The failure of introverts to emerge as leaders: The role of forecasted affect

Effects of Leader-Follower Extraversion Congruence and Sectoral Difference on Leader-Member Exchange: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose

Drawing upon self-categorization theory and the comparative literature on public and private sectors, the purpose of this study is to examine whether leader-follower extraversion congruence is positively related to leader-member exchange (LMX) and whether congruence at high levels of extraversion results in higher LMX than congruence at low levels. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the moderating role of sectoral difference in the relationship between extraversion fit and LMX.

Methods

Participants were 320 leader-follower dyads (53 leaders and 320 followers) from various public and private sectors in the Chinese cultural context. The extraversion part of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and leader-member exchange multidimensional measure (LMX-MDM) were used to measure extraversion and LMX, respectively. Hypotheses were tested using cross-level moderated polynomial regression and response surface analysis.

Results

Leader-follower extraversion congruence was not significantly associated with LMX, and there was no significant difference in LMX between congruence at high levels of extraversion and congruence at low levels. However, sectoral difference moderated the relationship between extraversion fit and LMX. Specifically, in the public sector, leader-follower extraversion congruence was positively related to LMX, and LMX was higher when leader and follower extraversion were both at a high level compared to when they were at a low level. In the private sector, this fit effect vanished.

Practical Implications

The results suggest that, in the public sector, when organizations deal with the deployment of staff, taking leader-follower extraversion fit into account may mitigate possible later relationship conflicts. However, in the private sector, by not emphasizing extraversion fit, organizations can focus resources on more crucial factors.

Originality/Value

By considering sectoral difference as the boundary condition of leader-follower extraversion fit, this study extends the comparative literature on public and private sectors and supports self-categorization theory.

Agreeableness, extraversion and life satisfaction: Investigating the mediating roles of social inclusion and status

We examine inclusion and status as potential mediators in the relationships between extraversion and agreeableness, on the one hand, and life satisfaction, on the other hand. Previous research has shown that agreeableness is less strongly related to life satisfaction compared to extraversion. We argue that the relatively weak association between agreeableness and life satisfaction is due to the fact that, even though this personality trait is positively related to inclusion, it is only weakly related to status. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) and survey data from Australia, Denmark and Sweden, we test five hypotheses about the linkages between these personality traits, inclusion, status and life satisfaction. Our results show that both extraversion and agreeableness are positively associated with life satisfaction and that this association is much stronger for extraversion. Furthermore, our results show that extraversion is reliably associated with both inclusion and status, whereas agreeableness is a reliable predictor of inclusion but not of status. Turning to our mediation analysis, our main results demonstrate that the relationship between extraversion and life satisfaction is fully mediated by both inclusion and status, whereas the relationship between agreeableness and life satisfaction is partially mediated by inclusion. Our mediation analysis further shows that agreeableness has a negative direct effect on life satisfaction over and above the positive indirect effect through inclusion. Our findings highlight the role of both inclusion and status as important mediators in the relationships between extraversion and agreeableness, on the one hand, and life satisfaction, on the other hand.

The Bottleneck Metaphor of Leadership Culture: How Shared Understandings About Leadership Develop in Groups and Impede Diversity and Effectiveness of Leaders

There are two big problems related to leadership today: unequal representation and high failure rates among leaders. This conceptual paper argues that commonly shared values, assumptions, and beliefs about leadership, i.e., universal leadership culture, are the common cause of both problems. After the concepts and levels related to leadership culture were explained, we introduce a multilevel, multi-actor process model named the bottleneck metaphor of leadership culture. This metaphor describes how leadership cultures are co-constructed by multiple actors based on their involvement in leader selection and reproduce themselves in groups over time based on emergent leaders' characteristics. Next, a diagnostic tool called “the leadership mirror” is proposed for organizations that want to assess their leadership culture's current state as a starting point for further interventions. Specific suggestions are made for various actors, ranging from individuals to organizations, for their possible roles in preventing undesired leadership cultures.

Socio-interactive practices and personality within an EFL online learning environments

A primary effort within the literature addresses the needs in acclimatizing dynamic, student-driven instruction to conceive a significantly enhanced online learning environment. This study serves to examine the relationship, if any, between student characteristics (introversion and extraversion) and contribution in the online writing environment (social presence) and their sense of class community in online writing courses. The research was undertaken in a public university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), examining a sample (N = 171, 36 males and 135 females) of EFL male and female students. The results confirmed the ICT positive relationships between extraverted and introverted students with their social presence and sense of class community. These results reinforce the instructor's significant role in implementing and engaging students in learning experiences that can address the need for different types of students (e.g., extraverts, introverts) and enhance their interaction through online platforms. The study further calls for developing pedagogically sound approaches to shift away from instructor-fed to student-centered online learning that incorporates instructors' facilitation, constructive and continuous feedback, and clear guidance. It further urges the utilization of sociopsychological methods to address individual differences, especially in online learning.

Personality predictors of social status attainment

The current review summarizes recent advances in research on personality predictors of status attainment. In line with previous research, recent studies indicate that extraverted and narcissistic individuals tend to attain status in groups. Research on mediating processes includes a wide range of underlying motivational, behavioral, and interpersonal perception processes. Most generally speaking, those high in extraversion and narcissism attain status because they are more motivated to do so and thus display assertive behavior that makes them look competent. Situational contexts, group tasks, and cultural contexts can moderate the personality-status links by shaping these processes. For example, studies inspired by evolutionary psychology suggest that dominant individuals are more likely to attain status when dominance is instrumental to address a threatening environment.