Essay #2 – Personality Affects Leadership Styles
Whether it is planning, managing, or executing, I believe
that personality plays a large role in leadership. The most visible portion of
leadership is the managing and execution process; however, personality also
impacts the planning process for any leader. Looking at the 16 different
personality types in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test and different
leaders on campus and around the world, I believe it is evident that
personality does play a strong role in all aspects of leadership.
According to Jeff Garis from the Bank of America Career
Services Center and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, there are four different
types of leaders: Rationals, Guardians, Artisans, and Idealists. Depending on a
leader’s personality traits and strengths, the Myers-Briggs indicates that a
leader can fall into one of four different categories. The Rationals are
pragmatic, skeptical, independent and strong-willed leaders. They focus on
solving problems and understanding how the world works. The MBTI also includes
that the four types of Rationals are architects, field marshals, inventors, and
masterminds. As for the Guardians, those leaders are hard working, dependable,
humble leaders. These leaders tend to focus on traditions and credentials and
act cautiously. The four types of Guardians are inspectors, protectors,
providers, and supervisors. Moving on to the Artisans, they tend to be fun
loving and optimistic yet realistic and focused on today and what’s going on
currently rather than the past or future. The Artisan leaders are also
unconventional and spontaneous; they want to “make a splash” and really prize
the feeling of being free. Last but certainly not least are the Idealists who
are enthusiastic, trusting and spiritual leaders who tend to focus on personal journeys
and individuals’ potential. They dream of attaining wisdom and seeking their
true self. Just based on the brief descriptions of the four types of leaders
according to Myers-Briggs, it is clear that personality traits and individual
strengths do impact a leader and his or her way of approaching situations.
Myers-Briggs indicates that there are four types of leaders; however, I think
there are more than just four. Looking at another personality test/career
assessment, there are several different kinds of leaders. Similar to the
Myers-Briggs, the Burke-Cleaver profile evaluates individuals based on how they
would describe themselves and how they prioritize different aspects of their
life, such as religion, money, family, friends, etc. Based on the answers, a
profile is developed that shows the different leadership styles. Personality
profiles, such as the Myers-Briggs or the Burke-Cleaver, indicate that
personality does impact the way a leader plans, manages, and executes a project
or assignment.
Looking less at a psychological test and more at personal
experience, based on my experiences at Penn State or in the workplace, I
believe that personality does impact an individual’s leadership style. When I
think about the different organization president’s I have worked with over the
last three years at Penn State, it is difficult for me not to consider their
personalities. For anonymity’s sake, I will not include organization names or
president names to avoid offending anyone. One of the organization president’s
that I’ve worked with before is an outgoing, cautious woman who strives to
please and avoids offending anyone. When it came to her leadership style, she
was not harsh on members that broke rules or did not attend meetings. She tried
very hard to make sure that everyone loved her by not punishing people for
breaking the rules; however, in return, those individuals that did follow the
rules and attend meetings lost respect for her. In one instance when a member
hit another individual, she tried to explain to general membership that it was
okay and no punitive measures would be taken. Although I realize that she just
wanted to ensure that she kept everyone happy, especially her friends, she
actually lost the respect of most people and unfortunately, became an ineffective
leader. In contrast, following the aforementioned president’s term, a new
president was elected who is much different than she was – he is outgoing and
the life of the party yet stern and efficient. With the new president, meetings
are less than half the time they were before, and if a member does not attend a
meeting or event, he or she is held accountable for it. Although members cannot
get away with skipping events, the new president holds people accountable for
their actions, which in my opinion, is necessary since we are between 18 and 22
years old. Just using those two individuals as examples, I see a difference in
leadership style due to personality traits.
During my years at Penn State, I have taken many personality
evaluations and watched different leaders, which leads me to believe that
personality does affect the way a leader interacts with others as well as the
way he or she commands a room.
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