Narcissism/Humility and Gender: An Examination of Multisource Feedback Ratings of Leadership

Both individual personality variables and gender have been found to affect how effective leaders are perceived to be. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between narcissism/humility and 360° feedback ratings of leadership. The relationships between participant self-reported narcissism/humility and multi-source ratings of leadership were assessed, in addition to analyzing if gender moderated this relationship. The present study used data from a Midwestern consulting firm; the sample was comprised of 52 leaders who had undergone the firm’s assessment and leadership development processes. During the assessment and development processes, leaders completed the Personality Research Form E (PRF), a self-report personality measure from which the narcissism/humility variable was extracted, and 360° feedback ratings, and 360° feedback ratings from key stakeholders were also collected. Neither a linear nor a non-linear relationship was found between narcissism/humility and ratings of 360° feedback ratings, and thus, the interaction with gender could not be explored. Although the hypothesized relationships were not found, correlations revealed findings on rater source. Limitations, future research directions, and implications for research and practice are discussed