Leader Self-Regulation: The role of Personality, Purpose, and Pressure

Interpersonal pressure can impact a leader's ability to lead effectively. One strategy leaders may lean on to navigate interpersonal pressure is self-regulation, but pressure can impact an individual's ability to self-regulate effectively. One proposed reason leaders struggle to self-regulate is due to discounting the bigger picture when under pressure. The goal of this study was to test that proposal by investigating the power of a leader's sense of purpose in work, a proxy for big picture thinking, as a strategy to help self-regulate when enduring pressure. Specifically, this study looked beyond the five factor model of personality to examine the relationship between a leader's sense of purpose in work, absent a specific context, versus his or her sense of purpose in work during a high-pressure situation and that relationship's impact on self-regulation under pressure.;After accounting for outliers and missing data, the final participant count included 275 self-identified leaders---those responsible for the work and development of others---who were using an online tool for leadership development. Leader ages ranged from 18 to 92 and a majority were Caucasian (79.8%), male (52.3%), and from a Church/Ministry setting (45.7%). The study occurred in three phases within an online tool separated by, at minimum, one month each over a two-year time span.;Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. Non-contextualized purpose in work was positively related to self-regulation under pressure (beta = .118, p < .05) and accounted for incremental predictive ability above personality (r2 = .013). Contextualized purpose in work accounted for even more predictive ability than personality and non-contextualized purpose in work (r 2 .057), resulting in non-contextualized purpose in work falling out of the model (beta = -.001 p > .05).;Findings from this study suggest that there is something special about leaders having a sense of purpose in work when attempting to self-regulate. Results support the idea that self-regulation under pressure is potentially malleable, not solely based on a predisposition. Additionally, having a high sense of purpose in work and maintaining that purpose throughout high-pressure interpersonal situations is potentially beneficial when attempting to self-regulate under pressure.