THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY

Self concept-

Self-concept is the constellation of central ideas and attitudes a person has about herself or himself..

What people think and feel about themselves influences every aspect of life

Self-concept is singularly the most important determinant of the quality of a person’s life

People know their self-concept, dimly or clearly, and can usually justify why they do what they do in a word or phrase

People appear dedicated to become more of what they think they already are

The Importance of Personalities-

Effective leaders understand their own personalities and the personalities of their subordinates

Different personalities have different needs and ways of behaving

Wise, caring, and effective leaders value the differences and strive to make the best use of the unique contributions of all types of people

Style of interpersonal relations is an important aspect of personality and an important element in dealing with people

Styles of Interpersonal Relations…

• Traditional style: Exemplified by Moses, who is the foremost individual in Jewish history, and Queen Victoria, who is known for her moral strength and high standards of conduct
• Participative style: Exemplified by Eleanor Roosevelt, who was people-caring and people-serving, and Benjamin Franklin
• Individualistic style: Exemplified by Joan of Arc, who led the French people by her conviction and brave example, and Henry David Thoreau.

Personality and Culture…

• People are products of their culture, which includes family, town, and country
• Personality involves cross-cultural variations because it is a social construct
• Traditional social orientations put the needs and interests of the group above the individual
• Individualistic social orientations involve separating the self from others
• Participative social orientations seek a middle ground between individualistic and traditional styles with an emphasis on warm and supportive human relations. To deal with different types of personalities we need to have a good communication because differences in personality can result in perceptions and judgments that are poles apart.
• Awareness of the nature and needs of different types of people is the first step in building relationships as it’s capable of leading to new levels of cooperation and success.

How to improve Communication…

Talking it out

Talking in private so that all parties can communicate in an uncensored and honest way

Talking when people are fresh

Ensuring every word spoken passes three important tests, which analyze if it is it true, necessary, and kind

Being understanding

Seeing things from another person’s point of view

Trying to understand the forces in another person’s life that may have influenced and helped shape her or his personality

Being flexible

Being willing to compromise

Remembering that everyone must be flexible

Being tolerant

Recognizing that differences in personality are unavoidable

Recognizing that tolerance of different styles is necessary if communication, teamwork, and a one-team attitude are to be achieved.

Image has been taken from ppt slides

The image above shows an overall description of each style of interpersonal relations ranging all 3 styles.

Interpersonal Styles and Leadership Effectiveness…

Factors that are more important than interpersonal styles

Character

People will forgive a person anything when her or his character is good

Leadership

Effective leaders have a vision and a plan

Effective leaders keep job knowledge current to solve problems and advance the organization

Effective leaders demonstrate a humanistic approach in dealing with people

Diversity

Leaders should be tolerant of differences and value diversity as a strength.

Personality and Leadership…

• Meta-analysis of studies on personality and leadership supports certain generalizations
• People high in openness to experience tend to be broad-minded, creative, insightful, and curious
• People high in conscientiousness tend to be thorough, organized, self-disciplined, and dependable
• People high in extroversion tend to be active, outgoing, assertive, and sociable
• People high in agreeableness tend to be good-natured, courteous, approachable, considerate, and cooperative
• People high in neuroticism tend to be anxious, emotional, temperamental, and worrying.
• High conscientiousness, high agreeableness, and low neuroticism represent a common underlying characteristic called getting along
• People who have high extroversion and high openness to experience share a common underlying factor called getting ahead
• Extroversion is the factor most strongly associated with leadership effectiveness, whereas agreeableness is only weakly associated with it