LEADERSHIP REPORT

The Role of Personality in Leadership: Five Factor Personality

Traits and Ethical Leadership

23, 2020
PREPARED BY: MUHAMMD ASIF
CLASS: MBA 5B
SUBMITED TO: SIR ESSA KHAN
 The Role of Personality in Leadership: Five
Factor Personality Traits and
Ethical Leadership

INTRODUCTION:
Much has been said about ethics and leadership, Effective leadership, ethical leadership, and
leadership emergence have been extensively researched, but there remains a lack of research on
the relationship between the big 5 personality traits and ethical leadership. Therefore, this study
aims to analyze the link between five factor personality traits and ethical leadership. In addition,
this research asked if there was a relationship between the big 5 model and authentic leadership,
and which combination of the 5 personality traits best predict ethical leadership.

FIVE FACTOR PERSONALITY TRAIT AND ETHICAL

LEADERSHIP:
There are some terms that are used in the topic of our study these are personality, leadership and
ethical leadership, first we need to know about these terms,

 What is leadership?

Leader is a person who can influence others and who has managerial authority. A person may
assume a leadership role simply because of his/her position or he/ she can emerge from within a
group.

Leadership is a process whereby an individual influence a group of individuals to achieve a

common goal.

Defining leadership as a process means that it is not a trait or characteristic that resides in the
leader, but rather a transactional event that occurs between the leader and the followers. Process
implies that a leader affects and is affected by followers. It emphasizes that leadership is not a
linear, one-way event, but rather an interactive event.

Components of leadership,

(a) Leadership is a process,

(b) leadership involves influence,

(c) leadership occurs in groups, and

(d) leadership involves common goals.

Leadership involves influence. It is concerned with how the leader affects followers. Influence is
the sine qua non of leadership. Without influence, leadership does not exist.

Leadership occurs in groups. Groups are the context in which leadership takes place.
Leadership involves influencing a group of individuals who have a common purpose. This can
be a small task group, a community group, or a large group encompassing an entire organization.

Leadership includes attention to common goals. Leaders direct their energies toward individuals
who are trying to achieve something together. By common, we mean that the leaders and
followers have a mutual purpose.

Throughout this text, the people who engage in leadership will be called leaders, and those
toward whom leadership is directed will be called followers. Both leaders and followers are
involved together in the leadership process. Leaders need followers, and followers need leaders
(Burns, 1978; Heller & Van Til, 1983; Hollander, 1992; Jago, 1982).

Our concept of good leadership includes both leadership and management as expressed above.

Management is doing things right;

leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker

 The Purpose of Leadership:

Obviously, leadership needs to be more than simply working with others to get a job done. If that
were the only purpose, we would have to say that many people who have senior roles in the Mafi
a, drug cartels, and terrorist organizations are good leaders. Certainly, many of them have good
track records of getting the job done. But in getting the job done, they disrespect people, they
deceive people, they hurt people, they break the law, and they generally work in a dictatorial
manner. Likewise, history has shown us time and time again that someone can rise to become the
leader of a country, be successful at staying the leader for some time, and be referred to as a
leader, but that does not mean they have any significant admirable leadership characteristics.
They can lead by positioning themselves as powerful bullies. In short, they can be successful in
getting a job done without having genuine leadership skills.
  What is at the Core of a Good Leader?

Whether we have given it much thought or not, each of us is guided by a world view, belief
system, or code of values that influences our decisions, how we meet our needs, and how we
interact with others. Researchers have observed that the most effective leaders are guided by
a strong set of principles, ethics, and a moral framework that enables them to function with
integrity, transparency, honesty, compassion and consistency. In fact, this inner core of ethics
and integrity is an essential component of being seen as an authentic leader—one whose
inner values visibly align with their behavior in a way that inspires trust and confidence and
commands respect. Th ese leaders walk the talk. This is especially important in times of crisis,
when maintaining the public trust is vital. However, trust and respect are most often earned
in the hard grind of daily operations when a leader shows consistency, good judgment, and
principled character day to day.

The older I get, the more I understand that

leadership is all about one word: Trust. If you
have the trust of your colleagues and the people
you are leading, then and only then, can you
accomplish great things. But trust needs to be
earned each and every day. In my experience,
you build that trust in three simple ways: first,
listen carefully; second, do the little things right;
and finally, do what you say you will do.
Glen Clark

 Behaviors Associated with Good Leadership:

 Behavior #1: Foster Genuine Collaboration

 Behavior #2: Demonstrate a Genuine Concern for the Well-being and Success of
Colleagues and Associates
 Behavior #3: Invest in People, Ensuring They are Supported
and Developed
 Behavior #4: Demonstrate a Commitment to Getting Results
 Behavior #5: Have Vision
 Behavior #6: Encourage Innovation
 Behavior #7: Lead with Courage
  What is ethical leadership?

The word ethics has its roots in the Greek word ethos, which translates to customs, conduct, or
character. Ethics is concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society
finds desirable or appropriate. Furthermore, ethics is concerned with the virtuousness of
individuals and their motives.

Ethical leadership is leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and
for the dignity and rights of others. It is thus related to concepts such as trust, honesty,
consideration, charisma, and fairness.

According to Brown and Trevino (2005) ethical leadership consists of two important dimensions
including moral person dimension and moral manager dimension. The first is about possessing
personal traits and characteristics such as honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness whereas the
second indicates a manager who proactively seeks to influence followers’ ethical conduct.

Ethics should be ingrained in each and

every pore of organizational life.
Mihelič, et al.

 How Does a Good Leader Create an Ethical, Values-based Work

Culture?

It is not enough for a leader to be personally principled and ethical; good leaders establish
a principled, ethical workplace with a code of conduct and a system of moral principles and
values that are implemented across the organization. Th is enables them to lead with a moral
compass. It is the ability to transform, direct, and guide culture that is the essential element to
ensuring the organization continues to function within its ethical guidelines.

Part of creating an ethical, values-based culture begins with the leader’s own moral compass,
defined as “a set of moral principles, informed by a sound conscience, reinforced by
repeatedly acting in accord with those principles.” Moral leaders are people who:

“live by a deep moral code which has been slowly nurtured over a lifetime,
and consistently demonstrate moral leadership by the way they navigate the
challenges life throws at them. Such a code of moral behaviour is guided by
a cultivated conscience which is aligned with timeless human values, rather
than a set of social codes of ‘moral’ conduct as articulated by a particular faith
group or culture.”
However, moral relativism has made it difficult to articulate and define these timeless human
values, being more concerned about the rights of the individual, and the subjective and
individualized sense of what is right and what is not. Leaders with a strong moral compass will
not only do the right thing, but they will also call others to moral action. Good leaders aspire to
uphold high principles and values, and guide others around them to upholding those values as
well.

 The Aspirations of an Ethical Leader:

Th e aspirations of good leaders link closely with their values and express themselves in their
goals and in their choices. Aspirations relate to what we hope to achieve as a leader, what we
personally aim or strive for. This is not about organizational development—these are personal
aspirations we carry with us no matter what job we are doing. Our aspirations give us personal
goals to keep striving for, to focus our professional growth and development.
Few basic aspirations off good leaders are,
 Aspirations #1: Strives for Collaborative interest-based win-win outcomes
 Aspirations #2: Inspirational, motivating, affirming
 Aspirations #3: Strives for excellence
 Aspirations #4: To be Optimistic and Positive
 Aspirations #5: Thoughtfully skeptical
 Aspirations #6: Dedicated

 What is personality?
It is the Sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others. It is most often
described in terms of measurable traits that a person exhibits. Personality traits are the enduring
characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior. Three Ingredients of Personality are,

 Hereditary
 Environment
 Situation

 Hereditary: Traits that individual gets from parents/ family (molecular structure of genes)
e.g. physical structure, facial attractiveness, temperament, energy level, muscle
composition etc.
 Environment: Environmental factors that have influence on personality include culture,
values, norms, early conditioning etc.
 Situation: Personality does change with different situations; different aspects of one’s
personality are affected by it (picnic, mosque, work).
  Five factor personality traits:
Also called “Big Five Model”, All personality traits have been included in these five types:

 Neuroticism
 Extraversion
 Openness
 Agreeableness
 Consciousness

Neuroticism: The tendency to be depressed, anxious, insecure, vulnerable, and hostile.

Extraversion: The tendency to be sociable and assertive and to have positive energy.

Openness: The tendency to be informed, creative, insightful, and curious.

Agreeableness: The tendency to be accepting, conforming, trusting, and nurturing.

Consciousness: The tendency to be thorough, organized, controlled, dependable, and decisive.

CRITICAL ANALAYSIS:

 PROS AND CONS OF LITERATURE REVIEW:

Two scholars also observed that military leaders with a high negative neuroticism effects are
considered as indifferent and not adorable leaders by their supporters. Two experts also
suggested that a person with neuroticism is less likely to be perceived as an ethical leader
because such people tend to be antagonistic to others. In addition, neuroticism is only weak in
relation to ethical leadership. In this way, it is logical that leaders who have more neurotic
behavior is likely to be at a lower level in ethical leadership. People with neuroticism are less
recognized as role models, and role modeling is an important part of how ethical leaders affect
employees. Neurotic nervous people are anxious, unstable, distressed and irritable. In general,
people with neurological disorder are less considered as leaders.

Agreeableness was the other most important predictor of ethical leadership. As expected,
agreeableness was positively correlated with ethical leadership. Agreeableness shows kindness
desires, decency, dignity, honesty, altruism, and intimateness. Leaders with agreeableness
maintain a high level of social relationships. Two researchers reported that among predictors
of different personalities, agreeableness has the greatest impact on the various dimensions of
transformational leadership.

conscientiousness is among one of the most commonly studied traits in work psychology that
indicates an individual who is dependable, responsible, dutiful, self-disciplined and well
organized. Conscientious individuals experience a high degree of moral obligation; they value
truth and honesty and maintain a high regard for duties and responsibilities. These properties are
significant for leaders to be perceived as ethical. Also, conscientious leaders are dependable,
behave consistently, goal and detail oriented and therefore they may be more likely to
communicate clear principles and standards for ethical behavior to their subordinates.

As expected, openness and extroversion did not have a significant relationship with ethical
leadership. And the relationship between the two components was not meaningful in relation to
ethical leadership. Experts do not suggest the relationship between ethical leadership and
openness or extraversion, because they regard these personality traits as more relevant to the
charismatic notion which is not part of the structure of ethical leadership. They believe that a
leader can be highly extrovert or have a high degree of openness, but these are completely
separate from ethical considerations. Our results partly confirm this proposition, because the
findings show that there is no relationship between extraversion and ethical leadership. On the
other hand, the results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between openness
and ethical leadership. This is acceptable because, in order to develop themselves and their
organizations morally, leaders must be open to changes, they must create new structures and
procedures that change immoral habits. They should respect new ideas and evaluate them
equally no matter where they come from.

CONCLUSION:
As a result of the research implemented in order to determine the relationships among five basic
dimensions named as neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experiences, agreeableness and
conscientiousness and ethical leadership is investigated. The results of the analysis based on the
data of this study showed that neuroticism has a negative effect on ethical leadership and
conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and extraversion have a positive relationship with
ethical leadership.
Like every study, this study has some limitations. First, the link between five factor personality
traits and ethical leadership is measured with evaluations from students. For that reason, future
studies could replicate our findings using multiple sources of data such as leaders’ self-
assessment of their own ethical leadership and peer ratings could be considered. Second, we
determined the effect of five factor personality traits on ethical leadership but future studies
could explore other personal characteristics which may have an effect ethical leadership, as well
as other mediating and moderating variables, to clarify the relationship between ethical
leadership and personality traits. We also hope the present findings will stimulate further
investigations about the antecedents of ethical leadership.
REFERENCES:
 The Role of Personality in Leadership: Five Factor Personality Traits and Ethical
Leadership Gönül Kaya Özbağ􀀍 Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, 41500, Turkey
 Lim BC, Ployhart RE (2004). Transformational leadership: Relations to the five-factor
model and team performance in typical and maximum contexts. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 89: 610–621.
 Judge TA, Bono JE (2000). Five-factor model of personality and transformational
leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85: 751–765
 International Journal of Ethics & Society (IJES) Journal homepage: www.ijethics.com
Vol. 1, No. 3 (2019)
 Leadership Theory and practice (sixth Edition) Peter G. Northouse Western Michigan
University.
 The Essentials of Leadership in Government: Understanding the Basics By Darryl Plecas,
Colette Squires, Len Garis.