The Impact Personality Has On Leadership

Heraclitus said that “the only thing that is constant is change.” In an age of budget cuts and greater responsibility, today’s face-paced society has issues keeping up when it comes to leadership styles. In situations where there’s change, both perception and attitude play an important role. Both perception and attitude are related to personality since the way people perceive things are different. Since leaders are those who are responsible for leading change, we often wonder what differentiates good leaders from great leaders. What kind of personality does a great leader have in order to adapt and lead change?

Those of us that have had years of work experience and have worked under numerous leaders understand that not all managers can be leaders. A leader’s personality has significant influences on the way they think, feel and relate to other people. For example, in some workplaces, a manager’s personality will most often times help subordinates complete work effectively or get in the way.

It’s a proven fact that people who have different backgrounds have different attitudes, values and morals. We reflect our cultural heritages. These differences can determine our actions and behaviors. We all view personality in different ways and that help us determine if we like or do not like someone enough to follow them. For centuries, scholars have been conducting research to find the relationship personality traits and leadership behavior.

So what makes a great leader? At first glance, this appears to be a simple question, yet research suggests that it has not been an easy one to answer.