Personality and Leadership: Personality and Leadership Critique of Bono andamp; Judge’s Meta-Analysis


Prior Meta-Analyses on Personality and Leadership: Prior Meta-Analyses on Personality and Leadership Lord et al. (1986) – personality and leadership perceptions Judge et al. (2002) – personality and leadership emergence and effectiveness No studies have examined relationship between Big Five and transformational-transactional leadership


Transformational Leadership: Transformational Leadership Bass (1985) – 8 dimensions Idealized influence Inspirational motivation Intellectual stimulation Individual consideration Contingent reward Management by exception-active Management by exception-passive Laissez-faire Avolio et al. (1999) – 6 dimensions Combined idealized influence andamp; inspirational motivation  charisma Combined management by exception passive andamp; laissez-faire  passive leadership


Research Questions: Research Questions How do the Big Five factors relate to the 6 dimensions of transformational andamp; transactional leadership? How do the Big Five factors relate to an overall measurement of transformational leadership?


Major Criticisms – Data Collection: Major Criticisms – Data Collection Looked at PsycINFO 1887-2002 Personality, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, transformational leadership Could have looked at additional keywords Contacted Center for Global Leadership Studies Could have contacted other leadership institutes Contacted individuals who recently published on transformational leadership (file drawer) Acquired 41 studies and dissertations, final k = 26


Major Criticisms – Inclusion Criteria: Major Criticisms – Inclusion Criteria Half studies explicitly measured the Big Five Other half, authors categorized into five traits based on prior empirical findings Included only field studies Included self-report of personality and observer report of leadership – controls CMV


Major Criticisms - Coding: Major Criticisms - Coding Very short section Only mention coding for studies with an overall transformational leadership and studies looking at multiple dimensions of transformational-transactional leadership Could have coded for other variables, like publication type, participant characteristics, published vs. non-published, study design, or methodological issues No reporting of reliability estimates for coding


Major Criticisms – Data Analysis: Major Criticisms – Data Analysis Used Schmidt andamp; Hunter approach Used r statistic - calculated a sample size weighted mean correlation for the five factors with each of the leadership dimensions Corrected for predictor and criterion Reliability If missing personality, used prior research or manuals For leadership, estimated reliability via multiple raters of leadership Variability Reported 80% credibility intervals Reported 95% confidence intervals Multiple Regressions Looked at composite personality and how it predicts 6 dimensions of leadership and overall transformational leadership No graphical representation of effect sizes


Overall Conclusions/Limitations: Overall Conclusions/Limitations Weak results – Big Five accounted for 12% of variability in charisma, 5% for intellectual stimulation, and 6% for individualized consideration Extraversion and neuroticism related to transformational leadership Personality more strongly related to transformational versus transactional Inclusion of studies not explicitly measuring five factors Post hoc revealed similar findings Big Five may be too broad – look at facet level and other personality variables


More limitations and recommendations…: More limitations and recommendations… For larger k, look at BOTH field and lab studies Conduct moderator analyses Study type Organizational structure (flat vs. hierarchical) Job type (white vs. blue collar)