An Examination of the Impact of Personality on Implicit Leadership Theory

Leadership research and literature has experienced a renewed interest in the domain of leadership traits, as it currently focuses more on the perceptual processes that support leadership than on universal leadership traits that are considered to be effective in all situations (Epitropaki, 2004). This has led to a development of implicit leadership theory, which explains that there is a conceptual structure that defines leadership in the minds of people (Wenquan, 2000; Javidan, Dorfman, De Luque, & House, 2006). Theoretical research in the socialcognitive arena of leadership studies suggests that follower personality traits should affect their social perceptions that are used in the creation of implicit leadership prototypes (Lord, De Vader, &Alliger, 1986). This quantitative study examines the relationship between follower Big-Five personality traits andimplicit leadership theory dimensions. The results of the study indicate that the Big Five personality traits of sensitivity and conscientiousness have the strongest positive relationships with the implicit leadership dimensions of agreeableness and dedication, respectively. An Examination of the Impact of Personality on Implicit Leadership A significant portion of leadership research has focused on the role of followers’ perceptions, expectations, and conceptual prototypes on leadership (Epitropaki, 2004). Within this arena of study, researchers have attempted to identify and describe leadership from various perspectives that have focused on traits, behaviors, and situations (Kenney, 1994). As leadership research has experienced a resurgence of interest in the domain of leadership traits, it is now focusing more on the way that followers view leader behavior than on universal leadership traits that were once considered to be effective in all situations (Epitropaki, 2004). A cognitive-attribution approach has emerged that suggests that the followers’ perception ofa leader can actually determine the leader’s success or failure (Kenney, 1994). Simply stated, successful leadership is in the eyes of the beholder, makinga leader’s success or failure dependent upon the leader’s ability to influence the follower to act in accordance with the leader. Therefore, without follower responsiveness, there is no real power in leadership (Keller, 1999). Implicit leadership theory, an approach that states that there is a conceptual structure that defines leadership in the minds of people, has gained interest because of its focus on the follower group and its attempt to understand the factors regarding follower responsiveness to leaders (Wenquan, 2000). Theoretical research in the social-cognitive arena of leadership studies suggests that follower personality traits should affect the social perceptions that are used by individuals to create their own implicit leadership theories and prototypes (Lord, De Vader, &Alliger, 1986). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between follower personality types and implicit leadership theories and find which follower personality type has the greatest influence on implicit leadership theories. Implicit Leadership Theory Implicit leadership theories can offer important insights in organizations, especially in the sense-making process of understanding how employees interpret and react to leadership (Epitropaki, 2004). Leader judgments are typically based on categories found in the minds of followers, making the perceptions of the follower very important (Hall & Lord, 1995). People often use this relatively programmed and automatic categorization process as a basis from which social interactions take place (Engle & Lord, 1997; Epitropaki, 2005). These categorization processes, also known as implicit leadership theories, are used in dyadic relationships to categorize dyadic partners based upon their general impressions instead of upon past behaviors and interactions (Engle & Lord, 1997; Epitropaki, 2004). © Center for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijbhtnet. com 25 Therefore, implicit leadership theories are basically stored in one’s memory and are activated when one enters into a leader-follower relationship (Epitropaki, 2004). Implicit leadership theories are very important because they are the standards that followers use to calculate their impressions of leaders (Epitropaki, 2005). During this calculation, followers engage in the mental exercise of matching their personal implicit leadership theory to the actual leader, and the discrepancies in that exercise affect their overall impression of the leader (Epitropaki, 2005). This means that one’s initial observation about another person can have a great impact on the future of the leader-follower relationship and can either lay the groundwork for a successful dyadic relationship that will develop with time or become a point of contention from the very beginning (Kenney, 1994). Subsequently, leaders are categorized on the perceived match in the mind of the follower based upon their behavior and character and the preexisting prototypic attributes of a leader (Epitropaki, 2004). Therefore, a potential leader’s opportunity to become and remain a leader does not depend solely on their behavior but also on the way in which the followers process their behavior through their personal, implicit leadership prototype (Felfe, 2007). Development of Personal Implicit Leadership Theories Children between the ages of five and six years old begin to develop their personal implicit leadership theories as they begin to understand what good leadership looks like (Marnburg, 2007). This initial implicit leadership theory continues to develop through life and one’s experiences with friends, teachers, and parents (Marnburg, 2007). Throughout life, implicit leadership theories are further developed and modified through various leaderfollower relationships (Epitropaki, 2004). People tend to characterize leaders who are similar to themselves as ideal (Keller, 1999). People become leaders in the minds of others when they exhibit potential leadership behaviors or characteristics that touch upon the follower group’s ideal of how a leader should act and operate. If a person continues to demonstrate distinguishable behaviors that are consistent with the group’s implicit leadership theory, leadership will then be recognized in that person (Kenney, 1994). For example, if a group of people expects leaders to be more charismatic than other group members, then the person who conforms most to this, as well as other expectations, will tend to be thought of as the leader. Within a group, several expectations may exist, and the person who meets the most of these expectations will often be considered the leader (Kenney, 1994). Implicit Leadership Prototypes The emphasis on leadership prototypes that result from implicit leadership theories is consistent with trait research in leadership, which has regularly identified multiple traits as being connected to leadership perceptions or the development of a person as a leader in social situations (Shondrick, Dinh, & Lord, 2010). Followers do not often have identical leader prototypes in mind, but there is likely some agreement amongstprototypes of members in an organization (Hall & Lord, 1995). This means that leaders do not have to fit every one of the categories perfectly to be considered a leader, as the categories in the prototypes do not need to be completely filled (Hall & Lord, 1995). Previous studies have found that people use categories developed through implicit leadership theories to differentiate between those in the group who are leaders and those who are non-leaders (Kenney, 1994). It is important for leaders to understand that followers are not judging them according to a certain pre-determined, universal standard, but rather according to their own personal implicit leadership theory (Engle & Lord, 1997). Once a follower has labeled a leader, it is very difficult to change the initial impression that became the foundation from which a successful leader-follower relationship may develop (Engle & Lord, 1997). Therefore, the first impression that dyads have of each other is very important and will have a lasting impact. This is crucial for leaders to understand because the manner in which leaders are perceived by followers influences the amount of power or discretion that the followers give to the leader (Epitropaki, 2005). The information within these prototypes is often abstract and simply represents a wide range of potential characteristics that are also found in many other things in life such as animals, cars, emotions, and people (Brunette, 2010; Shondrick et al., 2010). This information is unconsciously formulated into leadership prototypes that help set expectations in the minds of followers as to what leaders should look like and how the follower should respond to leaders (Shondrick et al, 2010). International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology Vol. 4, No. 4; July 2014 26 These mental prototypes enable people to quickly process information in the leader-follower relationship, freeing up the critical thinking facilities within the mind to focus and work on other problem solving issues within the team (Shondrick et al., 2010). Implicit leadership theories are used by followers to find meaning in the actions and behavior of the leader (Engle & Lord, 1997). Unfortunately for leaders, there is the possibility that the meaning that followers obtain as the leader’s behavior is processed through their implicit leadership theory may be completely different than the desired meaning that the leader would like to communicate. Therefore, the perception that the follower has of the leader’s action is more important than the actual action of the leader and greatly affects leader-follower relationships (Engle & Lord, 1997). In light of implicit leadership theory and specifically the importance of the perceptions of followers, it is crucial for leaders to know what charact