A study on the preference for leadership and management with personality traits and values as antecedents

The terms leadership and management have often been used interchangeably. Despite certain similarities, both terms have distinctly different origins and specific meanings. In view of this, our study aims to empirically examine the differences and establish them as distinct but related constructs. In addition, we will examine the practical usage of this by exploring the preference for leadership and managerial roles with personality and values as antecedents. A survey questionnaire to measure leadership and management preferences was developed through a pilot study. Together with established measures of personality traits and values, a web-based survey was administered to NTU students. Results from 582 participants showed that leadership and management are indeed distinct but related: personality traits have a relatively stronger relationship with one’s preference for leadership than management, while values have a relatively stronger relationship with one’s preference for management. Furthermore, the findings also showed that personality traits such as agreeableness, extraversion, and openness to experience, and values of collectivism had the greatest correlation with leadership, while personality traits such as conscientiousness, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivism values correlated higher with management. Limitations and directions for future studies are also discussed, such as conducting the research with working adults, who have more exposure to leadership and managerial experiences.BUSINES