Mapping the Terrain of Organizational Leadership Styles through HEXACO Personality Inventory

Abstract

The present research aimed to explore the association between HEXACO personality traits and the perspective leadership styles of organizational leaders. The layers of leadership and their shapes seem to have some connections with the personality facets. The sample was comprised of N=98 organizational leaders including (males=70, females= 28) with having age range from 30 to 58 years (M= 42.76, SD = 6.28). The data was collected through the purposive sampling technique. The results of the study included a profile of personality traits and how these traits related to preferred leadership styles. The HEXACO-personality inventory and multifactor models of leadership styles were used. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that all the factors of the HEXACO personality inventory and multifactor leadership styles questionnaire were retained with complete items and a well-fitted model. Correlational analysis indicated a positive association between personality traits and preferred leadership style. Moreover, results in regression analysis showed that organizational leaders who are high on honesty-humility, agreeableness, and conscientiousness preferred a democratic leadership style. Further, the leaders who are high on emotionality, openness to experience, and conscientiousness preferred multiple leadership styles such as autocratic, and bureaucratic. However, emotionality was inversely associated with preferences toward laissez-faire leadership. Besides, agreeableness was positively associated with laissez-faire, servant, and authentic leadership styles, in contrast, it was found negatively associated with preferences toward transactional leadership style. Furthermore, the findings of this research would also contribute to scientifically determining the succession of leadership.