Leadership Traits - Conscientiousness

Conscientiouseness, one of the leadership personality traits , reflects the degree to which a person is dependable, responsible, perseveres, and is achievement oriented. In addition, conscientiousness shows itself in concern for following established rules.

Leaders who show a high degree of conscientiousness in their leadership traits tend to:

• Be highly task focused
• Have high concern for legal and rules issues
• Be ethical and hold their teams to high ethical standards
• Engender a sense of control over the environment in their team
• Be driven for a need for structure

Leadership Tips

If your industry is highly regulated, involves personal and/or environmental safety, or bread and butter issues affecting customers, look for leaders with a high degree of conscientiousness.

Industries in flux or requiring intense innovation and creativity may want to seed the organization with leaders who are somewhat lower in conscientiousness.