1. Define/describe the 4 personality types of Freud/Fromm. Which of these personality types do you feel best describes your own personality? Describe a productive and unproductive version of your personality type. Do you know someone who is a productive narcissist? What characteristics do you find most beneficial in this type? There are three personality types according to Sigmund Freud: erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. Erich Fromm added a fourth type, marketing. The erotic personality is one in which people seek to love and be loved.
People with erotic personalities prefer to be like and accepted over being admired and respected. These types of people enjoy talking to others and getting to know them, their backgrounds, and personal affairs. People with an erotic personality are also known to be dependent and needy. The obsessive personality is a contrast to the erotic personality. People with an obsessive personality try to live up to standards, follow rules, and obey a strict conscience. This type of person thrives on order and stability rather than acceptance and liking. It is essential for obsessive personalities to follow the rules and do the right thing.
Obsessive personalities search for ways to improve and learn new things. However, people with this type of personality can be very aggressive and overbearing. They do not want their motives question because they feel they are always right. People with a marketing personality are characterized as being highly adaptable. They integrate themselves with the right people and situation. This type of personality adapts to change easily. They also pursue growth personally and emotionally. Marketers are great networkers and enjoy working in a team to achieve success.
People with a narcissistic personality receive no guidance like the previous personality types described. Narcissistic people are not vain, but they do take pride and talk about their accomplishments. They also have a characteristic of self-directed humor. This personality type has a clear vision and do not take into account what others have to say in the pursuit of that vision. I would have to say that I identify most with the erotic personality type. A productive version of my personality type would be being guided by reason, understanding my situation, and having a purpose in life.
An unproductive version of an erotic personality type would be being too needy or dependent on others, being too sensitive, and going about things aimlessly. Unfortunately I do not know of anyone that is a productive narcissist. From what I have gathered from the text, they can be very valuable in organizations. The most beneficial characteristics I see in a productive narcissist are passion and a vision to change the world and create meaning for people. The leaders I know that have a narcissistic personality type are unproductive. 2. What is social character and how did it lead to a shift in leadership perspective?
Identify some of the “specific cultures or social classes” you belong to. Do they have a macro personality? What has shaped that personality? How influential do you think social character is in shaping an individual’s leadership style? According to Maccoby in our text, a social character is a kind of macro personality based on the emotional attitudes and values shared by people in a certain context. Macooby states that there has been as shift in social character in recent times reflecting the movement from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. The Information Age has resulted in expeditious changes in technology.
The internet and social media communications have grown tremendously. Connecting with and meeting new people are tasks that are now just at our fingertips. These factors have influenced the type of social character that is needed to lead and follow. People are enjoying improvement and the ability to use networks instead of operating within a hierarchy. A large part of social character is the desire to be experimental and innovative. The shift from the bureaucratic to the interactive social character is that makes people in organizations want work jointly with their leaders instead of just being followers.
Some specific cultures or social classes I belong to would be being a Christian and a mother. I would say that they do have a macro personality. I was a single mother for three years and that definitely had an impact on my income and the structure of a traditional family. I am also a child of divorce and was forced to mature quickly. I think they combination of these events really shaped my leadership style. I had no choice but to step up and take care of things. The social and cultural shift that has occurred in society has had an impact on everyone, especially children of divorced parents.
I feel like this shift has significantly changed the shaping of an individual’s leadership style. Some children are forced to grow up quicker and take leadership roles over younger siblings. Some are so psychologically damaged, it make it difficult for them to take a leadership role. 3. Review and report, summarize the sections on the meta-analyses of gender and leadership style. What are the similarities/differences between genders? What does the research report on gender and transformational leadership? Give examples from your own experiences or observations that you feel apply to information/examples given in these sections.
According to Eagly and Johnson in our textbook, women were not found to lead in a more interpersonally oriented and less task-oriented manner than men in organizational studies. It was found that women lead in a more democratic, or participative, manner than men. Studies have found that women became devalued when they led in a masculine manner, had a typical masculine leadership role such as coaching, and when they were evaluated by men. Meta-analysis comparison has found that men and women were overall equally effective leaders, but there were gender differences showing they were more ffective in leadership roles that were congruent with their gender.
I have always been slightly torn on this subject. While many argue that there are no differences between male and female leaders, I have to disagree. I am very traditional, so I do believe that there are jobs that are meant for specific genders. The textbook gives the example that men are more effective in military positions and women were more effective in education and social services. I feel like that is accurate. Not to say that there cannot be successful female military leaders, l just believe that women have a disposition that is not as conforming as a man’s is to war.
One contrary example that comes to mind is Coach Pat Summit. She showed the world that women can be just as effective, if not more, at coaching. Summit had a great impact on male and females she encountered. There have been several successful female leaders in almost every occupation. While women experience slight effective disadvantages in masculine leader roles, there are only small differences in leadership styles between men and women. Women are also more likely to use transformational leadership behaviors and contingent reward. These styles are associated with contemporary notions of effective leadership.
