Core personality traits of managers

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically compare managers with employees in other occupations on Big Five and narrow personality traits to identify a distinctive personality profile for managers.

Design/methodology/approach

An archival data set representing employees in a wide range of business sectors and organizations was utilized to compare trait scores of 9,138 managers with 76,577 non-managerial employees. Profile analysis (PA) with MANOVA and analysis of covariance was used to compare managers and non-managers on Big Five traits Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability; and narrow traits Assertiveness, Optimism, Work Drive, and Customer Service Orientation.

Findings

As hypothesized, compared to non-managers, managers had significantly higher scores across nine traits, all of which correlated significantly with managerial career satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Although job tenure and managerial level are not examined, the findings align with managerial competence models, the Attraction-Selection-Attrition model, and vocational theory and raise questions for research on the adaptive value of these traits for managers’ satisfaction and effectiveness.

Practical implications

The results carry practical implications for selection, placement, training, career planning for managers, and particularly for their professional development.

Social implications

A distinctive personality profile for managers clarifies the occupational identity of managers, which contributes to public and professional understanding of managers and their roles.

Originality/value

This study is original in reporting an empirical, theoretically grounded personality profile of managers that includes both Big Five and narrow traits.

Citation

Lounsbury, J.W., Sundstrom, E.D., Gibson, L.W., Loveland, J.M. and Drost, A.W. (2016), "Core personality traits of managers", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 434-450. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-03-2014-0092