Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success

The trait theory of leadership suggests that personality traits influence leader emergence and effectiveness. While initial empirical evidence supports this perspective, the majority of studies have examined the relationship between personality and leadership using self ratings of personality. We believe that this research may underestimate the relationship between personality and leadership. We propose that personality assessed using both self and observer ratings explains more variance in leadership than self ratings of personality alone. Results from 155 participants in leaderless group discussions supported this hypothesis. Further, relative weight analysis revealed that observer ratings of extraversion explained the largest percentage of variance in leadership, followed by self ratings of openness to experience and observer ratings of openness to experience. Results of two-stage least squares regression analysis showed that the relationship between personality and leadership was mediated by contributions to group success. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.     

A meta-analytic examination of the effects of the agentic and affiliative aspects of extraversion on leadership outcomes

Building on previous research that has shown that extraversion is the strongest Big Five personality predictor of effective leadership, the present study employed meta-analytic procedures to examine the independent effects of the two main aspects of extraversion—agency and affiliation—on leadership outcomes (transformational leadership and leadership effectiveness). Results showed that it is specifically the agentic aspect of extraversion that has a positive impact on leadership, whereas the affiliative aspect is unrelated to transformational leadership and negatively related to leadership effectiveness. Additionally, we demonstrate that assessing extraversion in terms of these two aspects leads to substantial improvements in predictive validity relative to broad measures of extraversion. Limitations associated with common method bias and modest effect sizes notwithstanding, our findings inform theory on specifically why it is that extraverts are perceived as better leaders than introverts. We also discuss practical implications for how to select and develop leaders in organisational settings and outline the types of organisations in which agency measures are likely to be most useful for selection purposes.     

Is a happy leader a good leader? A meta-analytic investigation of leader trait affect and leadership

Organizational scholars have long been concerned with identifying traits that differentiate effective leaders from ineffective leaders. Although there has been renewed interest in the role of emotions in leadership, there is currently no quantitative summary of leader trait affectivity and leadership. Thus, the current paper meta-analyzed the relationship between leader trait affectivity and several leadership criteria, including transformational leadership, transactional leadership, leadership emergence, and leadership effectiveness. Results show that leader positive affect is positively related to leadership criteria, whereas leader negative affect is negatively related to leadership criteria, and regression analyses indicate that leader trait affect predicts leadership criteria above and beyond leader extraversion and neuroticism. Additionally, mediational analyses reveal that the relationship between leader trait affect and leadership effectiveness operates through transformational leadership. Taken together, these results contribute to the literature on emotions and leadership by highlighting the role of leader affect as a meaningful predictor of leadership.     

Leader negative feedback-seeking and leader effectiveness in leader-subordinate relationships: The paradoxical role of subordinate expertise

From a motivational perspective of feedback-seeking behavior, we examined the mediating role of leaders' negative feedback-seeking from subordinates in the relationship between the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX) and subordinates' evaluation of leader effectiveness, along with the moderating role of subordinate expertise in the mediated relationship. Using 151 unique matched sets of leader and subordinate reports obtained from 5 large Korean companies, we found that the positive relationship between LMX and leader effectiveness was mediated by leaders' negative feedback-seeking. Additionally, the positive relationship between LMX and leader negative feedback-seeking was stronger when perceived subordinate expertise was lower. Lastly, the indirect effect of LMX on leader effectiveness through leader negative feedback-seeking was stronger when perceived subordinate expertise was lower. These findings were obtained after controlling for leaders' power distance and goal orientations that might influence their motives to seek or avoid feedback. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Leader individual differences,situational parameters,and leadership outcomes: A comprehensive review and integration

In this article, we provide a wide-ranging review of recent research on leader individual differences. The review focuses specifically on the explosion of such research in the last decade. The first purpose of this review is to summarize and integrate various conceptual frameworks describing how leader attributes influence leader emergence and leader effectiveness. The second purpose is to provide a comprehensive review of empirical research on this relationship. Also, most prior reviews primarily examined leader personality traits; this review includes a broader array of leader attributes, including cognitive capacities, personality, motives and values, social skills, and knowledge and expertise. The final broad purpose of this paper is to review and integrate situational and contextual parameters into our conceptual framing of leader individual differences. Few, if any, prior reviews have systematically accounted for the critical role of such parameters in cuing, activating, or delimiting the effects of particular leader attributes. We do so in this article.     

To whom does transformational leadership matter more? An examination of neurotic and introverted followers and their organizational citizenship behavior

Despite the massive amount of transformational leadership research, the role of followers has not been well-examined in the transformational leadership literature. To understand how leader–follower interactions influence follower organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), we examined the cross-level interactions between transformational leadership and two follower personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion). Using a sample of 215 leaders and 1284 followers, results showed that follower neuroticism moderated the relationships between transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior directed toward other individuals (OCB-I) and toward the organization (OCB-O), such that relationships were stronger for those high in neuroticism. Further, follower extraversion moderated the relationships between transformational leadership and OCB-I and OCB-O, such that relationships were stronger for those low in extraversion. Therefore, the inspirational and developmental nature of transformational leaders can offset follower neuroticism and introversion and guide these employees to perform more OCB despite their tendencies to worry, lack confidence, and be shy and withdrawn.     

The moderating role of leader and follower sex in dyads on the leadership behavior–leader effectiveness relationships

Transformational leadership (TL) and leader–member exchange (LMX) literatures provide theoretical frameworks and accompanying empirical evidence for studying the relationship between leader behavior and effectiveness. Although prior attention has been given to gender differences in leadership style and leader effectiveness, the moderating effects of the sex of the leader and subordinate on the leadership–leader effectiveness relationship have not been investigated. In a field study of employees from a manufacturing plant, we examined whether leader and subordinate sex, and the sex composition of the leader–subordinate dyad, moderated the linkages of each set of leader behaviors (i.e., TL and LMX) with actual evaluations of leader effectiveness provided by the leader's subordinates and direct supervisor. Although female leaders were rated as more effective than male leaders overall, a fine-grained analysis of leader–subordinate dyads revealed that the male leaders benefited more than the female leaders from the use of transformational leadership in the leader behavior–leader effectiveness relationship. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Servant leaders inspire servant followers: Antecedents and outcomes for employees and the organization

Despite widespread adoption of servant leadership, we are only beginning to understand its true utility across multiple organizational levels. Our purpose was to test the relationship between personality, servant leadership, and critical follower and organizational outcomes. Using a social influence framework, we proposed that leader agreeableness and extraversion affect follower perceptions of servant leadership. In turn, servant leaders ignite a cycle of service by role-modeling servant behavior that is then mirrored through coworker helping behavior and high-quality customer service, as well as reciprocated through decreased withdrawal. Using a multilevel, multi-source model, we surveyed 224 stores of a U.S. retail organization, including 425 followers, 110 store managers, and 40 regional managers. Leader agreeableness was positively and extraversion was negatively related to servant leadership, which was associated with decreased follower turnover intentions and disengagement. At the group-level, service climate mediated the effects of servant leadership on follower turnover intentions, helping and sales behavior.     

Ethical leadership and group in-role performance: The mediating roles of group conscientiousness and group voice

In this paper, we propose that ethical leadership will lead to higher group in-role performance. Building from and integrating several different research streams, we argue that two key mechanisms for this effect are group conscientiousness (an emergent state) and group voice (a group process). We collected survey data at three points in time from 80 groups of nurses and the groups' leaders. The results provide support for all of our hypotheses. There was a positive relationship between employee ratings of ethical leadership (Time 1) and leader ratings of group in-role performance (Time 3). Group conscientiousness and group voice (Time 2) both partially mediated this relationship. These results contribute to our understanding of leadership and group effectiveness not only by showing that ethical leadership has a positive influence on group in-role performance, but also by identifying specific norms and group-level behaviors that help to account for this relationship.     

Followers' Personality and the Perception of Transformational Leadership: Further Evidence for the Similarity Hypothesis

Managers and supervisors are thought to affect their followers' attitudes and behaviour. Within leadership research, behaviour of leaders and managers is usually considered as the independent variable whilst followers' reactions are considered the dependent variable. In this study, we reverse this order and investigate the degree to which the evaluation of leadership is a result of followers' perceptions and attributions. In order to corroborate and extend previous experimental research, a field study was conducted to analyse the influence of followers' personality and perceived leader personality on followers' perception of leadership within an organizational setting. The results provide further evidence that followers' personality influences the perception of transformational leadership and commitment to the supervisor. Moreover, the perception of leaders' personality was related to the perception of leadership and commitment to the supervisor. The finding that the perception of supervisors' personality mediates both the relationship between followers' personality and the perception of leadership and commitment provides support for the similarity hypothesis. Results are discussed in the light of feedback and leader development.     

Leader motive profiles in eight types of organizations

McClelland (1975) introduced the leadership motive pattern (LMP), a motivational configuration found to contribute to leader performance in traditional bureaucratic organizations. Using McClelland's general theory of motivation and Miner's work on organizational sociology, we refine McClelland's original leadership motive pattern, develop leader motive profiles for eight classical and new types of organizations, and advance eight testable propositions for empirical verification. We conclude with implications for future research and practice.     

Consideration for future consequences as an antecedent of transformational leadership behavior: The moderating effects of perceived dynamic work environment

Based on construal level theory and trait activation theory, we examined the effect of consideration of future consequences (CFC) on transformational leadership behavior and leadership effectiveness, as well as the potential moderating effects of perceived dynamic work environment in the relationship. The results showed that: (a) CFC is positively related to both transformational leadership and leadership effectiveness; (b) perceived dynamic work environment moderates the relationship between CFC and transformational leadership—specifically, the effect of CFC on transformational leadership is stronger under low perceived dynamic work environment; and (c) the effect of CFC on leader effectiveness is fully mediated by transformational leadership behavior under low versus high perceived dynamic work environment. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.     

Effective leadership in the Mexican maquiladora: challenging common expectations

This article reports a cross-cultural study of Mexican and U.S. leaders in Mexican maquiladoras. The research builds on relational demography to determine if leader ethnicity, regional Mexican culture, and organizational affiliation moderate the impact of leadership behavior on important organizational outcomes. We examined the impacts of specific leader behaviors on follower attitudes and performance. Contrary to expectations from the current cross-cultural leadership literature, managerial leaders from the United States had approximately the same effects on the Mexican workforce as managerial leaders from Mexico. However, regional differences within Mexico and organizational affiliation were significant moderators. We postulate that there are at least two leader prototypes in Mexico: the “transitional” leader and the more “traditional” leader. Additional implications of these findings for leadership in Mexico are discussed.     

Motivational or dispositional? The type of inference shapes the effectiveness of leader anger expressions

Existing leadership research has presented conflicting views on the effects of leader anger expressions. The present research aims to reconcile these findings by proposing that the type of inferences followers make (i.e., motivation-focused inference or trait-focused inference) is a key factor determining the outcomes of leader anger expressions. Through one survey study (Study 1) and two experimental studies (Studies 2 and 3), the present research indicates that the effectiveness of leader anger expressions is associated with the type of inferences followers draw from the anger. In general, we found support for the negative relationship between trait-focused inferences and leader effectiveness, but were unable to properly test the positive relationship between motivation-focused inferences and leader effectiveness due to the lack of appropriate instrumental variables. We also investigated whether followers' implicit theories of personality (i.e., entity versus incremental theory) would moderate the effect of leader anger expressions on the type of inferences made by followers, which in turn shapes leader effectiveness. The results of Study 3 provide evidence of the moderating role of implicit theories of personality. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of the present research are discussed.     

How leader displays of happiness and sadness influence follower performance: Emotional contagion and creative versus analytical performance

Previous studies have found mixed results regarding the influence of positive and negative leader affect on follower performance. We propose that both leader happiness and leader sadness can be beneficial for follower performance contingent on whether the task concerns creative or analytical performance. This proposition was put to the test in two experiments in which leader affective display was manipulated and the performance of (student) participants was assessed. The results supported our hypothesis that a leader's displays of happiness enhance follower creative performance, whereas a leader's displays of sadness enhance follower analytical performance. Contrasting these findings with evidence for a subjective rating of leadership effectiveness, in line with an implicit leadership theory interpretation, leaders were perceived as more effective when displaying happiness rather than sadness irrespective of task type. The second study showed that the effects of leader affective displays on followers' creative performance and perceived leadership effectiveness are mediated by follower positive affect, indicating that emotional contagion partly underlies these effects.     

Exploring the relationship of leadership skills and knowledge to leader performance

The criterion-related validity of constructed response measures of complex problem-solving skills, social judgment skills, and leader knowledge is examined with respect to two criteria of leader effectiveness: leader achievement and quality of solutions to ill-defined leadership problems. Core aspects of the leader capabilities model are tested using these measures in a series of hierarchical regression analyses. Results indicate that constructed response measures of key leader capabilities account for variance in leader effectiveness and provide initial validation evidence for a central part of the theoretical model. The problem-solving, social judgment and knowledge measures account for significant variance in leadership criteria beyond that accounted for by cognitive abilities, motivations, and personality. Initial evidence also suggests that complex problem-solving skills, social judgment and leader knowledge partially mediate the relationship of cognitive abilities, motivation and personality to leader effectiveness. Implications and generalizability of the results are discussed in light of a related civilian leadership study conducted within the U.S. Department of Defense.     

Let’s agree about nice leaders: A literature review and meta-analysis of agreeableness and its relationship with leadership outcomes

In this study, we draw from 22 years of research in leadership to investigate the ambiguous relationship between the personality trait agreeableness and leadership. First, we conduct a comprehensive review of the leadership literature to build a foundational understanding of leader agreeableness that includes providing a broad definition for agreeableness, identifying emerging trends, and proposing an agenda for future research. Second, using the literature review as our theoretical foundation, we conduct a meta-analysis from the same body of literature to quantitatively decompose the relationship between leader agreeableness and leadership emergence and effectiveness. We also hypothesize and test the contextual moderating effects for gender, leadership level, and cultural context (as reflected by individualism-collectivism). Collectively, our findings provide a framework for future research on leadership agreeableness and support the notion that nice (highly agreeable) leaders can emerge as effective leaders.     

Developmental stability and leadership effectiveness

Developmental stability is the degree to which we can withstand environmental or genetic stressors during development. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), concerns the extent to which the right and left side of the body is asymmetrical and is one way to measure developmental stability. Two studies were carried out that examined both the predictive value of leader FA with leadership behaviors and its role in facilitating group performance. The first study examined the hypothesis that a leader's FA is correlated with scores on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The results revealed individuals with a more asymmetrical morphology scored higher on the transformational, but not transactional, dimensions of leadership behavior. A second study examined the hypothesis that asymmetrical morphology and leadership effectiveness would share a positive relationship. In this study participants who led a business game exercise, revealed a positive relationship between FA and self-reported well-being and task satisfaction. Importantly, there was also a positive correlation between the leader's FA score and group performance. The role that developmental stability may play in leadership effectiveness is discussed in the wider context of evolutionary psychology.     

Emotion recognition and emergent leadership: Unraveling mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions

This study examines the complex connection between individuals' emotion recognition capability and their emergence as leaders. It is hypothesized that emotion recognition and extraversion interactively relate with an individual's task coordination behavior which, in turn, influences the likelihood of emerging as a leader. In other words, we cast task coordination as a mediating mechanism in the joint relationship between emotion recognition and extraversion, on the one hand, and leader emergence, on the other. Study hypotheses were tested using multisource data from two diverse, independent samples. Study 1 supports the hypothesized relationships in a sample of student project teams in the Netherlands, and Study 2 constructively replicates the proposed model using student participants in an assessment center in the United States. These findings were obtained using a performance-based test of emotion recognition and controlling for a battery of known covariates.     

The impact of leader personality on new product development teamwork and performance: The moderating role of uncertainty

We examined the affect of leader personality on new product development (NPD) project performance under differing conditions of uncertainty. Our model posits teamwork as a mediating variable between leader personality and NPD performance. We hypothesized that the personality variable of openness would have a stronger influence on teamwork and NPD performance when uncertainty was high, and that the personality variables of extraversion, conscientiousness and stability would have a stronger indirect influence on NPD performance through teamwork when uncertainty was low. We used structural equation modeling to test two models of the influence of personality. In our study of 143 development projects, we support the importance of teamwork as a process variable linking leader personality to NPD performance and confirm that the effects of leader personality on these criteria depend on the level of uncertainty operating in NPD projects, thus substantiating all our hypotheses. Recommendations to re-consider hiring criteria and training for NPD project leaders are provided.