Abstract
This study examined the interrelatedness of personality attributes related to lifestyle constructs as defined by Adler (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956), personality constructs for career success as defined by Hogan (1983), and transformational leadership style as defined by the Full Range of Leadership model (FRL) (Bass, 1990). Recent studies have suggested that certain personality attributes may be consistent with successful leadership ability (Bass, 1990; Hogan, Curphy, & Hogan, 1994). There is, however, a lack of research looking at personality attributes as determinants of leadership style (Lim & Ployhart, 2004). Adler (Ansbacher & Ansbacher), Hogan (1983), and Bass (1990) posited that all human movement is purposeful and that an individual moves through this world toward and with others and in a concerted effort to overcome adversity. It is hoped that by using models with common theoretical themes that at least one confounding variable will be eliminated and thereby move researchers closer to an understanding of leadership. This study consisted of 240 participants in varying levels of management. Participants were recruited from Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programs and Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) programs as well as a Professional Masters in Business Administration (PMBA) program and a Global Masters in Business Administration program (GMBA) in several local universities and colleges located in and near a major metropolitan area of the southeastern region of the United States. Measurements include the Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success – Adult Form (BASIS-A), the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), and the Multi-Leader Questionnaire-Short Form (MLQ-5X) as well as a demographic questionnaire. A discriminant analysis identified the Softness scale from the BASIS-A as a classifying discriminator between those participants who self-reported a transformational style of leadership and those who did not. Several stepwise multiple regression analyses resulted in findings suggesting that the Striving for Perfection and Wanting Recognition scales from the BASIS-A as well as the Ambition scale from the HPI were predictive of those who scored as exhibiting a transformational leadership style. The findings in this study suggest the importance of identifying personality traits and their dynamic interactions in relation to leadership style for future recruiting, hiring, selection, and training of organizational leaders as well as the development of educational programs with a focus on personality traits. The consistent and significant relationships between the BASIS-A scales and the Ambition scale of the HPI with the transformational leadership scales suggest that consideration of personality traits as an indicator and predictor of leadership style should continue to be stressed and explored.
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