In part 4 of finding the ideal leader, we studied the Type A personality. We discovered that these individuals exhibit the characteristic of time urgency, competitiveness, polyphasic behaviors and hostility. Because of these characteristics, these individuals usually experience high work stress (Walter, 2010). However, Walter (2010) discovered that a reduction in this work related stress occurred by placing the Type A in a position of leadership where he or she could control their environment. Type A’s function best in crises requiring a turnaround or transformation of an organization.
Our focus will now switch to the Type B personality type. The temperament of a Type B is characterized by “a relaxed, easygoing approach to life, a focus on quality over quantity, low competitiveness and a tendency for self reflection. Type B behavior is essentially the opposite of Type A” (The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology, 2001). However, does this antithetic behavior disqualify them as potential leaders?
Rastogi and Dave (2004) conducted a study of the effectiveness of both Type A and Type B managers in both marketing and production. The study looked at both lower and upper level management. One would believe that the hard driving and highly competitive Type As would out perform the Type Bs but the study results concluded that the Type Bs ranked higher in managerial effectiveness. Type As make good salespersons but, surprisingly, Type Bs make better senior executives.
President Ford is an example of a Type B leader. He assumed office during a devastating national crisis where the sitting president, President Nixon, resigned due to the Watergate Scandal. The nation was in need of national healing to recover from both this crisis and the controversial Vietnam War. President Ford’s calming Type B style was just what the nation needed to begin the healing process (Leighton, 1998).
This is because the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War had caused the nation to loose confidence in its very foundation. President Ford continually reminded the people of the nation to “stop-downgrading” themselves. When he left office, the nation still had challenges but they had regained confidence in the foundations of government, especially the Presidency (Leighton, 1998).
President Carter also exhibited Type B characteristics. However, in his case the situation facing the country was different. He won election promising to be “a man of the people” (Leighton, 1998). His plan was to carefully construct legislative proposals that Congress would be unable to resist passing. However, his resistance to engage Congress prevented passage of his agenda. In this case, his Type B characteristics were a hindrance to passage of legislation needed to restore the nation’s economy. He was also late in engagement during the Iranian Hostage Crisis and when engagement was attempted, it failed (Leighton).
These two examples of Type Bs in action as leaders demonstrate that the Type B characteristic is an asset when the organization needs healing after suffering a crisis but can fail when it prevents engagement during a crisis. This might explain why the nation chose Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Presidential Election (Leighton, 1998). Perhaps they viewed Reagan as more willing to engage in a time of crisis.
In our next lesson, we will look at the leadership characteristics of President Reagan. President Reagan seemed to exhibit both Type A and Type B characteristics. This leads us to ask the question, is it possible for a leader to exhibit both Type A and Type B characteristics depending on the situation? Could this be a key to finding the ideal leader?
References
Leighton, A. (1998). Public therapy and the presidency: Presidential symbolism and the
post-Watergate presidents PhD dissertation, Temple University, United States –
Pensylvania. Retrieved April 17, 2010, ProQuest Database Dissertations & Tesis: Full
Text (Publication No. AAT9838501)
Rastogi, R. & Vandana, D. (2004). Managerial effectiveness: A function of personality
type and organisational components. Singapore Management Review, 26, pp.79-87.
Retrieved April 17, 2010, EbCohost Database
The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (2001). Type B personality. Retrieved April 17,
2010, http://www.credoreference.com/entry/penguinpsyc/type_b_personality
Walter, L. (2010, January). Leadership: The type A characteristic that lowers work
stress.. EHS Today, , . Retrieved March 24, 2010, ABI/INFORM complete (document
ID: 1952095791
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