Abstract
This study examines personality as a predictor of engagement behavior displayed during leader development programs. Leader development engagement behavior (LDEB) is measured by collecting self- and director ratings of behaviors displayed by undergraduate students during 1-year leader development programs (e.g., showing interest in a variety of topics, maintaining a positive attitude, arriving prepared for meetings, engaging with peers, and reflecting on development). Results suggest that factors of the Big 5 personality characteristics and the Narcissism Personality Inventory predict engagement behaviors in leader development. Post hoc analysis was conducted to better understand patterns of relationships between Big 5 factors and narcissism with specific LDEBs. Narcissism is negatively correlated with director ratings of reflection on development and engagement with peers. As a result of this research, leader development program directors should consider the benefits and risks of including narcissistic individuals in leader development programs.
Highlights
Personality Predicts Engagement in Leader DevelopmentOrganizations are increasing investment in leader development
Because narcissism has shown negative correlation with similar behaviors to Leader development engagement behavior (LDEB), we propose the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 2: Narcissism is negatively related to overall leader development engagement behaviors
The results offered partial support for the first hypothesis, that Big 5 personality characteristics would influence LDEBs (Table 2)
Summary
Organizations are increasing investment in leader development. In 2012, companies in the United States reported spending approximately $14 billion dollars annually on leader development (Leow and O’Leonard, 2012), and the amount spent on leader development increased 14% in 2013 (Schwartz et al, 2014). In a theoretical piece summarizing what consulting psychologists can do to improve the state of leadership development, Kaiser and Curphy (2013) caution that despite significant increases in leader development spending, there is decreased confidence that leaders are prepared for the challenges that face organizations. Leader development involves changes in the participants’ decision-making processes, perceptions of people and situations, understanding of organizational and environmental complexity, Personality and Leader Development and interpersonal styles in order to make them better prepared to engage in leadership. More research is needed to better understand leader development (Riggio, 2008; Day et al, 2014) and leader development assessment (Hannum and Craig, 2010)
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