Negative personality traits and self-monitoring among sales managers

Abstract

Taking into account the main objective of any organization engaged in retail, sales and provision of services there are high expectations towards the personal skills and professional competence level of a sales manager. The functional responsibilities of a sales manager suggest an ambition to be active, flexible, take responsibility for own decisions, be able to take risks, and make a positive impression on clients. Previous studies revealed that a certain combination of negative personality traits that make up the Dark Triad complex allows to actively attract customers and contributes to closing high-value profitable deals. It was noted that eagerness to achieve professional success, typical for the individuals affected by the Dark Triad complex, allows them to control their behavior and compensate for the complex's negative manifestations in behavior and communication. This ability is associated with self-monitoring factors. Recent studies have identified certain career benefits available for these individuals. It was suggested that examination of negative personality traits of managers is essential for predicting the results of their professional activities. In the current study, an empirical evaluation of the assumption was made regarding how self-monitoring is associated with negative personality traits among sales managers. It was demonstrated that the distribution of the levels of negative personality traits among sales managers with different self-monitoring levels is not random.