1. Running head: BECOMING A LEADER: THE DARK SIDE
Becoming a Leader: The Problem of the Dark Side
Kathleen Tesar
University of Southern California
Dr. Alicia Dowd
EDUC 619
December 12, 2015

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Becoming a leader: The problem of the dark side
This paper addresses the issue of dysfunctional personality traits, and how these
traits, or characteristics, manifest in leader behavior. The term “dark side” is used in the
literature to refer to these dysfunctional traits (Guenole, 2014). Dark side traits contrast
with bright side traits. The simplest explanation of these two sides is that bright traits are
those viewed positively by most people (for example, conscientiousness is a bright trait),
and dark traits are viewed negatively (for example, narcissism) (Judge, Piccolo &
Kosalka, 2009). Stressful or ambiguous circumstances can cause dark traits to manifest
in leaders’ behaviors (Van Fleet & Griffin, 2006; Nelson & Hogan, 2009). However, as
Judge et al. (2009) demonstrated, the picture is complicated: dark traits can have bright
sides, and bright traits can have dark sides. The need for leaders to know their own
personalities in order to understand the dark side traits to which they may tend is
highlighted by this evidence. This problem is important to address because leaders’
behaviors influence the emotions of their followers (Berkovich & Eyal, 2015), and the
leader’s personality affects the management team, which then affects the entire
organization (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005).
Review of Relevant Literature
Dysfunctional personality traits can derail leaders because any short-term
strengths that these traits offer become weaknesses in the long term (Hogan & Kaiser,
2005). Leaders who understand this and are willing to reflect on the bright and dark sides
of their own personalities create the possibility of deepening their expertise and practice
of leadership. Indeed, the combination of daily experiences in the context of the

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workplace with reflection upon the outcomes and upon one’s own emotional responses
forms the basis of personal evolution as a leader (Barley, 2012).
One tool used by psychologists to assess personality is called the Five-Factor
Model of Personality (FFM), also known as the Big Five. Judge and Bono (2000) define
the FFM as “broad personality constructs that are manifested in more specific traits” (p.
752). The five factors or constructs are conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion,
emotional stability, and openness to experience. Barrick, Mount and Judge (2001), in
their quantitative summary of 15 meta-analytical studies, noted that the Five-Factor
Model became one of the standard means of assessing personality traits beginning around
1990, although more recent studies have proposed modifications to the FFM (Bartram,
2005; Guenole, 2014; Spain, Harms, & LeBreton, 2014).
The FFM has been shown to be useful in predicting job performance. In a meta-
analytic study, Hurtz and Donovan (2000) examined the criterion-related validity of the
FFM and showed that the traits are valid for job performance, and specific traits are more
applicable to specific types of jobs. Barrick et al. (2001), in their quantitative summary,
also demonstrated the relationship between FFM traits and job performance.
Explaining the dark side
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American
Psychiatric Association, 2013), now in its fifth edition, is used to diagnose clinical
disorders—that is, those disorders that manifest symptoms. In contrast, the Five-Factor
Model is a tool for assessing “normal-range personality” (Clark, 2007). The term “dark
side” refers to subclinical traits—those that fall between the clinical illnesses of the DSM
and normal personality traits (Harms, Spain, & Hannah, 2011).

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In their overview of research and proposal of a taxonomy for dark traits, Spain, et
al. (2014) specify that a personality characteristic can become dark because of its nature,
or because of its effects: Psychopathy by its very nature is dark. Conscientiousness by
nature is bright, but an overabundance of conscientiousness can become rigidity, a dark
trait that can result in negative effects. McCord, Joseph, and Grijalva (2014) illustrate
this point of how bright traits can become dark in their commentary on Guenole (2014).
Pierce and Aguinis (2013) posit a meta-theory wherein good traits reach a point at which
they start to produce undesirable outcomes. They describe this as the point where
outcomes are no longer linear, but become curvilinear.
A widely-used tool for assessing leaders is the Hogan Development Survey
(HDS). The method used to arrive at the components of the HDS is described by Hogan
and Hogan (2001) in an often-cited article. They surveyed over 10,000 adults,
conducting five sets of analyses on the data. The survey’s content themes were aligned
with the DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders, not to diagnose clinical illnesses but to
“assess the dysfunctional dispositions of employed adults” (p. 41) and provide a means of
helping leaders understand their potentially problematical characteristics.
There are a number of causes for the manifestation of dark side traits, among
which are stress, fatigue, and workload (Nelson & Hogan, 2009). Van Fleet and Griffin
(2006) argue that organizational factors also can bring out dysfunctional behavior and
traits, because the organization provides both the setting and the stimuli for that to
happen. They argue further that an organization’s leaders have a major role in
determining the culture of the organization, and thus the potential for the manifestation of
dysfunctional behavior. However, Furnham, Trickey, and Hyde (2012) administered the

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HDS to nearly 5,000 adults and concluded that some dark side traits are positively
correlated with occupational success.
Importance of the Problem
In his essay on leadership, Allio (2013) posits that leaders evolve over time, given
experience, challenges, and reflection to integrate the learning into the leader’s personal
identity. In their multi-wave, multi-method longitudinal study of military cadets, Harms,
et al. (2011) noted how feedback and discussions of periodic character assessments
increased self-awareness and introspection.
An understanding of personality traits, including both their bright and their dark
sides, combined with self-reflection, can give leaders greater self-knowledge. With this
deeper understanding of themselves, leaders are less likely to derail. Tools such as the
Five-Factor Model and the Hogan Development Survey are available and can be used to
achieve this understanding.
As reported by Bolman and Deal (1994), a panel on leadership convened by the
National Center for Educational Leadership emphasized for leaders the qualities of
character, courage, and self-knowledge, among others. More recently, Gaddis and Foster
(2015) used data from a global archive to conduct a meta-analysis which resulted in their
conclusion that critical behaviors for leaders are inward-focused rather than task-
focused—specifically, emphasis should be put on developing intrapersonal skills such as
trustworthiness and dependability. Leaders who are aware of the dark side in general,
and of their own dysfunctional inclinations in particular, have a strong base on which to
build further self-knowledge and intrapersonal skills.

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References
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
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Allio, R. J. (2013). Leaders and leadership – many theories, but what advice is reliable?
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Barley, M. (2012). Learning from reflective practice and metacognition – an
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Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Judge, T. A. (2001). Personality and performance at the
beginning of the new millennium: What do we know and where do we go next?
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9(1-2), 9-30. doi:10.1111/1468-
2389.00160

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Bartram, D. (2005). The great eight competencies: A criterion-centric approach to
validation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1185-1203.
Berkovich, I. & Eyal, O. (2015). Educational leaders and emotions: An international
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Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1994). Looking for leadership: Another search party’s
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