Transformational leadership and its relationship with personality preferences in South African organisations.
- Authors: Linde, Trudi
- Date: 2008-04-23T10:39:45Z
- Subjects: leadership , organizational change management , personality and occupation , South Africa
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:8599 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/285
- Description: The general purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the relationship between transformational and leadership personality preferences. The aim of the study is therefore to establish an empirical link between transformational leadership and certain aspects of personality preferences in order to verify if these leaders can be distinguished from others by means of their personality preferences. The transformational leaders’ ratings as identified by use of the Multifactor questionnaire are compared with personality preferences indicated on the scales of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator®. Given the research literature an expectation exists that a statistically significant difference will be found between aspects of personality preferences of transformational and non-transformational leaders. Therefore transformational leaders will be identifiable from non-transformational leaders by their personality preferences. The research group was a convenience sample that consisted of 66 leaders chosen from two organisations in the financial and entertainment industries at the level of team leader or in a supervisory capacity. The statistical procedures utilised in the analysis of the data included analysis of frequencies, ttests and cross tabulations. Firstly, the transformational leaders in the selected organisations were identified successfully. As far as determining the personality preferences of the identified transformational leaders and establishing any possible links between the transformational leadership style and chosen personality preferences, the only significant difference was found between the introversion and extroversion preferences. A significant difference between introversion and extroversion in terms of the Intellectual Stimulation rating on the MLQ was found as well as in terms of the Average and Inspirational Motivation ratings. No other statistically significant differences or interdependencies were found between the personality preferences as identified by the MBTI® and any of the ratings on the MLQ. The third objective of determining whether personality preference can be utilised to predict transformational leadership is therefore answered. From the findings of this study it seems as if personality preferences cannot be utilised to predict transformational leadership in for instance a selection process in a company. As this research group was highly selected and not representative of the general population, it is not possible to generalise the findings of this study. Although the research group was not representative, the findings of this study matched with those of other studies, and the deduction is therefore made that if this study was to be repeated, similar results would be found. , Prof. S. Kruger
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- Authors: Linde, Trudi
- Date: 2008-04-23T10:39:45Z
- Subjects: leadership , organizational change management , personality and occupation , South Africa
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:8599 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/285
- Description: The general purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the relationship between transformational and leadership personality preferences. The aim of the study is therefore to establish an empirical link between transformational leadership and certain aspects of personality preferences in order to verify if these leaders can be distinguished from others by means of their personality preferences. The transformational leaders’ ratings as identified by use of the Multifactor questionnaire are compared with personality preferences indicated on the scales of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator®. Given the research literature an expectation exists that a statistically significant difference will be found between aspects of personality preferences of transformational and non-transformational leaders. Therefore transformational leaders will be identifiable from non-transformational leaders by their personality preferences. The research group was a convenience sample that consisted of 66 leaders chosen from two organisations in the financial and entertainment industries at the level of team leader or in a supervisory capacity. The statistical procedures utilised in the analysis of the data included analysis of frequencies, ttests and cross tabulations. Firstly, the transformational leaders in the selected organisations were identified successfully. As far as determining the personality preferences of the identified transformational leaders and establishing any possible links between the transformational leadership style and chosen personality preferences, the only significant difference was found between the introversion and extroversion preferences. A significant difference between introversion and extroversion in terms of the Intellectual Stimulation rating on the MLQ was found as well as in terms of the Average and Inspirational Motivation ratings. No other statistically significant differences or interdependencies were found between the personality preferences as identified by the MBTI® and any of the ratings on the MLQ. The third objective of determining whether personality preference can be utilised to predict transformational leadership is therefore answered. From the findings of this study it seems as if personality preferences cannot be utilised to predict transformational leadership in for instance a selection process in a company. As this research group was highly selected and not representative of the general population, it is not possible to generalise the findings of this study. Although the research group was not representative, the findings of this study matched with those of other studies, and the deduction is therefore made that if this study was to be repeated, similar results would be found. , Prof. S. Kruger
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The relationship between personality type and leadership focus.
- Authors: Sieff, Grant Benjamin
- Date: 2007-11-21T09:26:09Z
- Subjects: personality , leadership , Jungian psychology , Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , personality and occupation
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6438 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/132
- Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between personality type and leadership focus. Personality type is studied from the perspective of Jungian Theory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument, and leadership focus is explored through the development and application of a Leadership Focus Questionnaire. South African executives form the target population for this research. The overall research problem concerns how best to address the challenges of optimising focus and managing risk that is inherent in strategic leadership. Both functionalist and interpretive approaches were applied to produce a rounded understanding of what constitutes leadership focus. The application of a functionalist approach resulted in three primary theoretical hypotheses being derived from the literature, namely, that leadership focus is a function of (1) optimising the balance of focus between external and internal priorities, (2) the fit between the leadership personality type and the organisation type, and (3) the capacity to manage a multiple focus. The interpretation of the responses from the sample of executives participating in the research study yielded a related set of first and second order factors relating to leadership focus that revolve around the level of comfort experienced by executives in managing focus in the leadership role. The approach to this research was one of methodological triangulation. A survey-based methodology was employed, containing both quantitative and qualitative questions. The results of the quantitative analysis of the relationship between personality type and leadership focus were contrasted and extended by a qualitative content analysis of the qualitative survey responses. The propositions were tested on a sample of South African executives attending management development programmes run by Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. The findings show that Extraverted personality types are more comfortable with the challenges of focus in the leadership role than are Introverted types. In addition, Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking and Judging types experience a greater degree of fit with their organisations than do Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving types. The implications are that in a business environment of ongoing change, market innovation and increasing stakeholder expectations, organisation leaders of all personality types need to develop a greater consciousness of their preferred and less preferred behaviours, and a greater ability to complement their preferred leadership behaviours with less preferred behaviours when necessary, to optimise their leadership focus over time. , Dr. Loius Carstens
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sieff, Grant Benjamin
- Date: 2007-11-21T09:26:09Z
- Subjects: personality , leadership , Jungian psychology , Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , personality and occupation
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6438 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/132
- Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between personality type and leadership focus. Personality type is studied from the perspective of Jungian Theory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument, and leadership focus is explored through the development and application of a Leadership Focus Questionnaire. South African executives form the target population for this research. The overall research problem concerns how best to address the challenges of optimising focus and managing risk that is inherent in strategic leadership. Both functionalist and interpretive approaches were applied to produce a rounded understanding of what constitutes leadership focus. The application of a functionalist approach resulted in three primary theoretical hypotheses being derived from the literature, namely, that leadership focus is a function of (1) optimising the balance of focus between external and internal priorities, (2) the fit between the leadership personality type and the organisation type, and (3) the capacity to manage a multiple focus. The interpretation of the responses from the sample of executives participating in the research study yielded a related set of first and second order factors relating to leadership focus that revolve around the level of comfort experienced by executives in managing focus in the leadership role. The approach to this research was one of methodological triangulation. A survey-based methodology was employed, containing both quantitative and qualitative questions. The results of the quantitative analysis of the relationship between personality type and leadership focus were contrasted and extended by a qualitative content analysis of the qualitative survey responses. The propositions were tested on a sample of South African executives attending management development programmes run by Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. The findings show that Extraverted personality types are more comfortable with the challenges of focus in the leadership role than are Introverted types. In addition, Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking and Judging types experience a greater degree of fit with their organisations than do Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving types. The implications are that in a business environment of ongoing change, market innovation and increasing stakeholder expectations, organisation leaders of all personality types need to develop a greater consciousness of their preferred and less preferred behaviours, and a greater ability to complement their preferred leadership behaviours with less preferred behaviours when necessary, to optimise their leadership focus over time. , Dr. Loius Carstens
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