Ways Leader Personality Types Impact Team Performance

Leadership Personality and Team Performance

Leadership involves overseeing subordinates for the success of the organization. In the past, the role of the subordinate was passive, with leaders viewed as authoritarians. However, since 1980s, organizations have worked to create more participation-based management models that involve employees, welcome their feedback and suggestions and use their perspectives to improve the development of managers (Emery, Calvard & Pierce 2009). Employees are more empowered to take ownership over their personal contributions to the organization. A newer concept in management called servant leadership has emerged with the leader responsible for serving the needs of others, helping them to grow and offering opportunities to progress (Kickul & Neuman 2012).

Because of this shift, the personality traits of managers are viewed differently today and recognized as contributing to good team performance and positive behavior from employees (Brown 2009). Personality has a significant influence on the way we think, feel and relate to others. Personality traits, such as how introverted or analytical someone is, have a direct impact on relationships and communication in the workplace.

Team members must gel in order to be effective. When managers and subordinates are working in harmony, there are many benefits. These might include increased motivation, more dedication to roles and the organization, better employee performance and outputs, more creative solutions and faster responses to market changes (de Vries 2012). All of these help organizations perform better, retain the most talented workers, and generate more profits.

It is important that leaders approach team management from a place of understanding about themselves and how own their personality has the power to influence outcomes from their teams. Just as effective leadership is an especially important factor in the success of any team, ineffective leadership will sabotage team productivity. A great leader has a fair balance of technical skills, such as communication, management, employee development, and group dynamics, in addition to personality type to be effective (Kickul & Neuman 2000). Being able to blend these together creates a cohesive team that has the spirit of togetherness needed to resolve problems.

Many experts agree that in order to discuss personality and its impact on leadership, it helps to have a framework for identifying different personality types and how they might interact. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one such model. Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers-Briggs developed this as a tool for understanding an individual's predisposition to one of four preference alternatives in their behavior (Brown 2009). These are (1) how a person is energized -- either an as extrovert or introvert, (2) what information a person perceives -- designated by sensing vs. intuition, (3) how a person decides -- thinking vs. feeling, and (4) the life-style a person adopts -- judging vs. perceiving (de Vries 2012).

Extrovert vs. Introvert describes how we interact with the world. Where an Extrovert would be focused on the external environment around them and enjoys interactions and group settings, an Introvert looks inward, enjoys solitude and autonomy and processes problems internally before seeking input from the group (Brown 2009). The Sensing vs. Intuitive trait describes what type of information we notice first. Those who only trust what can be measured or is real or concrete in the here and now are more sensory driven, whereas those who value imagination and trust inspirations and hunches are more intuitive and future-oriented.

Similarly, Thinkers and Feelers are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Thinkers prefer decisions that are practical, objective and logical. They tend to be more analytical in decision-making processes than Feelers who are motivated by what they feel is right and their empathy and compassion for others. Finally, Perceivers are spontaneous and take in specific information to reach decisions. They value flexibility. Judgers do things in an orderly way and are happiest when their lives are structured and matters are settled.

Experts like Myers and Myers-Briggs suggest that diversity of psychological types results in successful group performance (Kickul & Neuman 2000). It is important to consider the personality of the team leader, but also the differing personalities of team members. No one type is right or wrong. With proper analysis, team performance can be enhanced through increased understanding about people's unique motivations and vantage points (Emery et al. 2013). A diverse team may take a little longer to accomplish a project, but the end result will typically be better, more creative and reached with smoother manager to employee communications and relations (Brown 2009).

To put this in perspective, we can consider the strengths of each type (de Vries 2012). For example, Extroverts often have an open and engaging nature that can improve team performance because it opens the lines of communication between group members. Sensing leaders keep groups on task by providing facts and data that help create action plans based on hard evidence and not speculation. A senior manager that falls under the Intuitive personality type might look at the same data, but have a greater vision for the future and encourage the group to cautiously experiment and test new ideas and approaches. Thinking leader types are all about analysis of the situation -- what needs to be done, why, how, when and by whom. Feeling leader types, in the right situation, can improve team dynamics because they are typically more focused on how team members feel about the resources they have to do their jobs, their coworkers, or their working conditions. Such managers often enhance team performance by taking inventory of team member concerns and attitudes. Finally, Judgers can help teams stay on schedule by following specific agendas. Perceivers, on the other hand, would be more like Intuitive leaders and more open to alternatives.