The relationship between self-leadership and personality. A comparison of hierarchical factor structures

This study examined the relationship between self-leadership and personality through an analysis and comparison of hierarchical factor structures. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine several competing models combining the hierarchical factor structures of self-leadership and personality. Model fit increased significantly through a progression of models that reflected increasingly greater distinction between self-leadership skill dimensions and key personality traits. The best fitting model consisted of a hierarchical factor structure with three first-order self-leadership factors, three first-order personality factors, and two correlated second-order factors. Unexpectedly, the general second-order factors of self-leadership and personality were statistically indistinguishable. Nevertheless, these results seem to provide some initial evidence that self-leadership dimensions are distinct from, yet related to, certain key personality traits. The implications of these results for future self-leadership research and practice are discussed.