Personality and Leadership Qualities among Student Leaders

Abstract

This research focused on a group of student leaders who have been elected by their peers to hold various positions in societies and clubs in the university setting. It explored the leadership qualities that student leaders had and the influence of personality on those leadership qualities among student leaders. A total of 59 participants from a private university college in Malaysia were involved, with 33 males and 26 females. Leonard Personality Inventory (LPI) online was used to assess the personality dimensions. Participants were asked to do a self-rating on 10 leadership qualities listed in [17]. Findings showed that student leaders chosen by their peers had very high integrity. Multiple regression results showed Neutral personality dimension was the most significant predictor for the leadership quality of showing concern for others. Open personality dimension was a significant predictor for self-confidence. Similarly, Relational personality dimension was a significant predictor for both charisma and integrity. To a certain extent, personality of leaders influences the leadership qualities that they display readily and some leadership qualities such as charisma need to be further enhanced through leadership training.