Business School Leadership: An Examination of Personality and Preparation Effects on Dean Turnover

Abstract

High turnover and short tenures of business school deans disrupt employees, students, performance, and institutional stability. However, we know little about the processes involved in attracting, recruiting, and retaining these influential academic leaders. Previous studies have explored deans’ demographics, their leadership behaviors, and roles as hybrid upper middle managers, but personality traits and job preparation have been largely overlooked. To address the research gap, this quantitative correlational study explored the personality temperament types and years of administrative preparation of 54 deans in accredited US business schools. Our findings showed that 72% of respondents were categorized into two Keirsey temperament groups: GuardiansTM (SJ) and RationalsTM (NT). This research contributes to our understanding of factors impacting the selection and retention of business school deans, with practical implications for hiring, appraisals, leadership and career development.