Blake Conley
Examining the Correlation Between Personality and
Leadership Abilities
Honors Thesis Proposal
Advising Professor: Eugene Fodor
Introduction
It is common for people to refer to an individual who exhibits good leadership
skills as a ‘natural leader’. This term seems to suggest that there are certain markers
within one’s personality that would give them a predisposition towards good leadership.
And while it is common to assume such markers exist, very few studies have been done
to identify them. If a study were to identify which personality traits lead to the most
effective leaders, or even specific tests that incorporate all of these personality traits, they
could be used as a tool for helping organizations find leaders.
Literature Review
Only three studies have been done in an attempt to prove that good leadership
skills can be predicted with personality tests. One study was conducted in 1986 by
Richard Sorrentino and Nigel Field, titled ‘Emergent leadership over time: the functional
value of positive motivation’. This study showed a significant difference between the
performance of students who were rated as achievement and affiliation motivated, in
contrast to students who were failure-threatened and rejection threatened. This study
shows a strong correlation between personality traits and group-work performance, but
does not directly focus on leadership. Another study done by David McClelland in
1982, ‘The leadership motive pattern’, linked performance in managers in a
telecommunications company to their performance on a Thematic Apperception Test
(TAT). The TAT is a test that helps determine the sources of an individual’s motivation.
This study concluded that upper level managers followed what McClelland called the
leadership motive pattern, a term that describes a high need for power, low need for
affiliation, and low activity inhibition. However, another study conducted by Professor
Fodor, who is the advisor for this thesis, at roughly the same time had different results.
In his study, ‘The Power Motive as an influence on group decision making’, Fodor found
that group leaders who scored high in need for power and low in need for both affiliation
and achievement actually performed poorly because they contributed to a deterioration in
the groups decision-making processes, an effect called ‘groupthink’. He found that
groups lead by students who scored lower in need for power and higher in need for
affiliation and achievement actually performed significantly better in the exercise they
were given.
These 3 studies all point to a correlation between certain personality traits and
leadership abilities. However, they do not all point to the same conclusion. The
Sorrentino study shows the correlation between personality and leadership, but the
studies from David McClelland and Eugene Fodor have somewhat conflicting
conclusions about the desired personality traits of leadership, and more studies need to be
done to reconcile this conflict.
Research Question
The purpose of this thesis would be to determine the correlation between an
individual’s score on three personality tests (Need for Power, Need for Achievement, and
Need for Affiliation) and the individual’s performance in a leadership position for a small
group activity. We hope to show that individuals with high need for achievement and
affiliation will achieve high ratings by group members, in contrast to individuals with
high need for power, who will receive low ratings. The correlation would have to be
significant before organizations would use these personality tests as a consideration in
choosing their leaders.
Methodology
The research for this hypothesis will be conducted using a large number of small
groups. These groups will consist of one leader and 3 members, and will be given a basic
task to complete. At this point in time we intend to use the Subarctic Survival simulation
developed by Human Synergistics. The exercise requires groups to rank 15 different
items based on their usefulness in a cold-weather survival situation. The groups will
consist of ROTC students and students in leadership positions on campus, and will be
given half an hour to complete this exercise. The leaders will be chosen beforehand and
asked to complete the three personality tests for Power, Affiliation, and Achievement.
Once the exercise is complete, the group’s results will be scored by comparing them to
the rankings developed by professionals, and the leaders will be rated through the
Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile. The ALCP is tested and explained in a study
done by Charles Sherron called ‘Psychometric development of the Adaptive Leadership
Competency Profile’. The leaders of the groups will also be rated by Professor Fodor
with the TAT. By combining the results of the need for power, need for affiliation, need
for achievement, and TAT tests we can get a profile of that individual’s personality. We
can then compare this profile to that individual’s performance in a leadership role.
References
Fodor, Eugene, & Smith, Terry (1982). The power motive as an influence on group
decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 178-188.
McClelland, D.C., & Boyatzis, R. (1982). The leadership motive pattern and long term
success in management. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67(6), 737-743.
Sherron, Charles (2000). Psychometric development of the Adaptive Leadership
Competency Profile. University of North Texas.
Sorrentino, R.M, & Field, N. (1986). Emergent leadership over time: the functional value
of positive motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 1091-1099.