A Dissertation Presentation

Leadership and Commitment: The Relationship Between Leaders Personality Traits and Organizational Commitment

Matt T. Argano

Abstract
Is there a relationship between leaders personality traits and organizational commitment among their associates? Five Apparel and/or Consumer Packaged Goods organizations New York and New Jersey Leaders personality traits Measured with the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) Associates organizational commitment Measured with Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ)
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 A quantitative research design tested the relationship between leaders personality traits and organizational commitment Findings: There is a significant relationship between: Specific leaders personality traits and organizational commitment in associates

Introduction
Todays leaders face complex & rapidly changing landscapes

When strong leadership is not demonstrated, teams lose, armies are defeated, economies dwindle, and nations fall.
Hogan, Gordon, Curphy, and Hogan (1994)

Talent is one of the most important resources in organizations

Personality An individual's characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with psychological mechanisms behind those patterns." (Funder, 2001)

Personality

IQ

EQ

 Organizational Commitment Employee participation in, sense of belonging to, and emotional attachment with the organization. (Meyer & Allen, 1996) Support & acceptance of the goals, objectives & values

A willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization

A desire to retain membership with the organization

Types of Commitment

Affective Commitment

Employee remains because they WANT to

Continuance Commitment Employee remains because they NEED to Normative Commitment Employee remains because they OUGHT to

Problem Statement
IF RESEARCH indicated that specific personality traits in leaders maximized levels of organizational commitment in associates Organizations would be well positioned to utilize the findings to make informed decisions concerning human capital

Purpose of the Study

To examine how leaders personality traits influenced organizational commitment among their associates Q1: Are there differences in leaders personality traits based on gender and ethnicity? Q2: What are the relationships between personality traits in leaders and organizational commitment among their associates?

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 Competitive landscape & high-quality leadership Organizational excellence: Clear vision Principled leadership Reciprocal relationships and High degrees of follower trust

When employees and followers feel genuinely respected and nurtured by their leaders Organizations are positioned for: - Greater levels of productivity - Performance - Employee commitment
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Five Factor Model of Personality

Extroversion: Sociability, assertiveness, gregarious, and social interaction Agreeableness: Good-natured, sympathy, trust, and cooperation Conscientiousness: Competence, dependable Neuroticism: Calm, self-confident, secure (positive) versus anxious, depressed, insecure, volatile (negative) Openness to Experience: Imaginative, inquisitive, sensitivity, and intellectualism
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Five Factor Model and Hogan Scale Comparison

Five Factor Model Neuroticism Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Open to Experience Hogan Taxonomy Adjustment Ambition and Sociability Interpersonal Sensitivity Prudence Inquisitive & Learning Approach
(Hogan, 1992)

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Research Design & Methodology

The impact of leaders personality traits on organizational commitment in Apparel and/or Consumer Packaged Goods organizations New York and New Jersey Annual revenues exceeding $500 million Descriptive statistics Mean & standard deviation Two way analysis of variance (ANOVA) Multiple regression analysis

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 The criterion variable was organizational commitment

The predictor variables were the HPIs five traits
Adjustment
Sociability Prudence

Ambition
Interpersonal Sensitivity

A Two-Way ANOVA The effect of multiple levels of two factors with multiple observations at each level (gender, ethnicity and individual Hogan traits)

Multiple regression analysis The effects of 2+ independent variables on 1 dependent variable

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Participants Demographics
Leader Population
Ethnicity Caucasian African-American Hispanic Asian Other Total 16 11 12 11 0 Male 8 5 6 6 0 Female 8 6 6 5 0

Total

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Associate Population
Ethnicity Caucasian African-American Hispanic Asian Other Total Total 77 35 63 29 0 204 Male 42 16 30 18 0 106 Female 35 19 33 11 0 98

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Instrumentation
Two Instruments:
Leaders: Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) 206 T/F questions

Associates: Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) 15 questions 7 point Likert scale

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Validity Hogan Personality Assessment (HPI)

Performance
Conformity to Assessment Profile
(Hogan, 1992)
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Study Results
Associates were generally committed to their organizations

A significant relationship between Specific personality traits in leaders & Impact upon organizational commitment

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 No relationship between gender, ethnicity & Hogan personality traits Associates respond more favorably to Leaders with higher degrees of: - Emotional stability - Greater interpersonal skills Interpersonal Sensitivity & Adjustment traits Influenced levels of organizational commitment Remaining traits showed weak relationships With organizational commitment
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 Adjustment and Interpersonal Sensitivity traits Focus on the more social aspects of human interaction Manifests in the leaders ability to: - Effectively manage relationships with others Female leaders high Interpersonal Sensitivity & Sociability Male leaders high Adjustment, Ambition & Prudence

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 Male leaders scored high in Ambition, with the Ambition mean for male leaders (M = 74.20, SD = 22.46) being higher than the mean for female leaders (M = 67.24, SD = 26.41). Hogans Ambition trait is characterized by competitiveness, goal orientation, and a desire to seek out leadership roles

Males scored slightly higher than females on Hogans Prudence trait. The Prudence mean for male leaders (M = 65.68, SD = 25.38) was only six points higher than the mean for female leaders (M = 59.76, SD = 21.92). Hogan described Prudence as the degree to which an individual seems conscientious, conforming, and often dependable

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 The research study reflected that after controlling for all other variables:
Ambition/Organizational Commitment Adjustment/Organizational Commitment Sociability/Organizational Commitment Prudence/Organizational Commitment Weak, negative relationship

Moderate, positive relationship

Weak, positive relationship

Very weak relationship Definite, but not quite moderate, positive relationship

Interpersonal Sensitivity/Organizational Commitment

Implications for Practice

The study supported prior research that: Self management and emotional awareness in leaders remains a critical cornerstone in developing and maintaining relationships in organizations Relationship management is essential in the leaders ability to - Effectively communicate, collaborate and influence others for the greater good of the organization

Leadership is a personal journey

Leadership directly impacts organizational function
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 Leaders who are: Self aware and manage emotions & behavior are well positioned to become high performing organizational stewards Leaders who fail: Will find it difficult to develop & maintain relationships resulting in underperforming teams & organizations Leaders who effectively manage: Stress, ambiguity and conflict will increase their success and effectiveness

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 The study also reflected a negative relationship between lower scores on Ambition with higher levels of organizational commitment Associates become de-motivated or disengaged when they perceive that their leader is: - Narcissistic - Self promoting - Placing personal gain above organizational good

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 Female leaders appear more inclined to: develop and nurture followers interests into common organizational goals by leveraging their personality traits Female leaders may be better positioned to understand and respond to followers needs

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