Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to establish whether there is a relationship between the personality characteristics of leaders and the ability of leaders to create and sustain organizational trust. Several organizational theories have stated that trust is a key facilitator of cooperative human interactions, that organizations are comprised of human beings, and that organizational success is dependent on trust and leaders who understand and value the critical nature of trust. This exploratory study was conducted using a quasiexperimental methodology to determine what characteristics of leaders predict trust in organizations. The theoretical framework of this study was based on trusting beliefs, which is the extent to which one is confident that another person is trustworthy in an interaction. A sample of 22 professional staff members employed at an elementary school in New Jersey completed a demographics form, the Organizational Trust Survey, the Leader Identification Form, the Interpersonal Trust Survey-Observer, and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the leader traits of Extraversion and Agreeableness significantly predicted the trust behavior of Meeting Expectations. These findings were important because the literature search revealed little empirical data on the relationship between trust in organizations and leader personality characteristics. The evidence supported the hypothesis that certain leader personality characteristics can predict the leader's ability to meet expectations, integral to creating and sustaining trust in organizations. The study can promote social change by providing organizations with a foundation for developing future leaders who can establish and sustain organizational trust.
