Followers' Personality and Leadership

The study presented in this article investigates how the personality of subordinates is related to leadership, an area largely neglected in prior research. Subordinates (n = 289) rated their immediate superior on transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership measured by the Multif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of leadership & organizational studies Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 322 - 331
Main Authors Hetland, Hilde, Sandal, Gro Mjeldheim, Johnsen, Tom Backer
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2008
Sage Publications, Inc
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Analysis
Leadership
Organizational behavior
Organizational behaviour
Personality
Personality traits
Studies
Subordinates
United States
followers' personality
MLQ
leadership ratings
transactional leadership
passive-avoidant leadership
structural equation modeling
NEO-FFI
subordinates' personality
transformational leadership
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Summary:The study presented in this article investigates how the personality of subordinates is related to leadership, an area largely neglected in prior research. Subordinates (n = 289) rated their immediate superior on transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and completed the NEO-FFI, with the five traits neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The results revealed that subordinates' personality (n = 289) was only moderately associated with leadership ratings. Links were found between ratings of transformational leadership and subordinates' level of neuroticism and agreeableness. Furthermore, ratings of passive-avoidant leadership were associated with subordinates' level of agreeableness and openness.
ISSN:1548-0518
1939-7089
DOI:10.1177/1548051808315550