René van Eeden

Leadership styles and associated personality traits: Support for the conceptualisation of transactional and transformational leadership

The full range model of leadership includes laissez-faire behaviour, transactional leadership, and transformational leadership. The model conceptualises leadership in terms of the behaviours associated with various styles and this conceptualisation has been empirically supported. In this article the personality traits of managers exercising different leadership styles are explained in terms of, and add to, the description of these styles. Members of a management team were assessed in terms of their preferred leadership styles and two groups were identified. Some of the managers relied on both transformational behaviours and active transactional behaviours with an absence of behaviours associated with passive styles. The rest of the managers used behaviours associated with all the styles. An integrated personality profile was compiled for each manager. Definite trends were observed when comparing the profiles of the managers in the two leadership groups. Transformational leadership was defined in terms of the interpersonal more than the visionary aspect of leadership with interpersonal styles and work and social ethics being emphasised. Behaviours associated with transactional leadership as well as with more passive styles were also noted. The findings provide further support for the conceptualisation of leadership in terms of the full range model of leadership.

Using the South African Version of the 16PF in a Multicultural Context

The objective of this study was to determine the fairness of the 1992 South African version of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF, SA92) for various groups and to contribute to the knowledge on the profiles of specific career groups. The use of this questionnaire was evaluated on employees of a multicultural South African financial institution. The profiles of males and females were compared. So too were the profiles of individuals tested in their first language (Afrikaans or English) and individuals who indicated that their home language is an African language but who were tested in English. A comparison with the general population showed differences in primary and second-order factors, most of which could be explained in terms of the occupational type. Although there did not seem to be a need for specific norms, some cultural and gender-specific trends were found that should be considered when interpreting results on the 16PF, SA92. The factor structures of the total sample and the various subgroups were essentially the same and justified the use of the formulae for the second-order factors given in the manual. However, group-specific trends were also found in the constructs measured and these should be considered for the interpretation and usage of the scores on the primary and second-order traits.

Theoretical and methodological considerations in the translation of the 16PF5 into an African language

A Tshivenda version of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Fifth Edition (16PF5) was developed using a back-translation design. The translated version was administered to a Tshivenda-speaking sample. Analyses were done at an item level, specifically in terms of the contribution of the items to the reliability of the 16 primary factors. Results indicated that many of the items would have to be excluded if the aim were to achieve acceptable reliability, and even then the reliability coefficients would remain low. In the case of a number of the ineffective items, translation changed the meaning of the items because of the absence of an equivalent concept in the target language, difficulty in translating idiomatic expressions, potential confusion due to the use of the negative form, and translation errors. Trends that indicate cultural differences in the manifestation of constructs were also observed and these were related to cultural norms (e.g., the expression of emotions) and experiential factors (e.g., job-related experience). A literal translation of the questionnaire proved to be insufficient and the findings of this study need to be considered in further adaptations of the test. The theoretical and methodological issues highlighted here have implications for the translation of this questionnaire into other African languages as well as for the adaptation of personality questionnaires in general.

Social defense structures in organizations: how A lack of authorization keeps managers from moving to transformational leadership

The systems psychodynamic perspective was used to explore the functioning of a management team at one of the plants of a South African production company experiencing change. The focus was on the impact of social defenses on the leadership style being exercised. During a day long consultation session with the team a dynamic of control and dependency was observed. The transactional culture that can be regarded as “normal,” in this environment, actually became part of a defense strategy, resulting in dependency and a lack of authorization that limited the use of transformational leadership. A lack of clarity in terms of role and boundary definitions furthermore resulted in a struggle in terms of interrelatedness and a lack of interdependent functioning at a systems level.

The impact of home language on the understanding of the vocabulary used in the South African version of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Fifth Edition

The aim of this study was to investigate the understanding of the vocabulary used in the South African version of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Fifth Edition by native English speakers and non-native English speakers. Two prominent studies investigated the impact of home language when using the earlier version, namely, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire South African 1992 version. Methodological suggestions following from these studies were implemented in this study and the results for the current version were compared to the findings of the earlier studies. The sample comprised 213 first-year university students from different faculties. Understanding of the vocabulary used was operationalised as the ability to provide synonyms for words used in the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Fifth Edition. The number of correct responses to each word was reported in frequency tables for each language group and Chi-square analyses provided support for these findings. The average percentage of correct responses was calculated to allow for comparisons. The native English-speaking group performed moderately better. The non-native English-speaking respondents nevertheless performed notably higher in this study when compared to earlier studies. This was attributed partly to the changes in the design of this study. Further comparison between the language groups in this study was done using an independent samples t-test. The mean score obtained by each language group was relatively high, but a significant difference between the groups suggested greater difficulty in understanding in the case of non-native English speakers. These findings were further informed by a preliminary investigation into the level of understanding of different population groups.

Combining Leadership Theory with a Psychodynamic Perspective to Explain the Functioning of a Management Team

This article illustrates how the processes and dynamics in a management team at a South African organization reflect the leadership and personality profiles of the members of the team. Participants were the 12-member management team (including the general manager). The profiles were compiled on the basis of quantitative measuring instruments, while the functioning of the team was observed during a group consultation session. Approximately half of the team (including the general manager) demonstrated behaviors associated with transformational and active transactional leadership styles, while the rest of the team also demonstrated behaviors associated with more passive styles of leadership. The interplay between these profiles and the group dynamics contributed to a defense strategy that included control and dependency as well as the formation of a closed system.This article illustrates how the processes and dynamics in a management team at a South African organization reflect the leadership and personality profiles of the members of the team. Participants...