Many centuries after Hippocrates’ first typology of personality – sanguine (pleasure-seeking and sociable), melancholic (analytical and literal), choleric (ambitious and leader-like) and phlegmatic (relaxed and thoughtful) – psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud laid the foundation for the scientific theory of personality and pronounced that it consisted of three dimensions: ego, superego and id. Superego influences what we must, mustn’t, should and cannot do because it was formed by our culture, family parenting styles or religion. The so-called id whispers, urges, stimulates and provokes our desires. This causes the ego to be in constant conflict about how to find a balance between the two and live in the now with a healthy, integrated clear mind and emotions. Obviously, thoughts from important historical figures are still valid and inspirational even today. The need to step out of our comfort zone As we all know, we live in a world where the knowledge and meaning of many important ideas are sometimes reduced to over-simplified vocabulary. Expressions such as ‘a big ego’, ‘toxic communication’, ‘red flag’, ‘work/life balance’ and ‘gaslighting’, to The perks of psychology An emphasis on personal development combined with a quality education in applied psychology will ensure that a manager is better equipped to deal with the following tasks: Prevent the use of unscientific methods in the selection of employees in their company and reduce costs by not implementing assessment methods that have poor validity Protect data obtained about the workforce in an ethical manner Recognise desirable and undesirable personal qualities in candidates applying for key positions Identify individuals with manipulative, aversive and anti-social behaviour that may destroy teams and endanger the economy Apply the skills of social psychology in their work with employees Effectively conduct motivational interviews and better develop the qualities of key personnel Understand developmental patterns in junior employees, those suffering from a mid-life crisis or nearing retirement Map performance correctly, working with group dynamics and seeing ‘behind the scenes’ Manage crisis situations and crisis communication Identify, map and assess those risks affecting teams in order to protect economic performance
In their article, What We Know about Leadership , published in the Review of General Psychology in 2005, Hogan and Kaiser argue that “a leader’s personality modifies the form of leadership, which influences employee attitudes and team functioning, which in turn influences the performance of organisations.” Similarly, researchers Van Fleet and Griffin state in an article entitled Dysfunctional Organisational Culture: The Role of Leadership in Motivating Dysfunctional Work Behaviours , published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology in 2006, that “managers influence workplace behaviour via the norms that they establish”, which makes them influential factors when it comes to the culture and values held within organisations. That is why the phenomenon of personality has been such an important part of educational taxonomy through the ages. So what kind of personality is best for those who wish to be impactful and good leaders? This has probably been the most crucial didactical, methodological and curriculum question and educational goal in every era, including in today’s society. Is the most important personality trait critical thinking, or is it knowledge of business, the geopolitical situation and history? A historical perspective Many notable individuals have pondered this same subject over the centuries. “ Gnothi seauton ”, translated as “Know yourself”, is the inscription found on the temple of Delphi in Greece, reminding us that self-awareness, self-reflection and the understanding of our own thoughts, emotions and behaviour plays a crucial role in how we function in life, work and relationships. Plato considered the ability to think philosophically as a fundamental skill for any leader. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius noted that a leader should be able to “postpone immediate gratification and replace it with wisdom and patience” when implementing change, while theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, writing in The Education of a Christian Prince , advises future leaders to be able to communicate peacefully in conflicts, to like people they work with and reign for and to be able to feel and spread justice, compassion and morality. Italian diplomat and historian Niccolò Machiavelli ruminated on how emperors should behave, think, make decisions and reign from a pragmatic perspective. In his work The Prince he advocates that the personality of a leader is an experience-based phenomenon and that is why they must be trained in pragmatic and practical thinking based on pure human experience. He also counsels that it is always wiser to be respected than to be popular and controversially states that it is much safer to be feared than loved. John Amos Comenius, the inventor of textbooks who is widely regarded as the father of modern education, emphasised lifelong and in-depth learning over fast-track courses in his Didactica Magna . He also highlighted how learning foreign languages, philosophy and science all have a role to play in modern education, given that the education process should be a democratic environment where humanity is manufactured and learning at an individual pace helps to understand and absorb the prescribed curriculum.
32 | Ambition | DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024
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