Impact of Personality on Transformational Leadership Style: Study of Education Sector Leaders in Jaffna District

Abstract

Many researchers have attempted to link personality and leadership styles and have shown interesting results. Despite the large number of studies that have been conducted, it has been noted that much more research in this area is needed to explore the relationship between the variables. Further, This study aims to assess the impact of big-five personality traits on the transformational leadership style of the leaders in the education sector in Jaffna. In this study, a random sampling method was used to select samples. The sample comprised 67 school leaders. The Big Five personality traits were measured using Goldberg’s International Personality Item Pool (IPIP). The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Form 5X) measured transformational leadership. Correlation and regression analyses were performed using SPSS software to find the association between the study variables. The study revealed that, among the big-five personality factors, extraversion, openness and conscientiousness positively impact transformational leadership, whereas neuroticism negatively impacts. However, the impact of agreeableness on transformational leadership is not significant. Future research may be conducted to explore these factors across different jobs and industries.