Character for Leadership: The Role of Personal Characteristics

---

Character for Leadership: The Role of Personal Characteristics in Effective 
Leadership Behaviors 
Submitted to Regent University 
School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 
In partial fulfillment of the requirements 
for the degree of 
Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership 
Reid A. Kisling 
April 2007 

---

UMI Number: 3292253
3292253
2008
Copyright 2008 by
Kisling, Reid A.
UMI Microform
Copyright
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against 
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest Information and Learning Company 
300 North Zeeb Road
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 
All rights reserved.
by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. 

---

Character for Leadership 
 
ii
 
 

---

Character for Leadership 
 
iii
 
 
Abstract 
While character is popularly considered a significant determinant of behavior, 
current theories of leadership typically consider behavior alone in the evaluation of 
effective leadership. One model of transformational leadership, visionary 
leadership theory (VLT; Sashkin & Rosenbach, 1996; Sashkin & Sashkin, 2002), 
incorporates the personal characteristics of the leader in addition to specific leader 
behaviors in the consideration of effective leadership. Using the model of character 
constructed by Cloninger, Svrakic, and Pryzbeck (1993), this study evaluated 
differences of character levels on effective visionary leadership behaviors for a 
sample of students preparing for religious leadership. This study utilized The 
Leadership Profile (TLP; Sashkin, Rosenbach, & Sashkin, 1997) and the 
Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI; Cloninger, Przybeck, Svarkic, & 
Wetzel, 1994) instruments. Study participants were segmented by levels of prior 
ministry leadership experience and ministry leadership participation while in school 
as well as by levels of the character traits self-directedness, cooperativeness, and 
self-transcendence. Results demonstrated statistically significant findings for the 
character trait levels of self-directedness (confident leadership by self-directedness 
level—
χ
2
= 20.37, 
p
= .00; visionary leadership by self-directedness level—
χ
2
= 
17.29, 
p
= .00) and cooperativeness (follower-centered leadership by 
cooperativeness level—
χ
2
= 7.97, 
p
= .02; visionary leadership by cooperativeness 
level—
χ
2
= 18.40, 
p
= .00) but not for levels of self-transcendence. Exploratory 
regression analysis showed that self-directedness and self-transcendence scale 
scores predict a significant amount of the variance in visionary leadership behavior 
scores (
R
2
= .306, 
F
= 21.61, 
p
= .00). Regression analysis also showed that prior 
ministry leadership experience level, when combined with self-directedness and 
self-transcendence scale scores, predicts a significant amount of the variance in 
visionary leadership behavior scores (
R
2
= .338, 
F
= 16.53, 
p
= .00). This study also 
provides conceptual development of distinctions between character, values, ethics, 
and morality as well as links between behavioral self-regulation and character. 

---

Character for Leadership 
 
iv