Personality
and Managerial Performance by Industry, Function, and Management Level
David Donnay, Ph.D.
August 2001
Paper presented at the 109th
Annual Convention
Of the American
Psychological Association
Dusting Off the Shelf
“Over the last two decades,
the once maligned use of personality variables to predict important work related
behavior, has gained acceptance… overwhelming evidence exists that information
from personality inventories can be used to predict and explain important no
inventory behavior.”
Heckman &
Roberts 1997
“Over the past several years
there has been an increased sense of optimism regarding the utility of
personality tests in personnel selection (Behling, 1998; Goldberg, 1993, Hogan,
Hogan, & Roberts, 1996; Hogan & Ones, 1997; Mount & Barrick, 1995).”
From Hurtz &
Donovan 2000
Big Five as a Parsimonious
Summary
•
Social
ascendancy is related to performance in management and sales
•
Emotional
stability is related to leadership status
•
Likeability is
related to job performance ratings by others
•
Dependability
is related to achievement and to staying out of trouble
•
Openness is
related to intellectual performance, creativity, and wide interests
From Hogan 1990
Note, however,
that the study by Mershon & Gorsuch 1988 on the question of “does an increase in
personality factors increase predictability of real life criteria” found that 16
factors were superior. Also, Hough 1992 reported that 9 factors were ideal.
Leadership Development
Program (LDP)®
A program designed to offer
middle-level to upper-level managers an opportunity to stimulate a process of
growth to help them become more successful and productive in their work and
personal lives and more effective in leading others to do the same. One of the
most effective and popular programs of its kind in the world, drawn from the
Center for Creative Leadership’s nearly 30 years of research and experience in
individual development. The program blends coaching, change management,
activity-based learning and individual feedback to help participants develop
their capacity for total leadership. Post-program feedback regarding behavior
change is an integrated part of the program experience for continued learning
over time.
LDP is a registered trademark
of the Center for Creative Leadership
The Center for Creative
Leadership (CCL) Sample
Sample Characteristics
•Approximately 27% women,
73% men
•Approximately 88%
Caucasian, 12% other race
•Average age of 42 years
•Average
years of education was 17
•Modal annual compensation
of $75,000 to $99,999
•Approximately 60% service,
40% manufacturing
•Approximately 81% private
sector, 19% public sector
•Approximately 51% upper
management, 49% middle
California Psychological
Inventory™
An assessment of normal
personality that:
•
Identifies
strengths and development needs
•
encourages and
guides change,
•
and offers
strategic insights.
California Psychological
Inventory and CPI are trademarks of Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
Benchmarks®
A comprehensive, 360-degree
assessment tool that:
•
Identifies
strengths (success) and development needs (derailment),
•
encourages and
guides change,
•
and offers
strategic insights for middle to upper level managers and executives.
The Bird and Benchmarks are
registered trademarks of the Center for Creative Leadership
Comparing Profiles
•
Elevation:
refers to the overall
mean level of the profile.
•
Shape:
refers to the overall
configuration of the profile as determined by the relative elevation among the
scales.
Wiggins 1973
Multivariate Profiles
“It is daunting to see,
either literally or in the mind’s eye, statistical results in multiple
dimensions… the practitioner is therefore encouraged to examine patterns of
scales, both within and across different sets of scales and to think about their
implications.”
From Donnay and
Borgen 1996
Campbell’s Premise
•
“When
statistical data from standardized psychological surveys are arranged in an
appropriate manner, a hierarchy effect inevitably emerges.”
•
In other
words, “people in more favored situations respond more optimistically. The
effect seems to be particularly prominent among individuals in leadership
positions.”
From
Campbell 1998
Correlations between CPI®
Form 462 and Preliminary Short-Form in the CCL Sample
Mean CPI Profile
for Sample of Managers and Executives 
Mean Profiles for Men and
Women
Mean Profiles at Varying Levels of Management
Effect Sizes for
CPI Scales by Management Level
Milliken-Davies 1992 Study
of Critical Incidents of Incompetent Management in Hogan, Curphy, & Hogan, 1994
Most common complaints from
direct reports concerned managers’ unwillingness to exercise authority, found in
20% of sample
Next most common complaints
from direct reports involved managers tyrannizing their subordinates, which
characterized 16% of sample
Mean Profiles for
Varying Job Functions
Effect Sizes for
CPI Scales by Job Function
Mean Profiles by
Various Types of Organizations
Effect Sizes for
CPI Scales by Organizational Type
Mean Profiles at
Varying Levels of Overall Leadership Skills
Effects Sizes for
CPI Scales by Overall Leadership Skills
Special Purpose
Scales at Various Levels of Management
Effect Sizes for
Special Purpose Scales by Management Level
Special Purpose
Scales at Various Levels of Leadership Skills
Effect Sizes for
Special Purpose Scales by Leadership Skills
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