The Differential Focus of Supervisors and Peers in Evaluations of Managerial Potential

• Published in: International journal of selection and assessment Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 82 - 97
• Main Authors: Thomason, Stephanie J., Weeks, Michael, Bernardin, H. John, Kane, Jeffrey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2011
• Subjects: Human resource management; Managerial skills; Personality; Personality traits; Studies; Supervisors
• ISSN: 0965-075X; 1468-2389
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2389.2010.00536.x

This study proposes that evaluations of managerial potential by supervisors and peers differentially relate to the personality of the job candidate being evaluated. Specifically, we hypothesized that supervisors would focus on more task‐based personality traits, such as Conscientiousness and its facet of Self‐discipline while peers would instead focus on more contextual personality traits, such as Agreeableness and its facet of Tender‐mindedness. We applied a path analysis SEM approach to data collected from a field study of 114 triads of incumbents, supervisors, and peers of retail managers in a Fortune 500 organization. This approach provided support for our overall hypothesized models. A further analysis of significant paths suggested that ratees with high levels of Conscientiousness and Achievement‐striving appeal to supervisors when making evaluations of managerial potential. Ratees with high levels of Agreeableness, Altruism, and Tender‐mindedness and low levels of Openness to Experience, in contrast, appeal to peers.