Personality Traits and Behavioral Style Dimensions as Predictors of Authentic Leadership in American Leaders Submitted by Andrew Stephen Johnson A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate of Philosophy Grand Canyon University Phoenix, Arizona December 7, 2018 © by Andrew S. Johnson, 2018 All rights reserved Integrity Statement GRAND CANYON LINIVERSITY Personality Traits and Behavioral Style Dimensions as Predictors of Authentic Leadership in American Leaders I veriff that my dissertation represents original research, is not falsified or plagrarrzed, and that I have accurately reported, cited, and referenced all sources within this manuscript in strict compliance with APA and Grand Canyon University (GCU) guidelines. I also verifl, my dissertation complies with approval(s) granted for this research investigation by GCU Institutional Review Board (IRB). f rilmfuzdfr Andrew S. J Date Abstract The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to examine the Big Five personality traits—openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—and behavioral style dimensions—dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance—as potential predictors of authentic leadership among leaders in U.S. organizations. The theoretical framework for this study included the Authentic Leadership theory, the Big Five personality theory, and the Behavioral Style theory. The researcher collected primary data from a convenience sample of 177 leaders via online survey, using the Big Five Inventory, the Style Insights (DISC) Assessment, and the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. The stepwise regression analysis showed that the Big-five traits significantly predicted authentic leadership, F (4, 176) = 12.701, p < .01, adj. R2 = .210. Similarly, the examined group of behavioral style dimensions significantly predicted authentic leadership, F (1, 176) = 8.802, p < .01, adj. R2 = .042; compliance b = -.219, t = -2.967, p = .003. In addition, a composite model including both sets of predictors significantly predicted of authentic leadership, F (4, 176) = 12.701, p < .01, adj. R2 = .210. Adding the behavioral style dimensions to the big-five traits, however, did not increase the amount of variance accounted for by the model. These results provide new insights into the traits underlying authentic leadership. The findings may inform emerging leader identification and development. Keywords: authentic leadership, Five-factor Model (FFM), DISC model, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), Big Five Inventory (BFI), Style Insights (DISC) Assessment. vi Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Sherri. Thank you for your constant support, encouragement and patience with me as I have pursued this academic goal. I know it has not been easy for either of us. Thanks for not letting me quit. I could never imagine doing life without you. vii Acknowledgements Thanks to all those who have helped to make the completion of my doctoral degree possible. First, I would like to acknowledge my wife, whose constant love and support was the foundation of all my efforts. I would also like to thank my committee members at Grand Canyon University, including Dr. William Jankel, my committee chair, who has provided invaluable encouragement, support, critique, and guidance throughout this process. Your positivity and optimism are inspiring. Thanks also to Dr. Ron Bonnstetter, my content expert, who has helped to shape the vision of this study, and to Dr. Owen Johnson, my methodologist, who has challenged me to think things through, to simplify the study, and to find greater clarity. Thanks also to TTI Success Insights for allowing me to leverage your network of value-added associates to collect a sample of leaders across the U.S. consisting of their clients. Thanks to Dr. Eric Gehrig for helping me along the way. Thanks also to the rest of the TTI team and to John Carli who always makes sure the details are covered. Thanks to all of the leader participants who took the time to complete the assessments making this research possible. Thanks also to Drs. Avolio, Gardner, and Walumbwa for allowing me to use the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire in this study. Thanks also to Dr. Oliver P. John for making the Big Five Inventory available for research purposes. Also, thanks to TTI Success Insights Inc. for granting me the permission to use the latest version of the Style Insights Assessment. Special thanks to Dr. Miron for her rigor and encouragement that pushed me to bring the quality of the final dissertation to a higher level. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ................................................................................. 17 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 17 Background of the Study ............................................................................................. 22 Problem Statement ....................................................................................................... 25 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................... 27 Research Questions and Hypotheses ........................................................................... 29 Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Significance of the Study ................................ 34 Rationale for Methodology .......................................................................................... 38 Nature of the Research Design for the Study .............................................................. 40 Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................... 44 Assumptions, Limitations, Delimitations .................................................................... 51 Assumptions. ...................................................................................................... 51 Limitations and delimitations. ............................................................................ 51 Summary and Organization of the Remainder of the Study ........................................ 54 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 56 Introduction to the Chapter and Background to the Problem ...................................... 56 Identification of the Gap .............................................................................................. 58 Theoretical Foundations and Conceptual Framework ................................................. 60 Authentic leadership theory. ............................................................................... 60 Big Five personality theory. ............................................................................... 65 ix Behavioral style theory. ...................................................................................... 73 Conclusion. ......................................................................................................... 76 Review of the Literature .............................................................................................. 78 The nature of leadership. .................................................................................... 78 Trait theories of leadership. ................................................................................ 79 The alleged consensus of transformational leadership. ...................................... 81 Criticisms of transformational leadership. ......................................................... 83 Previous studies of individual traits predictive of leadership. ............................ 88 Contradictory findings. ....................................................................................... 93 Studies examining antecedent traits or outcomes of ethical or authentic leadership. ........................................................................................................... 95 The gap in the literature related to individual traits predictive of authentic leadership. ......................................................................................................... 106 Methodologies used in closely related studies. ................................................ 108 Instrumentation used in closely related studies. ............................................... 110 Summary .................................................................................................................... 112 Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................................. 114 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 114 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................... 115 Research Questions and Hypotheses ......................................................................... 117 Study variables. ................................................................................................ 117 Research questions.