Understanding Effective and Ineffective Leaders 10
Understanding Effective and Ineffective Leaders
Understanding Effective and Ineffective Leaders
The Big Five Model of Personality
When we take the time to reflect to every leader, we have encountered throughout our personal lives whether these leaders were effective or ineffective they can all be defined and described through their personalities, traits, and characteristics. It is crucial for organizations and our society as a whole to not only understand but also be able to identify the personalities and traits leaders tend to show and display. Understanding different leadership traits personalities, and characteristics of effective leaders will allow for organizations to be able to select and train individuals who possess the ability to be an effective leader (Lumen Learning, n.d.). Understanding different personalities and traits can also help us as individuals become better leaders because it will allow us to reflect on and improve our weaknesses (Berger, 2019). When it comes to effective leaders’ personalities these personalities tend to be listed into five different categories or personalities which is known as the big five model of personality.
The big five model of personality consist of five different personalities which are surgency, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness, and openness (Lussier and Achua, 2016). This model was believed to originally be developed by D.W. Fiske in 1949. Prior to Fiske concept others had developed theories that identified around 4000 different personalities and traits (Cherry, 2021). However, each one of these five personalities listed are believed to represent the basis of all other personalities and they all contain different leadership traits. To grasp a better understanding of the big five model of personality we will examine each of the personalities and the traits they contain.
Surgency tends to be a positive sociable personality that involves certain traits such as dominance, extraversion, and high energy determination (Lussier and Achua, 2016). The trait known as dominance tends to be important for effective leaders because these kinds of leaders display confidence which is a positive trait. However, dominance can also be viewed as very controlling and aggressive which are often considered to be a negative. Having high energy and being determinate will not only allow leaders to focus in on accomplishing task, but it will also allow them to persuade others which will increase productivity (Hastings, 2008). The next personality listed within the big five model of personality is agreeableness.
Agreeableness involves individuals who are very cooperative and tends to show compassion for others (Cherry, 2021). This personality involves traits like emotional intelligence and sensitivity (Lussier and Achua, 2016). Leaders who display emotional intelligence will often contribute to providing a less stressful work environment while also enhancing or improving communication. This type of leader or manager is also known to increase work productive and reduce employee turnover (Koehler, 2018). Adjustment is another one of the big five and this type of personality involves individuals who are emotional stable and self-confident. Individuals who are emotionally stable will perform well under stressful situation and these individuals are also very positive in regard to how they interact with others.
Self confidence in my opinion tends to be one of the most important leadership traits because it allows for leaders to reflect and improve their weaknesses. One of the biggest misconceptions about self-confidence is that many people tend to mistake it for arrogance which happens to be negative. Conscientiousness also falls within the big five personalities. Individuals that display the personality of conscientiousness are organized and think ahead (Cherry, 2021). This personality involves traits of dependability and integrity. Both of these traits are considered to be traits that make up ethical leadership. Dependable individuals are known to be loyal and display commitment. These individuals will ensure the task they are assigned get completed while individuals with integrity are trustworthy and honest (Lussier and Achua, 2016). The last of the big five personalities is openness, and individuals who possess this personality are eager to learn and very creative/innovative (Cherry, 2021). This personality contains traits of flexibility and intelligence (Lussier and Achua, 2016).
To fully understand the relevance of the big five model of personality today we can analyze and compare two different leaders and see where they align within these personalities and traits. The two leaders we will examine are Jeffery Bezos the former CEO of Amazon who is considered to be an effective leader. The second leader is Martin Winterkorn who is the former CEO of Volkswagen and many people consider him to be an ineffective leader (Steitz and Schwartz, 2021). The CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos seems to display three of the five big model personalities which would be surgency, conscientiousness, and openness. Jeff Bezos expresses his openness throughout his role within his organization by seeking out and implementing innovative ideas which tends to enhance his organization (Awodesu, 2018). Innovation is one of the major driving factors behind the success of Jeff’s organization.
Jeff Bezos attempts to incorporate innovation within every process of his organization When it comes to surgency Jeff Bezos seems to display this through his dominance and extraversion. During the coronavirus pandemic Jeff was able to display his dominance by taking charge and steer his organization throughout this difficult time. This resulted in Amazon being one of the few companies that benefited from the pandemic (The Irish Times, 2020). Lastly, out of all the big five personalities I would say Jeff Bezos reflects conscientiousness the most. According to GOGIG’s personality assessment of Jeff Bezos he ranks high for conscientiousness (Hodges, 2018). As I stated before individuals with contentiousness personalities tend to think ahead and this is nothing new for Jeff Bezos. Jeff planned the success of his company from the start and often encourages others to do the same before they start pouring money into their business.
If we take the time to look and examine Martin Winterkorn’s personalities and traits, we can determine that he also fits the surgency personality. I would consider Martin to fall within this category mainly because of his determination. Martin Winterkorn was well known for his determination which helped Volkswagen become one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world. However, many people also believe his determination contributed to his failure (Clark and Eddy, 2015). When it comes to the other big five personalities, I would say that Martin tends to display some traits of a contentiousness because of his mindfulness of details. Winterkorn was considered to be a perfectionist because he would do certain things like measure the gaps between the different car doors ensuring that it would be the perfect fit. I would also argue that he fell short when it comes to contentiousness because of his lack of integrity which was revealed during the Volkswagen scandal (Benjamin, 2018).
Theory X and Theory Y
Along with personalities and traits, attitudes are another creditable element that makes up and distinguishes leaders. Although there are many different leadership attitudes, they can only be perceived in two ways positive or negative. These attitudes tend to reveal how an individual feels about different situations (Lussier and Achua, 2016). In the 1960 and American professor named Douglas McGregor developed a concept that would help identify and explain different leadership attitudes and behaviors at work. This concept became known as theory X and theory Y. Theory X attitudes are often perceived to be more negative. These attitudes suggest that individuals do not like their job and therefore must be closely supervised. Leaders with theory X attitudes will often have a negative view of their employees believing that their employees do not care for their jobs and lack ambition to accomplish their task. These types of leaders will also utilize certain punishments to ensure their employees do their job and tends to fall into the autocratic leadership style (Lussier and Achua, 2016).
An autocratic leadership style is a leadership style where one leader makes majority of the decisions like authoritarianism. Theory Y attitude tends to be more positive and believe that individuals like their job and do not need to be closely monitored. Leaders that displayed theory Y attitudes are more productive and use rewards to influence their employees. These leaders also tend to be more motivational and align more towards a participative Leadership style. A participative leadership style involves leaders encouraging their employees to participate and provide feedback during the decision-making process (Lussier and Achua, 2016).
Although theory X tends to involve negative attitudes and theory Y is more positive each one of these theory attitudes can lead to an effective leader. Even though Douglas McGregor developed the concept of theory X and theory Y over 60 years ago it is considered to be still relevant today. If we examine the same two leader I highlighted before we can see the relevance of McGregor’s theory X and theory Y concepts. The CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos seems to align towards a theory X attitude. Jeff is often described as having an autocratic leadership style which as I stated earlier falls under the theory X attitude.
I say Jeff’s leadership style tends to cater towards an autocratic style because many employees within his organization have stated that he tends to make all of the decisions regarding his company and considers little to no input from others. Some employees have gone on to say that Jeff Bezos does not really provide a positive work environment which also tends to lean towards theory X attitudes (Moran, 2020). Jeff Bezos organization has also been said to display some theory Y attitudes because the organization encourages their employees to not settle and keep developing which happens to be positive views of their employees (Hadas, 2015). Martin Winterkorn on the other hand seems to align strictly under the theory X attitudes. Winterkorn has been known to be a demanding leader within his organization and there have been numerous testimonies from his employees stating that Winterkorn would be very hands on when it came to inspecting his employee’s product (Cremer and Bergin, 2015).
This hands-on approach seems to be similar as the closely supervised concept within theory X attitudes. I also believe Martin Winterkorn attitude tends to fall into the theory X category because of how he continued to place the blame of the Volkswagen emissions scandal on his employee claiming he did not know which seems to be a negative viewpoint of his employees (Dugar, 2018). A key concept to take away when it pertains to theory X and theory Y is that each can be effective when utilized in the right situation and effective leaders can display or operate in both theory X and theory Y which Jeff Bezos demonstrates.
Ethical and Unethical Leadership
When it comes to the topic of ethical and unethical leaders this same concept does not apply because ethics is what make and effective great leader. Ethics or ethical leadership is simply leaders who demonstrate good actions for the common good whereas unethical leaders tend to do the opposite (Lussier and Achua, 2016). It is also important to understand that ethical leadership and behaviors benefits the overall organization. Ethical leaders are known to enhance employee morale, provide a more positive trustworthy work environment, and mitigate or reduce ethical issues and dilemmas (Western Governor’s University, 2020). According to an article from Corporate Compliance Insight Jeff Bezos can be classified as an ethical leader.
This article highlights and discusses how Jeff Bezos takes an ethical approach when he was being extorted and decided to get a head of the situation and be transparent enough to publish the message he was being extorted for. By publishing these messages Jeff displayed honesty and integrity which are true characteristics of ethical leaders (Boehme, 2019). A great example of an unethical leader would be Martin Winterkorn. Martin Winterkorn is mostly known for the unethical scandal that swept through his organization during his watch as CEO. The scandal occurred from a software system that reported false emissions report (Dugar,2018). The results from the scandal led to Winterkorn resigning and Volkswagen having to pay $63 billion (Silverman, 2018).
References
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Benjamin, L. (2018, July 02). Home. Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2018/07/02/importance-of-being-an-ethical-leader/
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Boehme, D. (2019, February 15). Watch and learn, ceos: A powerful example of ethical leadership. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/watch-and-learn-ceos-a-powerful-example-of-ethical-leadership/#:~:text=Bezos%20displayed%20many%20of%20the,your%20values%20and%20your%20words.
Boundless management. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/trait-approach/
Cherry, K. (2021, February 10). What are the big 5 personality traits? Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422#openness
Clark, N., &; Eddy, M. (2015, September 23). Volkswagen’s chief in the vortex of the storm. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/international/volkswagens-chief-in-the-vortex-of-the-storm.html
Cremer, A., &; Bergin, T. (2015, October 10). Fear and RESPECT: Vw’s culture UNDER WINTERKORN. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-culture/fear-and-respect-vws-culture-under-winterkorn-idUSKCN0S40MT20151010
Dugar, A. (2018, June 01). Volkswagen’s leadership: Focuses, failures, and finding a way out. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://medium.com/@dugar/volkswagens-leadership-focuses-failures-and-finding-a-way-out-b6ff86f7da79
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Hastings, R. (2018, April 10). CEOs Are More Energetic and Comfortable with Complexity, Report Suggests. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-and-navigation/pages/ceosmoreenergetic.aspx.
Hodges, C. (2018). The top personality traits of the world’s richest Man, Jeff Bezos. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.gogig.com/blog/top-personality-traits-of-the-worlds-richest-man-jeff-bezos
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Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2016). Leadership Theory, Application, & Skill Development (6th edition) Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Moran, A. (2020, August 07). Jeff Bezos’ leadership Style: What can WE LEARN?: SB. Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://www.startingbusiness.com/blog/leadership-style-jeff-bezos
Silverman, S. (2018, August 14). CEOs and board members: Be aware of unethical leaders. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2018/08/14/warning-to-ceos-aware-unethical-leaders.html
What is ethical leadership? (2020, February 04). Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-is-ethical-leadership2001.html#close
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