Cooperativeness
The character trait of cooperativeness, as defined by Cloninger, Przybeck, et
al. (1994), is a higher-order character trait that contains several lower-order
subtraits such as social acceptance, empathy, helpfulness, compassion, and
integrated conscience. Cooperativeness leads to one’s ability to interact
appropriately with others.
One subtrait of cooperativeness, integrated conscience, seems to correspond
with the concept of power motivation (McClelland, 1974, 1975) since both pertain
to treating others fairly and not behaving in an opportunistic manner. Power
motivation has been demonstrated to significantly impact leadership abilities and
effectiveness (McClelland & Boyatzis, 1982). In addition, empathy and
compassion, two additional subtraits of cooperativeness, are components of some
models of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995). Such components are
significant to transformational leadership efforts (Sosik & Megerian, 1999).
Therefore, for the study of a leader’s character, cooperativeness is also an essential
component.
O’Toole (2000) presented ambition as the one trait essential to good
leadership. However, ambition must be qualified, since the characteristic can drive
both a Ghandi and a Hitler (Kaplan, Drath, & Kofodimos, 1991). The classic work
on the topic of power is that of French and Raven (1959) who defined power in
“terms of influence, and influence in terms of psychological change” (p. 375). This
description is particularly useful in this study due to the nature of transformational
leadership as a process that involves the transformation of values and beliefs (i.e.,
psychological change). Leadership is a process that often utilizes power to
accomplish the interactions between leader and followers. The confounding issue is
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whether the focus of the leader’s power is directed for personal gain or for the gain
of others as well.
Power Motive
McClelland’s (1975) work is basic to the discussion on power motive. The
power motive construct has obvious correlations with the concept of servant
leadership where personalized power is viewed as detrimental to the leadership
process. Greenleaf (1996) asked, “What is the corruption that flows from absolute
(real or near) or unchecked power? I believe that it is
arrogance
, being overly
convinced of one’s own importance, and all of the evils that stem from that
aberration in judgment” (p. 60).
Power-motivated people engage in a variety of “impact” and prestige-
seeking behaviors. If they are also high in responsibility [self-regulation],
their power-seeking is prosocial and involves successful leadership; but if
they are low in responsibility, their power-seeking reflects a pattern of
“profligate impulsivity”—drinking, multiple drug use, exploitative sex,
verbal and physical aggression, and other high risk behaviors. (Winter,
2002, p. 123)
Abshire (2000) echoed Greenleaf in his evaluation of the pride that can
easily lead to the fall of a leader. In both cases, these men described the dark side of
leadership (Conger, 1990), something that is a potential of charismatic leaders,
especially those who do not cooperate or defer to the needs of others but neglect the
needs of others to follow their own grandiose visions.
It seems that transactional leaders and charismatic leaders are particularly
prone to exercise power for their own objectives, rather than those of the
organization or group. Popper (2002) highlighted the difference between
charismatic leaders who are prosocial versus those who exercise power for personal
gain:
Socialized leaders use their power to serve others; align their vision with the
followers’ needs and aspirations; maintain open, two-way communication;
and adhere to moral standards. Personalized leaders, in contrast, use their
power solely for personal gain, promote their own personal vision, maintain
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one-way communication, and have recourse to convenient external moral
standards that suit their self-interest. (p. 798)
Socialized leaders are transformational in their orientation, aligning with the ideals
presented by Burns (1978). In contrast, personalized leaders are narcissistic,
promoting themselves over others around them. These narcissistic leaders are those
who have an expansive personality according to Kaplan et al. (1991). It is this
narcissistic characteristic that is most insidious when evaluating transformational
leadership behaviors.
VLT considers the leader’s power motive as one of the personal
characteristics that leads to effective transformational leadership. TLP (Sashkin et
al., 1997) includes a scale called follower-centered leadership that is designed to
measure the leader’s degree of personal versus prosocial power.
H
3
:
Leaders exhibit follower-centered leadership differently based on
their level of cooperativeness.
Empirical Research
In contrast with research on self-directedness for which the Short Index of
Self-Directedness (Prosnick et al., 2003) has been developed, research on
cooperativeness still utilizes the full TCI instrument (Cloninger, Przybeck, et al.,
1994). Existing research has demonstrated that the absence of cooperativeness is
significantly related to the presence of personality disorder (Svrakic et al., 1993).
As was found with self-directedness, cooperativeness has also been shown to be
lower in people who experience some kind of self-regulation failure, such as with
illicit drug use (Hosak et al., 2004). Perhaps this is due to the lack of ability to
withstand peer pressure appropriately. Giotakos, Vaidakis, Markianos, Spandoni,
and Christodoulou (2004) found a significant correlation between an abusive or
affectionless parent and the development of low cooperativeness in individuals.
Those individuals with low cooperativeness are often found in circumstances where
their self-focused actions negatively impact themselves and others. Such is to be
expected of persons who are pathologically narcissistic. However, less extreme
narcissism may still lead to negative consequences as a result of the actions of these
individuals, especially those who are leaders whose actions impact the lives of
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multiple people. In addition, this research demonstrates how such a character trait
may or may not develop adequately in individuals.
Summary
A greater focus on the needs of others is generally seen as maturity or
wisdom and is something highly valued in Christian ministry. Therefore,
developing Christian leaders should display this focus in line with an appropriately
developing power motive and display interpersonal tendencies that are counter to
leader narcissism.
Based on the theoretical links between the constructs, and in line with VLT,
Bass (2002) speculated that there might be a link between one who is highly self-
oriented and the practice of pseudotransformational leadership. Therefore, the
antitheses of self-oriented leaders, those who are highly cooperative, are much
more likely to exhibit transformational behaviors.
H
4
:
Leaders exhibit effective visionary leadership differently based on
their level of cooperativeness.
TCI research has demonstrated a significant link between the presence of
both self-directedness and cooperativeness in healthy individuals. In other words,
both character traits are necessary and the absence of either trait denotes immaturity
or leads to unhealthy behavior. Winter (2002) highlighted the correlation between
the leader’s power motivation and effective leadership. There must be balance of
the power motivation of the leader with responsibility; otherwise, leadership
becomes narcissistic in nature. Cooperativeness is an essential consideration of
one’s personal motivation to lead and, therefore, the prediction of transformational
leadership behaviors. However, cooperativeness by itself is not sufficient to predict
ethical or authentic transformational leadership. A leader must exercise self-
directedness over his or her ability to influence and direct others. If not, unethical
charismatic behaviors can occur. Therefore, self-directedness is also an essential
trait.
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