Using the Big Five to Identify Leadership Traits

Is There an Inextricable Relationship between Personality Type and Leadership?
Abstract
While the debate over nature versus nurture remains unresolved, there has been growing interest in determining whether there is an inextricable relationship between personality type and leadership. Many organizational behaviorists maintain that certain types of personalities are naturally better suited to assume leadership position while others counter that leadership skills can be learned and applied in virtually any setting. To determine the facts, this paper provides a systematic review of the relevant literature concerning personality and leadership in general and the five factor model of personality in particular together with the results of a survey of business practitioners concerning their views on these issues. The results of the analysis of the secondary and primary data provided significant support for the notion that personality and leadership are in fact inextricably related but that it is not the only factor that contributes to effective leadership.
Keywords: Leadership, five factor model, personality
Introduction
The connection between effective leadership and organizational performance has been well documented, but it remains less clear the extent to which personality contributes to an individual’s ability to lead. To help address this gap in the existing body of knowledge, this study was guided by the following research objective:
Research objective: To determine whether the five factor model of personality (i.e., openness, conscientious, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) contributes to leadership.
The literature review that follows below was used to develop the information needed to achieve this overarching research objective.
Literature Review
The five-factor model of personality consists of a series of five general trait dimensions: (a) openness, (b) conscientious, (c) extraversion, (d) agreeableness, and (e) neuroticism which are frequently termed “the Big Five” (Soto & Jackson, 2018). These five trait dimensions conceptualize personality in the following general terms:
1. Openness: Highly open individuals have a broad rather than narrow range of interests, are sensitive rather than indifferent to art and beauty, and prefer novelty to routine;
2. Conscientious: Conscientious individuals are task-focused and orderly, rather than distractible and disorganized;
3. Extraversion: Highly extraverted individuals are assertive and sociable, rather than quiet and reserved;
4. Agreeableness: Agreeable individuals are cooperative and polite, rather than antagonistic and rude; and,
5. Neuroticism: Neurotic individuals are prone to experiencing negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, and irritation, rather than being emotionally resilient (Soto & Jackson, 2018, para. 3).
These conceptualizations underscore the fact that some general personality traits can in fact contribute to effective leadership. For example, it is reasonable to posit that individuals with high levels of extraversion are better suited for leadership position by virtue of their assertive and sociability while neurotic individuals would be far less effective as leaders. Moreover, studies have shown that the five factor model is sufficiently comprehensive to be applicable to a wide range of national cultures (Rai & Kumar, 2012). Consequently, the five-factor model does appear to provide a useful framework in which to evaluate the relationship between personality and leadership. This assertion is supported by Rai and Kumar (2012) who advise, “Many studies have shown that the Five Factor Model of personality are meaningful drivers of individual behavior and performance” (p. 342).
Some authorities, though, argue that personality is far less important for leadership than other attributes and qualities (Lather & Singh, 2015; Starbuck, 2015). For instance, according to Wagner (2017), “Leadership is not a title, personality type, or skill that can be mastered through repetition like a good backhand. It is a process of navigating group dynamics in a way that fosters a sense of commitment to a shared endeavor” (p. 1848). Likewise, Chiu and Chen (2012) point out that the relationship between personality and job performance varies dramatically depending on a wide array of situational factors that can outweigh specific personality traits. In this regard, Chiu and Chen (2012) emphasize that, “In [some] situations, the expression of personality is constrained [and] is therefore more a function of the situation than of personality” (p. 3). Taken together, it is clear that there are some divergent views concerning the relationship between personality and leadership, a gap that this study sought to address using the methodology described below.
Methodology
This paper used a review of the secondary literature and the results of a custom survey (see proforma copy at Appendix A) to provide primary data to develop the information needed to achieve the above-stated research objective.
Results and Findings
The results of the literature review showed that some authorities agree that personality type as defined by the five factor model provides a useful indication of those individuals that are best suited for leadership positions while other authorities counter that individual concern for the well-being of followers or situational factors were more important. The findings that emerged from the secondary data were supported in large part by the results of the custom survey of business practitioners who also agreed that certain personality traits were more salient than others for effective leadership, but that other factors were also involved that were less easy to identify and define.
Discussion
While the five factor model provides a useful general framework in which the evaluate different personality types and the implications of different personality traits for leadership suitability, pigeonholing individual personalities in this fashion ignores the fact that everyone’s personality changes in sometimes subtle ways over time, and the results of a five factor model analysis today may not be relevant or accurate in the future.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The research showed the five factor model of personality provides a useful framework in which to gain a better understanding of those traits that contribute to some individuals ability to effectively lead organizations, but there are other factors involved as well that must be taken into account, including most especially situational factors that can easily outweigh the effects of any given personality traits at any given point in time. Indeed, even the most agreeable and extraverted individuals will be hard-pressed to disregard looming threats to their organizations from their followers and it is reasonable to conclude that the results of the administration of the five factor model of personality should be used with care and interpreted with the foregoing limitations in mind.


References
Chiu, K. H. & Chen, T. (2012, July). Leadership as situational factor on personality-performance relationship. International Journal of Business and Management Science, 5(1), 1-4.
Lather, A. S. & Jain, S. (2015, July 1). Mapping personality traits of high performers: A study of middle and lower management. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 41(2), 217-222.
Rai, S. & Kumar, V. V. (2012, October). Five Factor Model of Personality & role stress. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 48(2), 341-346.
Soto, C. J. & Jackson, J. J. (2018, February 26). Five-factor model of personality. Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/ document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0120.xml.
Starbuck, C. R. (2015, January). An investigation of the relationship between follower perceptions of leader openness to experience and follower job satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 19(1), 118-122.
Wagner, B. B. (2017, June). Reflections on leadership in government and private practice. Stanford Law Review, 69(6), 1847-1851.





Appendix A
Proforma copy of survey instrument
1. Age:
2. Gender:
A. Male
B. Female
3. Ethnicity:
A. Chinese
B. Malay
C. Indian
D. Other (please specify)
4. Religion:
A. Buddhism
B. Christianity
C. Catholic
D. Hinduism
E. Islam
F. Other (please specify)
5. How long have you been working and your work experience (in years)?
A. 0-1
B. 1-2
C. 2-3
D. More than 3 years
6. What is your current position at work?
A. Employee
B. Team Leader
C . Supervisor
D. Management
7. Are you familiar with the Five Factor Model of personality:
A. Yes
B. No
8. If yes, what are your opinions on the Five Factor Model?
9. Do you think that the Five Factor Model of personality contributes to leadership?
A. Yes
B. No
10. If yes, please explain how
11. Do you think good leadership skills can be accomplished without practicing the Five Factor Model? Please Explain