IDENTIFYING

PERSONALITY TRAITS OF
CORPORATE EXECUTIVES
BASED ON STUDY OF PERSONALITY TRAITS AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
IDENTIFYING PERSONALITY TRAITS OF CORPORATE
EXECUTIVES
BASED ON STUDY OF PERSONALITY TRAITS AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Submitted to
Dr. Parveen Huque
Supernumerary Professor
Department of Clinical Psychology
University of Dhaka

Submitted by
Farhan Uddin Ahmed (ZR-10)
Rafsaan Muhab Shams (ZR-14)
Samaeen Haider Chowdhury (ZR-40)
Afrida Zaman (RH-92)
Kazi Md. Zulkarnain (ZR-114)
Section: B
BBA-26
Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: October 20,2019

 Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka
Dhaka – 1000

October 20, 2019

Dr. Parveen Huque

Supernumerary Professor
Department of Clinical Psychology
University of Dhaka

Dear Madam:

Subject: Submission of report titled “IDENTIFYING PERSONALITY TRAITS OF

CORPORATE EXECUTIVES”

Here is the report titled “IDENTIFYING PERSONALITY TRAITS OF CORPORATE

EXECUTIVES” as instructed by you for the partial fulfillment of credit for the course “Z101:
Psychology”.

We would like to thank you, our esteemed faculty, in giving us the privilege and scope of writing
this report. This has been a great learning experience for us, which will help us in the corporate
world. We sincerely hope that we were able to fulfill the course requirements effectively through
the submission of this report. We hope that you will accept our report and that it will reach your
level of expectations.

Please note that this report has been prepared under your supervision. Under no
circumstances will this report be shared or republished without your authorization.

Sincerely,

Farhan Uddin Ahmed (ZR-10) Samaeen Haider Chowdhury (ZR-40)

Rafsaan Muhab Shams (ZR-14) Afrida Zaman (RH-92)

Kazi Md. Zulkarnain (ZR-114

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 Table of Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iii
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Objective .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 1
2 Literature Review.................................................................................................................... 2
2.1 The first trait approach era ............................................................................................... 2
2.2 The second trait approach era........................................................................................... 2
2.3 Other traits and approaches .............................................................................................. 3
3 Findings................................................................................................................................... 4
3.1 Personality ........................................................................................................................ 4
3.1.1 Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) ................................................... 4
3.1.2 Big Five Model ......................................................................................................... 5
3.1.3 Machiavellianism ...................................................................................................... 5
3.1.4 Self-monitoring ......................................................................................................... 6
3.1.5 Proactive Personality ................................................................................................ 6
3.1.6 Emotional Intelligence .............................................................................................. 7
3.2 Leadership Characteristics ............................................................................................... 7
3.2.1 Characteristics of a leader ......................................................................................... 7
3.2.2 Characteristics of an effective executive .................................................................. 8
3.2.3 Activities of a leader ............................................................................................... 10
4 Analysis................................................................................................................................. 10
4.1 The Big Five Model ....................................................................................................... 10
4.2 Myer-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) .......................................................... 11
4.3 Other personality traits found in corporate executives................................................... 12
4.3.1 Proactive Personality .............................................................................................. 12
4.3.2 Emotional Intelligence ............................................................................................ 12
4.3.3 Machiavellianism .................................................................................................... 12
4.3.4 Self-Monitoring....................................................................................................... 12
5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 13
References ..................................................................................................................................... 14

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 Executive Summary

Personality traits have always been an important area of research in determining leadership.
However, most of the research had only concentrated on a singular trait or a limited number of
traits. This report takes a holistic view and identifies personality traits that define business leaders
and corporate executives.

The first trait theory era shifted from believing that only certain people can be leaders to people
with certain traits can be leaders. Most of the studies later focused on behavioral and cognitive
approaches. The second trait theory era emerged in the 90s after studies found there were
associations between leadership and traits. Apart from this two eras, leadership traits such as
assertiveness and emotional intelligence were also studied.

Psychology and organizational behavior studies have identified several personality traits relevant
for the corporate life. This includes the MBTI model, the Big Five Model, Self-efficacy, self-
monitoring and emotional intelligence. Studies on leadership have found various characteristics
and authors have developed models based on business leadership.

Relating the personality traits and leadership activities, it is seen that business leaders have varying
amount of traits depending on their personal qualities and the activities they do. The reports
discussion shows the different types of traits found among corporate executives. The discussion
found emotional intelligence, self-monitoring, extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to
experience the most desirable traits in a corporate executive.

More studies can be done to corroborate this research and find relationships quantitatively. This
report can be used by business firms and top management especially human resource management,
to effectively hire management employees who can be future business leaders.

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 1 Introduction
The long-term success of a company depends on selecting the best senior managers and developing
their fullest potential (Pratch & Levinson, 2002). The search for personality, social, physical, or
intellectual attributes that differentiate leaders from nonleaders thus goes back to the earliest stage
of leadership research. Therefore, throughout history, strong leaders- Buddha, Napoleon, Mao,
Churchill, Roosevelt, Reagan- have been described in terms of their traits (Robbins et. al, 2013).

In the past, much research has focused on various traits that define leaders in both business and
non-business settings. From the trait approaches in Victorian times to the present era, many traits
have been found that are highly positively correlated to leadership performance. However, most
previous studies have concentrated on only one trait and linked it to leadership effectiveness or
performance.

This report will take a holistic approach and identify multiple traits that can be linked to leadership
quality of corporate executives. At first, the report will look at existing literature on trait theories
and approaches. Second, it will identify personality traits studied in the field of industrial
psychology and organizational behavior. Third, it will identify qualities of leaders and executives
in the corporate world. Finally, the report will link traits to corporate executive performance and
effectiveness. In this way, the report will try to identify traits that define corporate leadership by
executives.

1.1 Objective
The aim of this report is to identify traits that define corporate executives. In order to achieve the
aim, the following objectives have been set out:
● Identify and explain traits relevant to the corporate workplace
● Identify characteristics that define business leaders and corporate executives
● Relate the characteristics of executives to the traits identified
● List out personality traits that define corporate leadership

1.2 Methodology
The report takes a qualitative approach to the study and uses secondary research to come to
achieving its aim. Journal articles and essay publications contributing to the study of personality
traits, personality traits of leaders especially corporate leaders were for this study. Identifying traits
and leadership characteristics from these samples, we come to our identification.

Personality is the pattern of enduring, distinctive characteristics that produce consistency and
individuality in a given person. On the other hand, traits are consistent, habitual personality
characteristics that are displayed across different situations (Feldman, 2017).

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 2 Literature Review
The following literature review presents some previous work done on the field of identifying
personality traits of corporate executives, the methods and approaches taken to come to such
identifications and their results.

2.1 The first trait approach era

Under the trait approach, theorists tried to find personality traits that differentiate leaders from
non-leaders (Robbins et. al, 2013). It began with the “Great Man Hypothesis” of Victorian
historian Thomas Carlyle. According to the Great Man Hypothesis, leaders had certain traits and
such traits were found only in some “great men.” Although trait approach theorists believe there
are certain traits that predict leadership in a person, they do not believe such traits are confided to
some certain people as Carlyle believed (Judge et. al, 2002).

One of the study using trait approach was Geier (1967).He tried to understand the personality traits
of leaders in small groups using the trait theory. Unlike previous trait theorists, Geier took a
different approach. Whereas previous trait theorists would try to find qualities that predicted
leadership traits, Geier tried to find traits that would predict the absence of leadership qualities in
a person. According to Geier, the previous approaches were faulty as there were very few
similarities in the traits found in those studies. Geier undertook his study using 80 students of a
US college and determined what the observers thought qualities that showed the person lacked
leadership skills. The negative traits the author found were rigidness, being uninformed, lack of
participation, lack of adaptiveness etc.

The trait approach to personality faded away later as the study of psychology shifted to the study
of behavior and later cognition (Pratch & Levinson, 2002).

2.2 The second trait approach era

However, the trait approach came back to dominance in the 1980s. Study by Lord et. al (1986)
showed that contrary to previous approaches, trait theories in fact do explain leadership qualities
and can predict them in individuals. Similar such studies made the trait approach reenter the field
of psychology.

Kirkpatick & Locke (1991) wanted to find out whether the personality traits of business leaders
actually matter in organizational performance. Their study found that evidence existed that the
following traits were important in a business leader for success- drive, leadership motivation,
honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business. They also
found less evidence for the following traits- charisma, creativity and flexibility. However, the
authors cautioned that all these traits are just predictors for effective business leaders- some works
need to be done in order to actualize organizational success. The authors concluded that anyone
can become a leader if they hone on the traits that are evident for organizational success
effectiveness.

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Judge et. al (2002) used the Big Five Model in order to find correlation between personality traits
and leadership qualities. The authors first highlighted previous works done on personality traits in
leaders and found that only traits (i.e. self-confidence) was common in all the works. The authors
found that extraversion was highly positively correlated with leadership performance followed by
conscientiousness and openness to experience.On the other hand, neuroticism was negatively
correlated and agreeableness had low correlation. However, the authors study found that such
correlation were more found among student groups rather than in a business, government or
military setting.

2.3 Other traits and approaches

After the trait theory approach re-entered the field of psychology, several academics started
working on other traits that can be linked to leadership effectiveness.

Ames & Flynn (2007) conducted three studies and used a mixed approach in order to find the
effect of assertiveness on leadership efficacy. Their study found a curvilinear relationship between
assertiveness and leadership efficacy. A moderate amount of assertiveness was desirable- neither
too much nor too little. The authors found that there was a trade off between social outcomes and
instrumental outcomes when it comes to assertiveness. Too much assertiveness can lead to
worsened social relationship. But a too low assertiveness can lead to not achieving career
outcomes.

Walter et. al (2011) studied the different articles on Emotional Intelligence (EI) and attempted to
resolve the dispute of whether it was related to leadership emergence, leadership behavior and
leadership effectiveness. The authors analyzed the results of various previous studies related to the
relation between Emotional Intelligence and leadership emergence, leadership behavior and
leadership effectiveness. By comparing the results,the authors have found that Emotional
Intelligence is associated with leadership emergence, behavior and effectiveness.

Departing from the trait theory approach, Pratch & Levinson (2002) undertook a structural
approach while understanding executive personality traits. According to the authors, a structural
approach takes a holistic approach at the personality traits by looking at the relationship between
different levels of personality, development of an individual over time, individual’s actions in
public and private life and factors affecting such traits. The authors took the case of three financial
executives of the same Fortune 500 company and used the structural approach to identify the three
subject’s personality traits. The authors concluded that traits that were positively correlated with
managerial leadership i.e. self-monitoring, internal locus of control, practical intelligence, self-
confidence etc. were found in such executives.

This report will take a holistic approach and instead of focusing only on one trait (i.e. either the
Big Five model or emotional intelligence or assertiveness etc.), it will focus on multiple traits and
find its association with corporate executive’s leadership quality.

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 3 Findings
The first section of the findings section will focus on personality traits. The second section will
focus on leadership qualities especially those of corporate executives.

3.1 Personality
The word personality itself stems from the Latin word persona, which referred to a theatrical mask
worn by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities. (Cherry,
2019)

A brief definition is that personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from within the
individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. (Cherry, 2019) Personality is the unique
combination of patterns that influence behavior, thought, motivation, and emotion in a human
being. (Introduction to Personality, n.d.)

In this subsection, different personality traits will be discussed. Most of these personality traits are
relevant to industrial psychology and organizational behavior.

3.1.1 Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-report inventory designed to
identify a person's personality type, strengths, and preferences. Based on the answers to the
questions on the inventory, people are identified as having one of the 16 personality types. The
goal of the MBTI is to allow respondents to further explore and understand their own personalities
including their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, possible career preferences, and
compatibility with other people. (Cherry, 2019)

The questionnaire itself is made up of four different scales:

1. Extraversion (E) - Introversion (I): Extraverts (also spelled extroverts) are "outward-
turning" and tend to be action-oriented, enjoy more frequent social interaction, and feel
energized after spending time with other people. Introverts are "inward-turning" and tend
to be thought-oriented, enjoy deep and meaningful social interactions, and feel recharged
after spending time alone. (Cherry, 2019)

2. Sensing (S) - Intuition (N): This scale involves looking at how people gather information
from the world around them. Just like with extraversion and introversion, all people spend
some time sensing and intuiting depending on the situation. According to the MBTI, people
tend to be dominant in one area or the other. People who prefer sensing tend to pay a great
deal of attention to reality, particularly to what they can learn from their own senses. They
tend to focus on facts and details and enjoy getting hands-on experience. Those who prefer
intuition pay more attention to things like patterns and impressions. They enjoy thinking
about possibilities, imagining the future, and abstract theories. (Cherry, 2019)

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 3. Thinking (T) - Feeling (F): This scale focuses on how people make decisions based on
the information that they gathered from their sensing or intuition functions. People who
prefer thinking place a greater emphasis on facts and objective data. They tend to be
consistent, logical, and impersonal when weighing a decision. Those to prefer feeling are
more likely to consider people and emotions when arriving at a conclusion. (Cherry, 2019)

4. Judging (J) - Perceiving (P): The final scale involves how people tend to deal with the
outside world. Those who lean toward judging prefer structure and firm decisions. People
who lean toward perceiving are more open, flexible, and adaptable. (Cherry, 2019)

3.1.2 Big Five Model

Many contemporary personality psychologists believe that there are five basic dimensions of
personality, often referred to as the "Big 5" personality traits. (Cherry, 2019)

The Big Five personality traits are:

1. Openness - People who like to learn new things and enjoy new experiences usually score
high in openness. Openness includes traits like being insightful and imaginative and having
a wide variety of interests. (Thiel, 2018)

2. Conscientiousness - People that have a high degree of conscientiousness are reliable and
prompt. Traits include being organized, methodical, and thorough. (Thiel, 2018)

3. Extraversion - Extraverts get their energy from interacting with others, while introverts
get their energy from within themselves. Extraversion includes the traits of energetic,
talkative, and assertive. (Thiel, 2018)

4. Agreeableness - These individuals are friendly, cooperative, and compassionate. People

with low agreeableness may be more distant. Traits include being kind, affectionate, and
sympathetic. (Thiel, 2018)

5. Neuroticism - Neuroticism is also sometimes called Emotional Stability. This dimension

relates to one’s emotional stability and degree of negative emotions. People that score high
on neuroticism often experience emotional instability and negative emotions. Traits
include being moody and tense. (Thiel, 2018)

3.1.3 Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism is a political theory or view which supports the use of any means necessary to
maintain political power. (MBN, 2005) Machiavellianism in psychology refers to a personality
trait which sees a person so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and
exploit others to achieve their goals. (Therapy, 2015) A Machiavellian person has a duplicitous
interpersonal style. He or she has a lack of empathy and a cynical disregard for morality. The
individual focuses on personal gain and self-interest. (MBN, 2005) Below are some personality
traits that people with Machiavellianism typically have:

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 ● Individuals are focused only on their own interests and ambition.
● They seem confident and charming.
● In order to get ahead, they will manipulate and exploit other people.
● They are typically unaware of the consequences of their actions and behaviors.
● When necessary, they will lie, cheat, and deceive.
● Power and money matters more than relationships.
● They tend to use flattery frequently.
● There is a total lack of values or principles.
● They have a cynical view of morality and goodness.
● Empathy is either deficient or totally lacking.
● To achieve their goals, they are capable of harming others or causing others harm.
● Due to their calculating nature, they can be extremely patient.
● Most people with Machiavellianism find it hard to identify their own emotions.
● Some individuals are difficult to get to know and may seem aloof. (MBN, 2005)

3.1.4 Self-monitoring
Self-monitoring, or the capacity to observe (or measure) and evaluate one's behavior, is an
important component of executive functioning in human behavior. Executive functioning is part
of cognitive processing and includes a person's ability to connect past knowledge with present
experiences in a way that allows the individual to plan, organize, strategize, pay attention to details,
and manage time. Self-monitoring allows humans to measure their behavioral outcomes against a
set of standards. (Self-Monitoring in Psychology: Definition, Theory & Examples Video, 2014)
Psychologist Dr. Mark Snyder found that self-monitoring serves the following purposes:

● To communicate an emotional state

● To communicate an emotional state that is not necessarily in line with the actual emotional
experience
● To conceal an inappropriate emotional state and either display apathy or an appropriate
emotional state
● To appear to be experiencing an appropriate emotion when the reality is apathy (Self-
Monitoring in Psychology: Definition, Theory & Examples Video, 2014)

3.1.5 Proactive Personality

Proactive Personality was defined by Bateman and Crant (1993, p.103) as “a dispositional
construct that identifies differences among people in the extent to which they take action to
influence their environments.” (Proactive Personality, n.d.)

The concept of proactive personality was developed to measure the personal disposition towards
proactive behavior. It is used to identify the differences between people’s tendency to influence
their environment. Prototypically people with proactive personality are described as being
relatively unconstrained by situational forces and have a great effect on changing the environment.
Their skills are to identify and use opportunities, to show initiative and to persist until meaningful

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changes are achieved. (Thomas S. Bateman, 1993) Proactive personality defines the likelihood
of taking personal initiative to get things done. (Brown, 2011)

The prototypic proactive employee actively identifies opportunities and demonstrates a strong
drive towards action. Rather than being passive, proactive individuals energetically develop and
implement strategies to effectively manage the environment. (Proactive Personality, n.d.)

3.1.6 Emotional Intelligence

In 1995, psychologist and science journalist Daniel Goleman published a book introducing most
of the world to the nascent concept of emotional intelligence. The idea--that an ability to
understand and manage emotions greatly increases our chances of success--quickly took off, and
it went on to greatly influence the way people think about emotions and human behavior. (Bariso,
2018)

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as
the emotions of others. Emotional intelligence is generally said to include at least three skills:
emotional awareness, or the ability to identify and name one’s own emotions; the ability to harness
those emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving; and the ability to
manage emotions, which includes both regulating one’s own emotions when necessary and helping
others to do the same (Rambhad, 2019).

3.2 Leadership Characteristics

In this second section, the report will take a look at the characteristics that define a leader and
particularly, business executives. This will be used to relate to the previous findings in the analysis
section.

3.2.1 Characteristics of a leader

Every leader has a different leadership style. Some are very extroverted in their approach and lead
from the front. Some are very analytical and subdued in their approach to leadership. But,
according to Daniel Goleman in his essay, “What makes a Leader”, all great leaders have one thing
in common which he calls “Emotional Intelligence (EI)”. What distinguishes great leaders from
the merely good ones? It isn’t IQ or technical skills, says Daniel Goleman. It’s emotional
intelligence: a group of five skills that enable the best leaders to maximize their own and their
followers’ performance. When senior managers at one company had a critical mass of EI
capabilities, their divisions outperformed yearly earnings goals by 20%.(Goleman, 1996)

There are several components of emotional intelligence. These are the core characteristics of a
leader:

1. Self-Awareness: A great leader has a clear understanding of his own strengths,

weaknesses, goals, motivation and values and the effect it has on his subordinates. These
values reflect in self-confidence, realistic self-assessment and self-deprecating humor.

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 2. Self-regulation: A leader also regulates himself and his emotions in a healthy way so that
his emotions and impulses don’t hamper his work or relations. This makes the employees
trust and be comfortable around their leader. When a team botches a presentation, its leader
resists the urge to scream. Instead, she considers possible reasons for the failure, explains
the consequences to her team, and explores solutions with them.

3. Motivation: A great leader is always motivated and also helps to boost up the morale of
the team. A great leader has a great passion for his craft and is always motivated to work
harder. Another key pattern is that they are unwavering and optimistic in the face of
failures.

4. Empathy: Empathy is the quality of leaders to take other people’s emotions into account
when making a decision. Empathy is particularly important today as a component of
leadership for at least three reasons: the increasing use of teams; the rapid pace of
globalization; and the growing need to retain talent.

A leader must understand the emotions of his subordinates to work as a team to achieve
their goals. Leaders don’t only sympathize with their employees, they use this knowledge
to make better decisions.

5. Social skills: Emotional intelligence's first three elements are self-management skills. The
last two, compassion and social abilities, have to do with the ability of an individual to
maintain relationships with others. Social ability is not as simple as it sounds as a
component of emotional intelligence. It's not just a matter of friendliness, while people
with high social skill levels are seldom mean-spirited. Social skills allow a leader to use
their friendliness with a purpose.

Social skills allow leaders to persuade people and drive people to follow them. It drives
others to gather around these personalities and follow their cause.

3.2.2 Characteristics of an effective executive

An effective executive need not be a leader in the way that the word is now more widely used. For
starters, Harry Truman did not have one ounce of charisma, but he was one of the most effective
chief executives in the history of the United States. According to Peter f. Drucker (2004) , what
effective leaders have in common is that they get the right things done, in the right ways—by
following eight simple rules:

• They ask, “What needs to be done?”

• They ask, “What is right for the enterprise?”
• They develop action plans.
• They take responsibility for decisions.
• They take responsibility for communicating.
• They are focused on opportunities rather than problems.
• They hold productive meetings.
• They think and say “we” rather than “I.”

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The first two lessons gave them the requisite knowledge. The following four helped them to turn
this awareness into meaningful practice. The last two made sure the entire company was open and
accountable.

From these questions we get to know how effective executives make decisions-

1. Getting the Knowledge Required

a. Ask what needs to be done: Effective managers gather knowledge by asking the
right questions. Asking what has to be done, and taking the question seriously, is
crucial for managerial success. Failure to ask this question will render even the
ablest executive ineffectual. They figure out what are the immediate opportunities
or problems at hand and prioritize accordingly.

b. Ask what’s right for the enterprise: An effective executive prioritizes the best
decision for the enterprise over any other stakeholder. Because the best decision for
the enterprise will benefit all stakeholders.

2. Converting Knowledge into Action

a. Developing Action plans: Effective leaders have clear plans that specify what
needs to be done, constraints, milestones, risks and mitigations. They also
constantly check the plan to rectify mistakes or find new opportunities.

b. Taking responsibility for decisions: Ensure that it is clear to everyone involved

with decisions who is responsible for doing it, when it needs to be done, who will
be influenced by it, and who needs to be told. Review decisions on a regular basis,
in particular hires and promotions. It helps them to correct incorrect decisions
before they do any real damage.

c. Taking responsibility for communicating: Asking for feedback on decisions

from superiors and subordinates is common in leaders. Talk to people and
communicate their plan clearly.

d. Focus on opportunities, not problems: Successful executives exploit

opportunities instead of trying to solve problems. They identify changes inside and
outside their organization asking “How can we exploit this change to benefit our
enterprise?” Then match their best people with best ventures.

3. Ensure Company Wide Accountability

a. Think and say “We,” not “I”: Great executives seldom focus on themselves.
Their goal is always to serve the enterprise. They think to work as a team and they
show it in their decision making.

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3.2.3 Activities of a leader
In the course of leading a change, a leader faces several key responsibilities and may have to use
his or her authority differently depending on the type of work situation. Heifetz & Laurie (1997)
exclaim that leader has to perform adaptive responsibilities in different situations.

1. Direction: A leader needs to find the adaptive challenge or the question of importance and
frame key issues.

2. Protection: The employees need to adapt and feel pressure to face new challenges, evolve
and help the enterprise. But, employees can only feel that much pressure, the leaders need
to protect their employees from overworking but also keep them on their toes.

3. Orientation: Leaders must clarify the current roles and responsibilities of every position
in the organization.

4. Managing Conflict: A leader has to have the emotional capacity to tolerate uncertainty,
frustration, and pain. He has to be able to raise tough questions without getting too anxious
himself. Employees as well as colleagues and customers will carefully observe verbal and
nonverbal cues to a leader’s ability to hold steady.

5. Shaping norms: A leader must develop the organizational culture. They challenge
unproductive and toxic norms in the culture and bring a tide of change in the face of
challenges.

4 Analysis
Based on the personality traits (or models) that have been identified above, the report will now
look into which exact traits help executives to better perform better. It should be mentioned that
this analysis is generalized, and exceptions can be found under various criteria due to individual
differences.
4.1 The Big Five Model
According to the Big Five Model, the characteristics that are evident in a corporate executive are:

1. Openness: Openness is typically considered to be a positive trait for executives since it

can allow them to entertain a wide variety of ideas and also help to ensure myopia does not
become a part of the corporation’s decision-making.

2. Conscientiousness: High conscientiousness allows executives to ensure required steps are

being followed and compliance is ensured in business activities, Furthermore, because this
trait makes others seems more

3. Extraversion: Highly extravert executives typically do well in leadership positions or

positions that involve a lot of human interactions. However, introverts can also function in
certain roles.

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 4. Agreeableness: A middle ground is necessary for agreeableness in corporate executives.
Agreeableness needs to be high enough for the executives to compromise in decision
making conflicts. However, the agreeableness should not be too high since it will preach a
culture of group-shift where executives agree with decisions even when it may not be the
best approach for the organization at that particular stage.

5. Neuroticism: Low neuroticism is typically desirable to ensure executives can function

properly through strenuous business situations and scenarios. It is also important to keep
negative emotions in check in work life.

4.2 Myer-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI)

Based on the Myer-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI), the following are the personality
traits of a corporate executive:

1. Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I): As discussed above under extraversion, extraverted
employees typically perform corporate roles better. However, in the case of segregated
work-functions, introverted employees can also perform well.

2. Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N): In most corporate roles, sensing executives are preferred
since they are more likely to take better decisions based on objective information.
However, in the case of creative roles or roles which involve future planning for the
organization, intuitive executives can be more useful since they are better at processing
abstract ideas.

3. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F): Executives who lean towards thinking are typically good
for roles that require objective decision-making. On the other hand, executives leaning
towards feeling are more likely to succeed in roles that involve people (like executives
working in the human resource department).

4. Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P): In structured organizations (or ones that have taller
organizational structures), judging executives perform better. On the contrary, in case of
organizations which are less structured, flexible and flatter, perceiving executives perform
better since they are better at changing according to situations. This is also true for
corporations in fast-changing industries (like the technology industry). The organizational
structure plays an important role in determining which of these two

It is clear that there is no perfect combination based on MBTI traits. In this case, it is important to
identify which roles require which corresponding combination of traits and then pick executives
accordingly.

For example, an ENFP executive may be suitable for creative and artistic roles (like Content
Manager or Brand Strategist) whereas an ISTJ may be more suited to a quantitative corporate role
(like financial analyst). .

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4.3 Other personality traits found in corporate executives
Other than the Big Five Model and the MBTI, other personality traits that a corporate can have
are:

4.3.1 Proactive Personality

Corporate executives should be highly proactive. This allows them to monitor ever-changing
business scenarios and take actions accordingly at the right time. This can help to get better results
in certain business functions. Furthermore, a proactive personality will also be more likely to adapt
to changes better.

For example, a proactive personality will be able to track market changes (like economic
recessions) and then take actions accordingly (like change pricing strategy).

4.3.2 Emotional Intelligence

Since executives need typically work in teams with a wide variety of people and also face various
pressure-situations on a regular basis, it is important for them to have high emotional intelligence.

4.3.3 Machiavellianism
This trait is useful only in certain situations for corporate executives. This can be a desirable trait
for executives who generally work in isolation (with comparatively low level of human
interactions). Furthermore, machiavellian characters should not be put into ethically or morally
grey situations since there is a chance they might abuse it.

For example, a data analyst at a corporation whose principal job is simply to work with data and
derive insights can be machiavellian. However, a sales manager who has to regularly interact with
a large number of sales representatives should not be machiavellian.

4.3.4 Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring is also important because of the team-structure of most corporate organizations.
It indirectly helps perform functions more effectively by complimenting other personality
characteristics discussed above. It also helps to keep an eye on individual goals.

For example, high self-monitoring executives can:

1. Work according to their respective Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other
performance standards set by the organization
2. Ensure proper team-dynamics by observing and adjusting behaviour accordingly
3. Keep proper track of work-activities and duties based on time schedule

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 5 Conclusion
Using different personality traits, the report has been able to identify characteristics that define
leadership for corporate executives. Instead of focusing on one trait, the inclusion of multiple traits
show how diverse the characteristics of an executive can be. This report confirms all the previous
studies and have found emotional intelligence, self-monitoring, extraversion, conscientiousness
and openness to experience the most desirable traits in a corporate executive.

This study is not without its limitations. Although a multiple number of traits have been used, there
are traits that have not been included in this study (e.g. self-efficacy, practical intelligence,
adaptability etc.) Further studies can be done to include these traits and make a more
comprehensive study. Moreover, a qualitative approach has been taken in this study. As a result,
this study cannot show the correlation between the traits mentioned in this study and corporate
leadership. Finally, the study have not conducted any primary research. Conducting a primary
research can help to see if there has been a change in the perception and realities for leadership in
the corporate executive level.

This study can be used by employers to hire employees at the management level. It can also be
used by top management, particularly the human resource department, to develop traits in potential
employees in order to make them the future executives of the company.

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