Selecting Change Agents: Exploring Traits and Skills in a Simulated Environment

Abstract

In the new organizational environment, when business and even political leaders declare their dedication to change, it is a very important need for organizations to recruit and select people capable not only to bring or initiate but, also, handle change effectively. However, only a few attempts have been made to identify the personality profile of a person, able to fulfill the requirements of this position. The current study tries to shed light on this issue by examining if dispositional characteristics and competencies are related to attitudes to change, adopting an experimental business game scenario simulating a real business change context. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing their dispositional traits whereas their performance and change management skills were assessed by independent observers. Results displayed that resilient employees consider themselves as more ready to accept and apply change, as opposed to change-related skills which seemed to predict only task performance and not acceptance of change. The study concludes with a discussion of the findings, managerial implications and possible limitations.