Does leader personality predict abusive supervision?

As the negative consequences of abusive supervision become increasingly evident, the investigation of its antecedents is an important topic. Our review shows that leader personality as a predictor of abusive supervision has mainly been studied using the Dark Triad traits. The Big Five and HEXACO personality frameworks have been used to a lesser extent. Taken together, Agreeableness, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, and Narcissism are most convincingly related to abusive supervision. Additionally, Narcissism split into its facets clarifies some of the previously mixed results. Finally, we also identify several areas for future research. Notably, we recommend investigating facet-level personality dimensions and profiles and changes in personality. More recent research has shown that leader personality interacts with context and follower behavior in predicting leader rated abusive supervision (intentions). Finally, research could benefit from a triangulation of different methods, including self- and other-ratings of personality and observational data.