Class, consider the following observation, \"a leader’s personality trait should
ID: 340005 • Letter: C
Question
Class, consider the following observation, "a leader’s personality trait should match the follower's." A few perspectives here:
1. Where does "new" or innovative thought/action come from if leaders and followers share matching personality traits? Could not any one of the followers then fill the role of leader?
2. What do organizations look like when leadership and followers share similar or matched personality traits? Are there examples from your own experience where this model is successful?
3. If we agree that change is inevitable over the course of time, how do organizations adapt if leaders and followers share similar or matched personality traits?
So I put it to the class: "a leader’s personality trait should match the follower's"
Please analyze the statement in a context of your choosing and share.
Explanation / Answer
1.
Innovation is not solely driven by personality traits. Innovation is also driven by necessity, domain, external and internal factors. When leader and followers have the same personality trait, there are certain advantages for innovation. For example consider an organization where everyone is courageous enough to take new initiatives and can work independently. In such cases leaders can assign their followers to a certain function and the organization can run smoothly. At the same time let’s say innovations are required in operations, then the person in-charge there could innovate and take new initiatives.
When it comes to filling up the role of the leader, it cannot only depend on personality trait. For example, personality trait explains if a person is introvert/extrovert. However, this does not necessarily mean that the person who is extrovert will prove to be a better leader than the introvert people. But let’s consider that everyone in the team is extroverted. In that case the team will require an extrovert personality to lead the team. So we can understand that while any one of the followers can become leaders, the ideal leader should have some additional capabilities.
2.
When an organization has leaders and followers with the same personality, the organization can work in a divisional structure very efficiently. Small group of teams could carry out complex tasks because the team synergies are better in such instances. Better team synergy also means that the work accomplished are more efficient and effective in nature.
An example of an organization where leaders and followers share the same trait is Amazon. The company recruits with entrepreneurial and problem solving mindset. The focus on personality during their selection process is often higher than technical skills or experience. As a result, in the last few years they have been adding people with (more or less) similar personality in their organization. Considering their success in the recent times, we can say that this approach is working for them.
3.
Leaders and followers with same personality traits will eventually cause strain within the organization at some point. The key here is to understand the organization goal. Recruit people whose personality matches the overall organization goals. However, we need to keep in mind that similar to drug trials or any other experiment the organization needs to keep a control group that dampens the impact. For this, the organization must also hire people who are opposite of the majority personality trait and works as and complementary system within the organization. Also a strong focus on process rather than people could also help the organization navigate through personality clashes.