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American Journal of Applied Psychology
2015; 4(3-1): 27-32
Published online March 23, 2015 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajap)
doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.15
ISSN: 2328-5664 (Print); ISSN: 2328-5672 (Online)
Personality and Leadership Qualities among Student
Leaders
Ming Sing Chai
Leonard Personality Centre of Excellence, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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To cite this article:
Ming Sing Chai. Personality and Leadership Qualities among Student Leaders. American Journal of Applied Psychology. Special Issue:
Psychology of University Students. Vol. 4, No. 3-1, 2015, pp. 27-32. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.15
Abstract:
This research focused on a group of student leaders who have been elected by their peers to hold various positions
in societies and clubs in the university setting. It explored the leadership qualities that student leaders had and the influence of
personality on those leadership qualities among student leaders. A total of 59 participants from a private university college in
Malaysia were involved, with 33 males and 26 females. Leonard Personality Inventory (LPI) online was used to assess the
personality dimensions. Participants were asked to do a self-rating on 10 leadership qualities listed in [17]. Findings showed
that student leaders chosen by their peers had very high integrity. Multiple regression results showed Neutral personality
dimension was the most significant predictor for the leadership quality of showing concern for others. Open personality
dimension was a significant predictor for self-confidence. Similarly, Relational personality dimension was a significant
predictor for both charisma and integrity. To a certain extent, personality of leaders influences the leadership qualities that they
display readily and some leadership qualities such as charisma need to be further enhanced through leadership training.
Keywords:
Personality, Leadership Qualities, Leadership Training, Student Leaders
1. Introduction
University is a training ground for future leaders. In the
Malaysian tertiary education system, acquisition of
leadership skills as one of the seven soft skills elements in
human capital development among undergraduates is
emphasized [1]. It is a requirement for each university to
incorporate the training of student leadership as part of the
program learning outcome expected from graduates as a
result of their university education. Besides leadership
development and training directly associated with the
academic curriculum, many students’ societies and clubs are
formed in the campus setting to provide leadership
opportunities for students to learn and practice their
leadership skills as part of their extra-curricular activities. By
the time students graduated from a program, they are
expected to have mastered not only technical knowledge and
skills but also soft skills especially leadership skills.
Previous study has showed that students were aware of the
importance of leadership as they perceived leadership
experience as important in the campus and even after college
as indicated by a student survey on attitudes about student
leadership [2]. Organizations and societies at large need good,
competent and efficient leaders. Studies have shown that
leadership can affect employees’ work performance and their
well-beings, influence job satisfaction and organizational
commitment among employees [3 – 5]. Therefore, leadership
skills will be important to the future career of students and
these leadership skills can be formed and developed while
students are still pursuing their undergraduate studies.
The importance of students leadership has been explored
among nursing students [6 – 8], engineering students [9],
students involved in youth ministry [10], and business
administration department students [11]. Most of these
researches explored the effectiveness of leadership and
leadership behaviors among students in general. The
researcher is of the opinion that it is also important to assess
what student leaders already have in terms of leadership
qualities and personality traits in order to further develop
their leadership abilities with the incorporation of the
awareness of their own personality, their strengths and
weaknesses. Leadership is an art that has its own uniqueness
[12]. Therefore, good leaders need to be able to make use of
whatever they have such as characters, and leadership
qualities according to the needs of their members and
situations in order to give impact to other people’s lives.
This research focuses on a group of student leaders who