The Effects of Personality of a Leader on Power Construal at Work

Sypes, Chloe (2022) The Effects of Personality of a Leader on Power Construal at Work. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Organizational leaders construe their power in various ways, which has significant bearings on their behaviours, decisions, and outcomes. Previous research has identified two types of power construal: power as an opportunity (using power for their benefit) and power as a responsibility (using power for the benefit of their subordinates and organization). Previous research has also shown that personality traits predict important aspects of power among leaders; however, there is limited research on how personality predicts the construal of power among organizational leaders. This study investigated whether the agreeableness and conscientiousness of a leader relate to the construal of power. A field study was conducted where we recruited 291 English-speaking organizational leaders who worked at least 20 hours per week to complete an online questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, and results showed that agreeableness did not significantly predict the construal of power. Conscientiousness was positively related to power as responsibility. The interaction between agreeableness and conscientiousness of a leader was not significant on construal of power. The current findings offer hiring teams insight into how conscientious leaders will be more likely to utilize their power to benefit their subordinates and organization.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Fousiani, K.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology (WOP) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	04 Mar 2022 09:48
Last Modified:	12 Apr 2022 14:23
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/270

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