'Argyll and Bute Headteachers: Focus on
Leadership'
Inveraray, 3rd Sept. 2015
The Personal Qualities (Personality Traits,
Dispositions and Attributes) Associated with HighPerformance Leadership of Schools*
Clive Dimmock
University of Glasgow
clive.dimmock@glasgow.ac.uk
* based on Dimmock, C. (2012). Leadership, Capacity building and School
Improvement. London: Routledge.
Aims of session – to address 2 questions
1. What do school leaders need in terms of personality traits,
dispositions, and attributes to be high performing - as opposed
to mediocre - leaders?
2. Are successful leaders born or made?
The answer to Q1. helps us answer Q2.
What are your own experiences and ideas in addressing the above questions?
Structure of session
• Definition of ‘high-performing’ leadership
• Background – the nature of headteachers’ work
• Definition of ‘Qualities’ – personality traits, dispositions and attributes
• Introduction to the research of - Zaccaro on personality and leadership
- Cave and Wilkinson on basic and higher-order abilities of leadership
- McKinsey & Co. on successful leader traits, dispositions and
attributes
• Are HPLs born or made?
• Q&A
Definition of high-performance
leadership (HPL)
HPL is a social influence process guided by
moral purpose that builds capacity by
optimizing human and other resources in
successfully achieving shared and desired
individual and organisational goals
Dimmock, C. (2012). Leadership, capacity building and school
improvement. London: Routledge.
Background to study of leadership – sociological more than
psychological
• Research and literature in Educational leadership in last few
decades dominated by sociological perspectives – the field of
educational leadership had its roots in sociological theory and
this is still perpetuated
• Yet the psychological and socio-psychological factors,
personality and individual characteristics that underlie much
of what we do, think and practice as leaders, have been
relatively ignored
• Exceptions – personality tests - 16 PF Inventory, Myers-Briggs
etc. and work on emotional intelligence (eg. Goleman et al.)
Nature of head-teachers’ work
Logistics
• Huge number of interactions each day
• Fragmented and interrupted day, multi-tasking
• Networking with large and diverse number of interest groups and individuals –
teachers, students, parents, LAs, peer heads, unions, universities, business, police,
etc.
• Large array of tasks – from sorting personal problems, departmental issues, whole
school policies and goals, accountabilities, quality performance and social justice
Decision making
• Deciding priorities and use of time
• Deciding what requires in-depth knowledge as opposed to just awareness
• Cognitive dexterity and flexibility to switch quickly
• Memorising and ability to recall relevant facts and details of people, events,
problems
• Processing experiential learning and making best judgements – tacit knowledge
• Right timing is crucial – immediate, delayed/considered, or no decision
Personality Traits, Dispositions and Attributes –
Definitions
No clearly agreed definitions of/distinctions between these key terms
My definitions are below, boundaries are blurred, and I argue that all three
interact –
•
Personality traits or characteristics – mainly genetic at core, pre-ordain our
ways of acting, reacting and interacting, changeable only at margins
•
Dispositions – determine the formation of deeply-held beliefs and values,
formed from interaction of personality and a mix of personal experiences and
social influences – change is possible
•
Attributes – knowledge, skills, surface beliefs – wholly socially acquired,
influenced by education, our peer group, and life experiences – most
malleable of all
(Dimmock, 2012)
Personality traits that impact on leadership
The ‘Big Five’ personality factors influencing successful
leadership –
• Emotional stability (inc. emotional intelligence)
• Extroversion – outgoing, sociable
• Openness to experience – welcoming new challenges,
willingness to take risks
• Agreeableness – pleasing, likeable, willingness to engage
• Conscientiousness – careful and persistent in attending to
tasks, wanting to do one’s best
(Zaccaro et. al)
According to Zaccaro et al. successful leaders possess and demonstrate
higher levels of • social and emotional intelligence (Goleman) – good listeners, understand
others, good interpersonal relations, sense of humour (psychological
traits)
• self-efficacy, confidence, social engagement, optimism, proactivity,
internal locus of control, and nurturance (part psychological traits –
dispositions)
• motivation – high on need for dominance and power and/or responsibility
and achievement needs (but not affiliation needs); passion about their
work, enthusiasm, commitment, persistence, resilience, industriousness
(part psychological traits – part dispositions)
• cognitive abilities – high on intelligence, greater problem-solving
expertise, flexible and creative thinking capacity (mostly psychological
traits with some elements of attributes)
• domain-specific knowledge and skills relating to education, leadership and
curriculum (attributes).
Emotional Intelligence (EI) Daniel Goleman
People who can solve problems involving emotions, or
problems requiring the use of emotions, can better:
•
•
•
•
•
Communicate effectively with staff and clients
Identify and respond to others' emotions
Manage their own and others' emotional reactions
Be less likely to suffer negative emotions
Make them more likely to achieve goals.
These personality characteristics make EI necessary but not
sufficient conditions for high-performing leadership.
Cave and Wilkinson Study 1990s
English Headteachers
Experiential Evidence on the qualities needed for H-PL
Group of Heads met over extended time to consider:
What knowledge and capabilities are needed for high
effectiveness in the role?
IDENTIFIED 2 LEVELS OF, AND 3 COMPONENTS TO, KNOWLEDGE
AND SKILLS
2 levels of knowledge and skills – BASIC and HIGHER-ORDER
BASIC
1. Professional knowledge – from literature, programs etc. – social,
legal, educational (curriculum, pedagogy, assessment)
2. Skills and techniques – from formal training, mentoring and most
importantly, from practical experience on the job (tacit
knowledge)
Nb.
i) A lot of the above are attributes that can be acquired...BUT..
ii) We know some heads have higher propensity to learn from tacit
knowledge than others – which is (f) personality (intelligence,
cognitive processing and insight) and dispositions – which
suggests HIGHER-ORDER CAPACITIES
HIGHER-ORDER CAPACITIES
These are what really distinguish high-performing leaders – generally
cognitive abilities (and some dispositions eg values) that promote and
optimize the effective use of basic level knowledge and skills
4 higher-order capacities (largely personality traits/dispositions):
- Reading situations – receptive, evaluative, timeliness
- Making balanced judgements – decision making, whether to take
action and what action, combination of rational and intuitive
- Having good intuition – hunch plus stored memory and ordered
experience
- Possessing political-social acumen – skills to bargain, persuade,
manage information, networking etc.
Remember Zaccaro’s research also suggests the following personality
traits/dispositions are crucial – confidence, optimism, resilience and
reflection.
Main argument
1.Higher-order capacities are what distinguishes highperforming leaders from mediocre; they not only enable
leaders to apply their basic knowledge and skills more
effectively, but add a higher dimension of insights and
intuition to how they work
2.Tacit knowledge accounts for 90% plus of what heads learn
to do and how they do it - higher-order capacities enable
heads to more effectively learn and apply the lessons from
practical experience – it makes them better leaders
3. Higher-order capacities are mostly shaped by personality
characteristics and dispositions
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•
•
•
•
•
McKinsey & Co. (2010) – The Leadership Premium - recently
identified traits, dispositions and attributes – of successful
leaders
focused on student achievement, student welfare ahead of
politics (dispositions)
resilient and persistent in goals, but adaptable to people and
context (personality traits and dispositions)
willing to develop a deep understanding of people and
context (personality traits/dispositions)
willing to take risks, and challenge accepted beliefs and
behaviours (personality traits/dispositions)
self-aware and willing to learn (personality traits and
dispositions)
optimistic and enthusiastic (personality traits and
dispositions).
Future research
We need to • combine studies of personality traits – that is, cognitive
abilities, motives, social skills, expertise and problem
solving skills
• look at patterns and integrations of multiple traits and
dispositions
• distinguish those traits, dispositions and attributes that
are not malleable from those that are
bounded/influenced by situational contexts
• understand how combinations of malleable/fixed
traits/dispositions and attributes connect to fit with
type of school and context.
Question
Undertaking a self assessment –
1. Which personality traits, dispositions and
attributes do you feel you possess sufficiently
to enable you to be a high-performing
leader?
2. Which do you feel you particularly need to
develop?
Are leaders born or made?
Nicholson (2007) – London Business School – the most important
pre-requisite for leadership is DESIRE TO LEAD
3 types of people, those • with strong drive to lead – irrespective of situation, or field –
small minority – my hunch - maybe c.5% or less?
• with no desire to be leaders (content, unambitious, priority to
family, hobbies etc)- large proportion – maybe 45% to 50%?
• persuadable to be leaders, but only under specific conditions
(eg. where they feel a good match with school, salary, location
etc.) – maybe 40 to 50%?
Cont….
• ‘Drive’ – is a basic personality trait, therefore mostly genetic,
rather than socially influenced; to the extent that ‘drive’ is a
personality trait/disposition, it can be (marginally) changed
• Group 1 (above) needs few inducements to seek promotion to
the top echelons of leadership
• Group 2 – some may be potentially good leaders, but they
have eschewed leadership in preference for other life goals
• Group 3 – have some drive and propensity for leadership but
need encouragement and right opportunities, training and
experiences to be committed to leadership. They are usually
particular about the level of leadership to which they aspire –
HoD, VP etc. and the context – city/rural, large/small school
SES catchment etc
Besides ‘Drive’, good leaders need ‘Capability’
DRIVE + CAPABILITY= HPL
‘Capability’ = the right person, doing the right things, in the
right place
2 things follow – high performing leaders –
• read situations well, and how they change over time
• have willingness, resilience, values and abilities to complete
what needs to be done.
When these are all aligned = ‘high-performing leaders’
Nicholson concludes – BORN or MADE?
• Many leadership capabilities are inborn (eg. core personality traits inc.
‘drive’)
• They are often mediated by dispositions and values (socially acquired in
part)
• The rest (attributes) is learned – provided there is motivation (‘drive’)
and willingness
• Hence a lot of our leadership attributes (largely learnt) depend on, and
are programmed by, our personality and dispositions – eg. seeking
knowledge, finding out the facts of a situation, furthering experience etc.
• The less inborn an individual’s leadership capabilities, the more the
aspirant leader needs to develop and rely on dispositions and attributes
to ‘compensate’ – but higher-order capacities will be harder to develop
Conclusions
1.
Outstanding leaders possess higher-order capacities and personal/social
skills that raise them above the mediocre, and enable them to successfully
manage complex situations in which poor and mediocre leaders flounder
2.
We can explain the effectiveness of high performing leaders by considering
the key personality traits, dispositions and attributes that differentiate
them from the rest
3.
While the relationships between personality traits, dispositions and
attributes have multiple iterations, personality traits combine with social
factors to determine dispositions, and both of these in turn exert powerful
effects on attributes
4.
Serving head teachers can improve their performance levels by focusing on
developing their higher-order capacities, personal (including cognitive) and
interpersonal skills – which improve their tacit knowledge (practical
wisdom)
Cont…..
Cont…
5. In future, spotting, nurturing, training and selecting leaders MUST take greater
account of the qualities (personality traits, dispositions and attributes) required of
potential high-performing leaders
6. We also need to get smarter in how we train leaders to improve their learning
through tacit knowledge
7. Greater use of system leadership is needed – where outstanding leaders at
headteacher-, middle- and teacher-levels – are deployed to other schools across
local, regional and national boundaries…..to maximise benefits to all students.