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Leadership Style

Personality predicts natural leadership style

An understanding of personality and how it influences leadership style is important for those who lead organisations and for those who are responsible for developing organisational leadership, improving culture and employee engagement and building effective teams.

A well-constructed assessment of personality reveals aspects of leadership capability that are likely to come naturally to a person and those that they may find challenging. These insights are invaluable in devising effective and leadership development strategies for individuals, teams and whole organisations.

Whilst there are no personality characteristics that are universally better than others, there is evidence that some predict leadership success in particular jobs and business environments.

Knowing what these are in a given work situation helps people make sense of where and how they need to grow and adapt to the challenges they face and the people they work and interact with.

For example, a leader may be a perceptive and insightful judge of people who is able to read hidden agendas and identify social and political problems which may give that leader the ability to establish relationships with team members.

However, if that leadership approach also tends to focus on the negative, rather than the positive, the leader may appear to be somewhat critical and this could impede their ability to sustain those relationships.

Assessing Leadership Styles

For a fully comprehensive assessment of leadership style, we recommend Hogan Assessments Systems, the industry leader in personality assessment, having clearly demonstrated personality’s impact on organisational success. We use three inventories in the Leadership Forecast Series.

  • The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) – evaluates personality characteristics necessary for success in career, relationships, education and life. It identifies a person’s strengths as a leader.
  • The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) – measures patterns of behaviour that can impede work relationships or hinder productivity. It identifies personality-based performance risks as a leader.
  • The Motives, Values and Preferences Inventory (MVPI) – reveals a person’s core values that give meaning to his or her life. It identifies the kind of environment a leader will create for their people.

For an exploration of leadership styles based on the way that individuals perceive the world, make decisions and interact with each other in teams, we recommend the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®).

The MBTI® instrument is widely used around the world, with over 2 million assessments administered to individuals each year. It provides a common language for appreciating interpersonal differences and is particularly useful for building relationships and understanding group dynamics.

Is Your Organisation Ready For The Future?

Find out more about leadership styles.