Transcript We propose 3 domains of leadership

Personality and Leadership
Jon Cowell
Director, Edgecumbe Consulting Group and
Associate Fellow, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
What is leadership?
Leadership is….
… creating the conditions for individuals, teams and
organisations to succeed.
Pendleton and Furnham, 2012, Leadership: all you need to know
2
Leadership – who you are or what you do?
Leader Traits:
Leadership
Behaviours:
Intelligence
Emotional Stability
Extraversion
Openness to Experience
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Task oriented
Relationship oriented
Change oriented
(Passive leadership)
Leadership
Effectiveness:
Leader effectiveness
Group performance
Follower job satisfaction
Satisfaction with leader
Derue, Nahrgang, Wellman and Humphrey, (2011), Trait
and Behavioral Theories of Leadership: Their Relative
Validities, Personnel Psychology
They found…
• Leader traits and behaviours together explain 58%
of observed variance in leader effectiveness (of
which 25% direct trait effects, 75% behaviours)
• Leader traits and behaviours explain 31% of
observed variance in group performance (of which
38% traits, 62% behaviours)
• Leader traits and behaviours explain 56% of
observed variance in follower job satisfaction (of
which 6% traits, 94% behaviours)
• Leader traits and behaviours explain 92% of
observed variance in follower satisfaction with the
leader (of which 15% traits, 85% behaviours)
Derue, Nahrgang, Wellman and Humphrey, (2011), Trait
and Behavioral Theories of Leadership: Their Relative
Validities, Personnel Psychology
Leadership: what must leaders
do?
The Primary Colours® Model of Leadership
STRATEGIC DOMAIN
…and Coping with Pressure
Setting strategic
direction
Planning and
organising
Creating
alignment
Leading
Delivering
results
Team
working
Building and
sustaining
relationships
INTERPERSONAL
DOMAIN
OPERATIONAL
DOMAIN
© Edgecumbe Consulting Group
The Primary Colours ® Model of Leadership
Creating the future
Strategic
Setting strategic
direction
Planning and
organising
Focus on
task
Focus on
relationships
Leading
Delivering
results
Operational
Creating
alignment
Building and
sustaining
relationships
Team
working
Interpersonal
Delivering today
© Edgecumbe Consulting Group
The Primary Colours ® Model of Leadership
Strategic
Setting strategic
direction
Planning and
organising
Creating
alignment
Leading
Delivering
results
Operational
Team
working
Building and
sustaining
relationships
Interpersonal
© Edgecumbe Consulting Group
Incomplete individuals, complete teams…
• It’s hard to be world class in all areas
• There are sound psychological reasons
why this may be so and empirical
evidence to support it
Summarising data from many years and
thousands of leaders…
“While the best leaders are not wellrounded, the best teams are.”
“Effective leaders surround themselves with
the right people and build on each person’s
strengths.”
Rath & Conchie, Strengths Based Leadership, Gallup (2008)
Four clusters of leadership behaviour
•
•
•
•
Strategic leadership is defined as positioning the organization or unit or team to be
competitive in the future, and includes setting direction, expanding capability, and
supporting innovation.
Operational leadership is defined as focusing the organization on the tactical details
needed to implement near-term plans; it includes execution, focusing resources, and
using process discipline to move projects along in an orderly fashion.
Forceful leadership is defined as assuming authority and using personal and position
power to drive performance; it includes taking charge, decisiveness, and pushing for
results.
Enabling leadership is defined as creating conditions for others to contribute; it
includes empowerment, participation, and supporting people.
Forceful and Enabling leader behaviors are social in nature and represent how one leads,
or one’s leadership style… Strategic and Operational leader behaviors are functional in
nature and represent what one leads, or the organizational issues on which a leader
focuses (Kaiser, Lindberg,& Craig, 2007; Kaiser & Overfield, 2010).
Kaiser, R. and Hogan, J (2011) Personality, Leader Behavior
and Overdoing it, Journal of Consulting Psychology, p.222
And we are starting to understand the
linkages between leader personality
and behaviour more clearly…
• Personality explains 26% of the variance in Forceful leadership
behaviours (Adjustment +, Extraversion + and Agreeableness -)
• Personality explains 28% of the variance in Enabling leadership
behaviours (Adjustment -, Extraversion -, Conscientiousness - and
Agreeableness +)
• Personality explains 30% of the variance in Operational leadership
behaviours (Openness -, and Conscientiousness +)
• Personality explains 19% of the variance in Strategic leadership
behaviours (Openness +, and Conscientiousness -)
Kaiser, R. and Hogan, J (2011) Personality, Leader Behavior
and Overdoing it, Journal of Consulting Psychology
Less like a heptathlete…
•
Javelin
•
Shot
•
800 metres
•
200 metres
•
High jump
•
Long jump
•
Hurdles
More like a conductor