Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between the Big Five Personality Traits and the leaders self-efficacy as measured by the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) as developed by Gosling, Rentfrow, and Swann, 2003 and the Leadership Self-Efficacy Measure as developed by Chan and Drasgow (2001) for Student Affairs Administrators from select Southern California based institutions within the not- for-profit university and public sector community college to determine degrees of leadership from this group. Methodology: An index was created to capture the overall Leadership Self-Efficacy score from the LSE questions in the survey instrument. Bivariate correlations were run to test the strength of the relationship between the Student Affairs Administrators perceived Big Five personality and their leadership efficacy, using a two-tailed Pearson test of the correlation coefficients. Statistical significance was defined as having a value of less than .05 at the 95% confidence level. Findings: Of the SSAOs who participated in this study, there is a significant amount of self confidence in both their dependability and level of self-discipline, in addition to their belief that they can lead others effectively. Conclusions: If this is any indicator of what SSAOs generally believe, Chancellors. Campus Presidents and Human Resource Departments alike may value in utilizing the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the Leadership Self-Efficacy Measure (LSE) assessments in the selecting of persons for these roles. Recommendations: The implications for action in this study are based on the correlation found between the personality traits and the degree of leadership self-efficacy of the Student Affairs Administrator. The data found in the results of these assessments may. as the literature focused on the superego and behavioral trait theories suggests, offer additional breadth in determining the capability of these administrators to apply general principles of moral judgment to challenges in their professional setting.