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Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership
1Department of Management and Organizations, Henry B. Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA. tim-judge@uiowa.edu
Extraversion and Agreeableness positively predict transformational leadership, a key leadership style. Other personality traits from the Big 5 model showed no significant link to this leadership behavior.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Transformational leadership is a critical leadership style for organizational success.
- The 5-factor model of personality (the Big 5) provides a robust framework for understanding individual differences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the Big 5 personality traits and transformational leadership behavior.
- To determine which specific Big 5 traits predict transformational leadership.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of 14 independent samples.
- Data collected from over 200 organizations.
- Statistical analysis to assess predictive relationships between personality traits and leadership behaviors.
Main Results:
- Extraversion and Agreeableness were significant positive predictors of transformational leadership.
- Openness to Experience showed an initial positive correlation, but this effect diminished when controlling for other traits.
- Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were not significantly related to transformational leadership.
Conclusions:
- Extraversion and Agreeableness are key personality components associated with transformational leadership.
- General Big 5 traits are stronger predictors of transformational leadership than specific facets.
- Transformational leadership behavior is linked to leader effectiveness, independent of transactional leadership.
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