Who should rule? Does personality matter?

Abstract

The study of leadership and personality has a long and controversial history. A review of trends and empirical research on relations between personality characteristics and leadership is presented. It is concluded that fragmentation and a narrow focus have been characteristic of most empirical research on leadership personality. The total space encompassing leadership issues has been compartmentalized into subareas such as leader traits, behaviour styles, and the situational view. It is argued that leadership is a multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be captured by focusing on a small number of variables. A holistic approach attempting to cover a range of traits so as to discern more complex trait patterns in relation to kinds of leader behaviour in different organizational settings is needed to gain an in-depth insight into the complexity of leader behaviour and leader effectiveness. Fragmentation of individual functioning needs to be reduced. Research should also focus on the dynamics of the relationship between leader characteristics and leader behaviour in different social settings. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.