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Leadership
Is there a leadership “personality”?
There’s a common belief that leadership and success come more naturally to some than to others. But how much of this is true? And to what extent can you exercise your own personality to become the leader you wish to be?
It’s something of a conundrum that has fascinated scholars of psychology and business alike for years. Are some people simply better suited to leadership or success? Is there something innate within certain individuals – and not others – that disposes them differently for the challenges of managing people, organizations, and themselves? And what, if anything, might this have to do with our personalities? Might there even be such a thing as a leadership personality?
Perhaps a good way to unpack some of this is to start by defining what we mean by personality: what it is, what it isn’t, and whether it is something fixed and immutable or whether it shifts, adapts, or even evolves as we grow and mature.
Simply put, personality is a term that describes the characteristic patterns in how we think, feel, and behave. It’s a psychological fingerprint that makes us who we intrinsically are. And in fact, it’s relatively stable over time, though it is shaped by our lived experience.
The ‘Big Five’
Personality isn’t one single trait, but a constellation of tendencies that influence how we relate to others, how we approach challenges, and how we make decisions.
The most widely researched model of personality in psychology is what we call the Big Five: five broad dimensions of human personality that capture the essence of how we typically function in our lives and in our work. These five dimensions break down like this:
- Openness reflects how curious and imaginative we are.
- Conscientiousness relates to how organized and goal-oriented we behave.
- Extraversion captures how energetic and outgoing we tend to be.
- Agreeableness describes how warm, cooperative, and empathetic we are.
- And emotional stability – often measured as low neuroticism – reflects how calm and resilient we remain under pressure.
Together, these five traits form a kind of psychological map that helps us understand individual differences between ourselves and others – not in terms of good or bad, but in terms of the patterns that can determine and shape how we navigate the world.
While our personalities are fairly stable across the trajectory of our lives, it’s wrong to assume that personality is something fixed. We are all born with certain predispositions. Some of us are intrinsically more open or curious, say, some more extraverted and outgoing, others less so. But personality itself is also adaptive and prone to some change throughout life in response to our environment. For a long time, it was assumed that personality stabilizes in early adulthood. But research over the past two decades shows the opposite.
Especially in young adulthood, people tend to become more conscientious, emotionally stable, and agreeable – likely because they take on new responsibilities, relationships, and roles. Later in life, some of these traits may shift again, reflecting the changing priorities of older age. Personality is a dynamic system that keeps evolving, shaped by how we live, love, and grow.
So, what does all of this have to do with your career or success in life? Are certain personalities better equipped for personal or professional success?
“The good news is that you have greater agency over your personality than you might assume.”
Personality and leadership
It’s a common belief that some personality types are better geared for things like leadership – and there is some truth to that.
Certain traits, like high-risk affinity and extraversion, can be especially helpful in leadership roles. Leaders often need to make decisions under uncertainty, take calculated risks, and represent not just themselves, but their team or organization. Extraverted individuals, who tend to be energetic, assertive, and communicative, often find it easier to step into that outward-facing role.
Personality can shape how we lead: whether we naturally prefer to inspire, to organize, to coach, or to challenge other people – and how we go about doing these things. Extraverted leaders, for instance, tend to gravitate towards highly visible roles, while conscientious leaders may excel in strategic, detail-oriented environments. Personality doesn’t determine your path, but it does influence your style.
That being said, there’s no single personality type that guarantees success. Different contexts call for different strengths. A visionary founder might thrive with openness and boldness, while a leader in healthcare or education might benefit more from empathy, patience, and emotional stability.
In the end, success is less about having the right traits – and more about understanding your own tendencies and using them wisely. Great leadership doesn’t follow a template. It grows from authenticity and adaptability. The good news is that you have greater agency over your personality than you might assume.
Exercising your personality: Start with self-awareness
Human beings can adapt and even leverage certain traits to extend influence and impact. We can’t rewrite our personality overnight. But we can stretch it. This isn’t about donning a mask or becoming someone else. It’s about expanding your behavioral range with intention and purpose as dynamics change, and circumstances dictate.
I’ve worked with leaders who were naturally risk-averse but deliberately trained themselves to tolerate uncertainty because innovation demanded it. Others learned to dial down perfectionism in high-pressure settings. The most impactful people often aren’t those with ideal traits but those who know themselves and evolve consciously.
Self-awareness begins with asking questions.
How does this work in practice?
The first step is to know yourself better and dig deep to determine which traits dominate within your personality.
Self-awareness begins with asking questions. Think back to the Big Five that we looked at earlier as a framework that can help you interrogate your own personality and determine how to rate yourself in terms of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability.
Ask yourself things like:
- (Openness) Do I typically ask or answer questions?
- (Conscientiousness) Am I intrinsically motivated by goals or objectives? What drives me?
- (Extraversion) Are other people’s values, goals, or challenges readily clear to me, or do I struggle to understand their motivation?
- (Agreeableness) Do I get things done as part of a team, do I delegate, or am I more comfortable working alone?
- (Emotional stability) How do I manage when things get tough or the pressure builds – what would others say about me?
Once you have gained greater insight and self-awareness, you are ready to exercise and stretch your personality to expand your impact and influence.
Exercising your personality: Practical tips to expand your impact
Let’s say you’ve determined that you are introverted by nature. With the right coaching, processes, and practice, you can still learn to speak with confidence and authority, and to assert yourself effectively even in challenging circumstances.
Or perhaps you’ve learned that yours is a highly agreeable personality – warm, cooperative, and naturally empathic. You can, nonetheless, train yourself to set clear boundaries, ensuring respect, productivity, and well-being for yourself and your team.
Here are some real-world exercises that have worked well with leaders across industries – each one designed to stretch a specific personality dimension while keeping you authentic.
Openness
Stretch practice: Once a week, join a meeting or brainstorming session outside your direct area of expertise. Your only goal: ask three open-ended questions before offering any solutions. This trains curiosity without the pressure to “perform.”
Applied leadership: Rotate responsibility for pitching new ideas among your team – even on projects outside their usual domain. This builds creative flexibility for you and them.
Conscientiousness
Stretch practice: If you are highly structured, experiment with “controlled looseness” by setting 80% of a project plan upfront and leaving 20% for adaptive decision-making. This fosters flexibility without sacrificing order.
Applied leadership: If you struggle with structure, adopt a “five-minute daily anchor” – start each morning by listing the three priorities that will make the biggest difference that day, and review them in the afternoon.
Extraversion
Stretch practice: If you are more introverted, rehearse key talking points before high-visibility situations and commit to speaking within the first two minutes of a meeting. This builds presence without forcing a personality overhaul.
Applied leadership: If you are naturally extraverted, schedule two “listening-first” meetings per week where you speak last, ensuring quieter voices are heard.
Agreeableness
Stretch practice: If you tend towards high agreeableness, practice saying “no” once a week to a non-essential request, explaining your reasoning clearly but respectfully.
Applied leadership: If you are lower on agreeableness, start one meeting each week with a genuine acknowledgment of someone’s contribution before moving to critique or problem-solving.
Emotional stability
Stretch practice: If you tend to be reactive under stress, adopt a “three-breath pause” before responding in tense situations – even three seconds can shift the emotional tone.
Applied leadership: If you are highly stable but sometimes perceived as emotionally distant, schedule regular one-on-ones to share both your strategic vision and personal reflections, showing that steadiness can also carry warmth.
By targeting one small, deliberate action per trait, you can effectively stretch your behavioral range to effect greater influence and impact as a leader without losing authenticity. Over time, these micro-adjustments compound, creating a leadership style that is not only more versatile but also more resilient to change.
Eva Asselmann will speak at the Global Peter Drucker Forum in November 2025.
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