Personality Traits of Teachers and Desired Leadership Styles

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ personality traits and their desired leadership styles in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was used for the study with a total of 417 employees randomly selected from five secondary schools in the metropolis. Results indicate that all the five personality traits had significant positive relationship with transformational leadership style, with conscientiousness having the strongest relationship and neuroticism the weakest. Thus conscientious teachers have higher preference fortransformational leadership than employees of the other personality traits. Neuroticism had the strongest positive relationship with transactional leadership style among the other traits. Agreeableness and openness also had significant (weak) positive relationship with transactional leadership style. Conscientiousness however did not have significant relationship, with extraversion relating negatively with transactional leadership style. It was recommended that school managers should endeavour to know the traits of their subordinates and apply the appropriate leadership styles when dealing with them to bring about good interpersonal relationship and satisfaction at the workplace.