Personality characteristics of male and female executives: Distinct pathways to success?

Abstract

It is widely believed that female and male leaders have fundamentally different characteristics and styles, which are thought to explain why organizations with more gender-diverse top management teams perform somewhat better. Unfortunately, few studies have concretely specified such differences or examined whether men and women in leadership roles, particularly executives, indeed differ on core psychological characteristics such as personality traits. Drawing on three alternative perspectives on the roles of personality and gender in leadership ascendancy, this study (a) examined whether men and women are more similar among executives than among non-executive employees, and (b) tested whether similar traits distinguish executives from lower-level employees across genders. Data were from a large (N = 577) sample of European executives (434 male, 143 female) and 52,139 non-executive employees (34,496 male, 17,643 female) who completed high-stakes personality assessments. Results generally supported a gender-similarities perspective. Gender differences on leadership emergence-relevant traits (i.e., Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion) were smaller among executives compared to non-executives. Further, similar traits distinguished executives from non-executives across genders. Both male and female executives tend to demonstrate an archetypical "leader personality" focused on assertiveness, high-level strategic thinking, and decisiveness. However, results also showed that hierarchical level differences in personality were much more strongly pronounced among women than men. Implications for gender equity in organizational leadership are discussed.

What is (s)he Worth? Exploring Mechanisms and Boundary Conditions of the Relationship Between CEO Extraversion and Pay

“…Therefore, boards are likely to have a good sense of a (potential) CEO's level of extraversion. Additionally, executive roles require more agentic characteristics relative to lower‐level leadership positions (Hunt, Boal and Sorenson, 1990; Wille et al ., 2018). Hence, extraversion may be viewed as particularly important by boards for upper echelon positions, where CEOs are expected to be highly active, competitive and unwavering in decisions (e.g.…”

Determinants of Female Teachers Progress to Leadership in Government Aided Primary Schools in Ntungamo District, Uganda

“…This finding was consistent with the finding by Türetgen et al (2008) that the personality characteristic of dominance and self-efficacy did not predict emergence to leadership. Similarly, Wille et al (2018) revealed that personality traits namely;…”

“…Further, the finding of the study was inconsistent with Türetgen et al (2008) who established that the personality characteristic of self-monitoring (locus of control) predicted leader emergence. Likewise, Wille et al (2018) revealed that female executives tended to demonstrate an archetypical "leader personality" focused on assertiveness,…”

“…In this study, locus of control referred to internality and external locus of control (Rinn, Boazman, Jackson, & Barrio, 2014). There are a number of scholars (Ademe & Singh, 2015;Eby, Cader, & Noble, 2003;Gabdreeva & Khalfieva, 2016;Türetgen, Unsal, & Erdem, 2008;Wille, Wiernik, Vergauwe, Vrijdags, & Trbovic, 2018;Zubaidi, Al-Sammerai, & Ahmad, 2011) that studied the relationship between personality characteristics and female teachers progress to leadership. For instance, Ademe and Singh (2015) in a study in selected public higher education institutions in Amhara region in Ethiopia established that self-confidence, self-esteem, and assertiveness were the most important factors that facilitated women into leadership.…”

“…Türetgen et al (2008) using students in a Turkish university reported that self-monitoring (locus of control) predicted leader emergence. Wille et al (2018) using European executives and non-executive employees established that both male and female executives tended to demonstrate an archetypical "leader personality" focused on assertiveness. Exploring barriers to women's participation in positions of power and decision making in Jordan, Zubaidi et al (2011) reported that personality characteristics of women such as lack of self-confidence, the traditional social raising that promoted woman's dependency on the father, husband and brother in more of their affairs made their personalities negative hence negatively influencing their aspiration to reach leadership positions.…”