An Investigation of Key Personality Traits of Managers and Executives

The current study examined the key personality traits of executives and managers, and its relationship with their career satisfaction. Executives and managers consists of the top management and their personality has important implications for the performance and development of an organization. The present study attempted to understand the commonalities and differences between the broad and narrow personality traits of executives and managers. Archival data on personality traits and career satisfaction of executives and managers working in different industries around the United States was extracted from eCareerfit.com. Data was analyzed using Independent t-test, Pearson correlation and Fisher’s Z test. The overall results show significant difference among managers and executives on nine personality traits, with executives scoring higher on seven personality traits. No significant difference in the correlation between the nine personality traits and career satisfaction of managers and executives were found. A discussion of all the broad and narrow personality traits is offered.