Van Lill, X; Cruickshank, Lynne A

Research in leadership has delved into diverse styles, yet efforts to integrate these findings into a unified framework have been limited. Hogan and Hogan (1997) initiated research on dysfunctional personality in the workplace, offering a comprehensive perspective on leadership within the business context. This work paved the way for exploring a cohesive spectrum of leadership styles, from functional to dysfunctional, as proposed by Redeker et al. (2014). Additionally, leadership, defined as the ability to inspire others towards shared objectives (Hogan & Sherman, 2019), inherently possesses a social nature that aligns seamlessly with an interpersonal circumplex. Exploring a potential circular structure may yield valuable insights applicable from both selection and development perspectives.

This study explores the circumplex structure of eight leadership styles based on configurations of scales from the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and Hogan Development Survey (HDS). These styles were subsequently subjected to regression analysis against two performance outcomes: the demonstration of Getting Along and Getting Ahead. The goal was to investigate whether the configuration of leadership styles translates into effective leadership. Data was collected from 2759 leaders who completed the HPI and HDS (Hogan & Hogan, 2007; 2009). Simultaneously, 360 ratings were collected from the leaders' peers, customers, and managers. Multidimensional scaling (Mair et al., 2022), principal component analysis, and randomisation test of hypothesised order relations (Tracey, 1997) were employed to examine the structure (angular location and vector length) and fit of the eight styles. Moreover, a dominance analysis was utilised to establish the criterion validity of these styles (Nimon & Oswald, 2013).

The visual representation of the eight leadership styles in a two-dimensional space, an inspection of angular locations and vector lengths of the eight dimensions, and the order predictions revealed a circumplex structure within the data. Furthermore, an anticipated pattern of dominant positive and negative relationships between the eight styles and the two performance outcomes emerged based on distinct multiple regression coefficients obtained.

The researchers of the proceeding will be presenting a symposium on the leader circumplex findings according to three different topics:

1. A historical overview of the development of circumplex models and key methodological considerations.

2. A novel leadership circumplex model based on combinations of dark and bright side personality subscales, drawing on the constructs of Getting Along and Getting Ahead.

3. Interpretive guidelines on using circumplex models in practice for selection and development purposes.

Combining interpretations across personality assessments can aid the identification of noteworthy patterns. However, this may prove overwhelming for practitioners. Practitioners might identify patterns that lack empirical validation. To address this challenge, this symposium will equip practitioners or researchers to:

1. Understand scientifically informed cross-scale combinations within bright and dark personality measures. Actionable suggestions concerning eight leadership styles will equip practitioners with insights into potential coaching and development opportunities.

2. Apply insights into making selection decisions based on an individual's particular standing on each of the eight leadership styles.

3. Apply methods to explore circumplex structure in other areas where data is collected on personality measures.