Power of followership Survey (PFS). The LPS is based on the 5-factor model of personality that is widely regarded as the premier model for understanding trait personality dimensions. The PFS is based on R. E. Kelley's (1992) model of followership styles. Data were collected from 130 students at a military college as part of their involvement in an academic course on leadership. Correlational analyses revealed numerous significant positive relationships between these 2 con- structs. Regression modeling provided insight into the relations of personality dimensions and followership. Limitations to this study and implications of these findings as well as future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pyramids, circles, and teams: Confronting leadership issues.

This article traces the ongoing controversy about the relative value of hierarchies and teams in corporate organizations through a presentation case histories of two current executive leaders, both recently attaining their positions and faced with problematic situations involving difficult senior players who report to them. It uses the case histories to illustrate differences in personality and leadership styles, describing these in terms of pyramids and circles, and uses this context to argue for a continuum of successful leadership styles and behaviors that work only when suited to the personality and style of the leaders themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership.

This study linked traits from the 5-factor model of personality (the Big 5) to transformational leadership behavior. Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness were hypothesized to predict transformational leadership. Results based on 14 samples of leaders from over 200 organizations revealed that Extraversion and Agreeableness positively predicted transformational leadership; Openness to Experience was positively correlated with transformational leadership, but its effect disappeared once the influence of the other traits was controlled. Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were unrelated to transformational leadership. Results further indicated that specific facets of the Big 5 traits predicted transformational leadership less well than the general constructs. Finally, transformational leadership behavior predicted a number of outcomes reflecting leader effectiveness, controlling for the effect of transactional leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring the dual-level effects of transformational leadership on followers.

We developed a dual-level transformational leadership scale to measure individual-focused behavior at the individual level and group-focused behavior at the group level, and we validated the scale using a sample of 203 members from 60 work groups in a Canadian company. Results show that individual-focused leadership behavior, at the individual level, was positively related to task performance and personal initiative; group-focused leadership behavior, at the group level, was positively associated with team performance and helping behavior. Implications for leadership theory and practice are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Advice networks in teams: The role of transformational leadership and members' core self-evaluations.

This article examines the team-level factors promoting advice exchange networks in teams. Drawing upon theory and research on transformational leadership, team diversity, and social networks, we hypothesized that transformational leadership positively influences advice network density in teams and that advice network density serves as a mediating mechanism linking transformational leadership to team performance. We further hypothesized a 3-way interaction in which members' mean core self-evaluation (CSE) and diversity in CSE jointly moderate the transformational leadership–advice network density relationship, such that the relationship is positive and stronger for teams with low diversity in CSE and high mean CSE. In addition, we expected that advice network centralization attenuates the positive influence of network density on team performance. Results based on multisource data from 79 business unit management teams showed support for these hypotheses. The results highlight the pivotal role played by transformational leadership and team members' CSEs in enhancing team social networks and, ultimately, team effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership and Organizational Vision in Managing a Multiethnic and Multicultural Project Team

To meet the demands of managing complex projects, project leaders face challenges of daily leadership behavior and organizational vision to manage a project team. The challenges are compounded when the task of creating a project culture is also influenced by cultural, ethnic and corporate differences. A program management team involves many disciplines: project management, planning and engineering, cost estimating, scheduling, material procurement, program controls, management information systems, administration, construction inspection, and others. Different personality types often gravitate to predictable areas of function during the course of their careers. Managing these differing personality types is one challenge of program leadership. Another equal challenge is managing people of widely differing cultural and ethnic backgrounds. What is regarded as a routine order by one culture can be considered as an extreme insult by another. Good natured American jokes about one group can deeply offend members of that group even though the intentions may not be malicious. In addition to these ethnic and cultural sensitivities, the personalities attracted to the individual disciplines can be even more magnified. The greatest challenge of leadership lies in identifying strengths and similarities while valuing the differences to accomplish the common program management goals. The program management team used as an example in this paper consists of native born Caucasian Americans, African-Americans, African-Caribbeans, Middle-Easterners, Asian-Indians, Mexicans, Cuban-Americans and other Latin-Americans. The paper discusses the experiences of adopting different leadership styles, behavior and communication links to improve the performance of individual leaders and management team.