New research shows leaders are persuasive rule-breakers

EDMONTON, Alberta - May 30, 2014 - PRLog -- Psychometrics Canada, a leading assessment publisher and consultant for the development and selection of people in business, government and education, today announced new research on how specific personality traits characterize leaders and differentiate them from other occupational groups. As part of the norming study for the new version of the Work Personality Index^® assessment (www.workpersonalityindex.com), being released today, over 2,000 Managers, Executives and Top Executives reported that the personality traits that best characterize them are Leadership, Multi-tasking, Energy, Persuasion, Social Confidence and Teamwork.

“The traits that best discriminate leaders from non-leaders indicate that managers and leaders like to take control, do many tasks at once and are very energetic” says Dr. Donald Macnab, Director of Research, Psychometrics Canada and author of the Work Personality Index assessment. “In contrast to earlier studies, where Conscientiousness tends to be one of the best predictors of job performance, managers and leaders show a lower level of rule-following (a Conscientiousness trait) than other groups. In fact, the higher the level of manager or leaders (manager, executive, top executive), the lower level of Rule-Following – with Top Executives being lowest of all groups in Rule-Following.”

Managers and leaders perhaps characterize themselves as rule-breakers not rule-followers, and are more interested in considering new approaches than following standard operating procedures. Interestingly other Conscientiousness traits such as Dependability, Attention-to-detail, Persistence and Planning show little differences across groups.  The interpersonal traits that best distinguish managers and leaders from other groups are not outgoingness, but persuasiveness, social confidence and team-orientation.

“The research indicates that personality does distinguish leaders from other groups. In addition, it shows that examining specific personality traits rather than global* personality traits results in findings that help to explain these differences in a more precise way,” says Dr. Donald Macnab.

The Work Personality Index assessment helps organizations manage talent by measuring candidate job-fit, development needs, career options and leadership potential. Based on a model of 21 personality traits that measure distinct aspects of work behavior, the Work Personality Index assessment describes an individual’s style in terms of job related strengths and weaknesses.

For more information about this research or the Work Personality Index assessment contact: Dan Costigan; 7125-77 Ave; Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6B0B5; 1.800.661.5158 ext 245; dcostigan@psychometrics.com; www.psychometrics.com

Fact Sheet

- The Work Personality Index assessment is a registered trademark of  Psychometrics Canada in Canada and other countries.
- *Global personality traits as measured by the Big Five factor model include Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism
- Dr. Donald Macnab holds a PhD in psychology, specializing in test development, measurement and psychometrics, and a Masters Degree in Computing Science and Psychology.  He has had over 25 years of experience in test development and project management. He has been involved with the Canadian Achievement tests, Canada’s most widely used commercial achievement test and has developed tests for Nova Scotia Department of Education and for Statistics Canada. In addition, Donald has been involved in the coordination of the development of the following major instruments: French versions of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^®, Strong Interest Inventory, California Psychological Inventory, CPI 260^® and FIRO-B^®; the Values Scale, the Salience Inventory and the Individual Outlook Test.  Dr. Macnab is also co-author of the Career Values Scale and Career Interest Profiler.