Introduction
The study of leadership and personality is a well-traversed path. There are various researches on the personality traits of leaders (van Eeden, Cilliers, & van Deventer, 2008; Aronson, 2001). But most studies have concentrated on assessing leadership personality through quantitative research. A qualitative method of study in personality study has been limited. This paper aims to do a leadership personality study using the case study method. The personality whom we aim to study is Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine (Winter, 2007, p. 35). The study will try to ascertain different aspects of Slim’s personality vis-à -vis the leadership personality theory. In this paper, we will try to establish a relationship between Slim’s behavior and their outcomes. The following section will undertake a brief study of the theoretical background of leadership personality.
Slim’s Background
This is a true story of rags to riches – Carlos Slim had transformed himself and his company into a $59 billion empire (Winter, 2007, p. 35). To provide a brief background, Slim is a Mexican business tycoon who is a self-made man. He owns the Mexican telecom giant TelĂ©fonos de MĂ©xico or Telmex. There are various controversies regarding Slim’s monopolistic growth and corrupt handling of political alliances (Winter, 2007, pp. 36-37). But the fact remains that he is presently the richest man in the world and an excellent leader who had transformed his company into an empire that has spread from “cigarettes to airlines” (Winter, 2007, p. 35). Presently he has put in a lot of money into philanthropic activities which drive away his reputation of being a capitalist competition killer. This paper tries to ascertain the leadership traits of Slim with the help of leadership theories and researches.
Theoretical Background
The leadership characters and their personality traits are different for all individuals and cannot be generalized (Goffee & Jones, 2006, p. 31). But still, we encounter personality trait theories like Big Five Personality Theory or leadership theories like Transactional and Transformational Leadership. The Big Five Theory of personality asserts that there are five basic personality traits which in combination provides a personality type. The personality traits are neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Neuroticism implies an individual’s ability to adjust and his emotional stability. So a person with a high degree of neuroticism will suffer from depression, anxiety, hostility, etc. Extraversion implies an individual’s assertiveness. Openness to experience shows a person’s intellectually curious mind and his desire to seek new ideas. Agreeableness shows a person’s interpersonal skills. Conscientiousness implies the level to which an individual is organized, hard-working, and motivated. For leaders, it is believed that the level of neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness is high (Zhao & Seibert, 2006, p. 265). But their degree of extraversion may or may not be low (Zhao & Seibert, 2006, p. 266). Taking this research study to be our benchmark, we try to ascertain from a qualitative case study approach, what traits Slim possesses.
Personality Traits
From the study of various articles and interviews of Carlos Slim, we have tried to draw a personality trait of Slim using the Big Five Personality Theory. In the following section, we will describe Slim’s character vis-à -vis a personality trait. This will provide a clear picture of Slim’s personality as a leader to us.
Neuroticism: people who have a high degree of neuroticism are said to be calm, confident, relaxed, and even sometimes tempered (Zhao & Seibert, 2006, p. 260). Slim is relaxed and confident which is demonstrated with his visit to Washington D.C. quietly and not informing anyone. He is self-composed as he is not over-enthusiastic to show his possession of wealth and went around in a hired Ford Sedan when he visited the United States (Winter, 2007, p. 36). HE is confident when he speaks of his humble past and present humble living. But his lack of confidence in himself and in his organization has made him undertake false means to stop the growth of completion in the telecom sector of Mexico (Ipsen, 2008, p. 4). His intention to curb competitors to grow shows his hostile attitude toward doing business which is indicative of a low score on neuroticism. Though we did not get an instance of his personality which showed temper, he appears to be a person who usually remains calm. So in terms of neuroticism, we cannot conclusively state his personality trait.
Extraversion: Slim is not an extravert. Previously he had shied away from media and kept his whereabouts, operations, dealings, and strategies a closely guarded secret. He seldom gave interviews or appeared before the media. His workings were so secretive that he reached the United States unannounced and quietly went about doing his business dealings (Winter, 2007, p. 36). His appearance before media is just a recent phenomenon after he has been stated as the world’s richest man; “Slim only this year has given up a long habit of cultivating anonymity” (Winter, 2007, p. 36). Clearly, this shows that Slim has an introverted’s character.
Openness to experience: Slim is open to new ideas. This can be understood from his expanse into business. Slim owns right from a cigarette company to an airline’s company. This shows that the man does not fear to venture into new areas. Further, his passion for football shows that he is open to the idea of a sport that requires a lot of openness to experience (Winter, 2007, p. 36). As Slim himself states, “I like numbers…Words speak to some people; to others of us, its numbers.” He credits this trait with his success as a financier.” (Winter, 2007, p. 36) A man who believes in numbers will always accept an idea which shows him profitable “numbers”. His open ideas have made him a recent philanthropist. So Slim has a high degree of openness to experience.
Agreeableness: Whether Slim is an agreeable man or not, is difficult to ascertain. But it can be said with a high degree of conformity that he has eccentric ideas (Winter, 2007, p. 36). A lot of his ideas are based on whims and not on any solid business logic. A man who works on his personal whims is not likely to be agreeable to other’s ideas. Further, a close observer of Slim would call him “disarming, austere, and even humble” (Winter, 2007, p. 36). This character actually makes him look stern and strict. A strict man will not be agreeable as to be agreeable he has to be “cooperative” and must have “high interpersonal relationships” (Zhao & Seibert, 2006, p. 261). Further, Slim’s interaction with other corporate and media shows that he is not very friendly to either of the two, which shows that his ability to mingle with others is not very strong, thus making him have a low degree of agreeableness.
Conscientiousness: Slim is definitely a man who can work hard. He has built an empire from the small entrepreneurial setup of his father. He knows his past and has no intention to hide it. He leads a very humble life as compared to a man of his stature. He has built a fortune only based on hard work. So he scores high on the scale of conscientiousness.
Conclusion
The case study of Carlos Slim’s personality shows a character of a leader who has high conscientiousness and openness to experience. But he scores low on agreeableness and extraversion. And his degree of neuroticism cannot be ascertained from this case analysis. We suggest that a more detailed case analysis be conducted to deal with the personality study more deeply.
Works Cited
Aronson, E. (2001). Integrating Leadership Styles and Ethical Perspectives. 244-257. Web.
Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2006). Extraordinary leadership. 30-33. Web.
Ipsen, E. (2008). Saks sacked on two fronts. New York Business Vol. 24, Issue 42 , pp. 4. Web.
van Eeden, R., Cilliers, F., & van Deventer, V. (2008). Leadership styles and associated personality traits: Support for the conceptualisation of transactional and transformational leadership. 253-267. Web.
Winter, B. (2007). How Slim got Huge. Foreign Policy vol. 163 , 35-42. Web.
Zhao, H., & Seibert, S. E. (2006). The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Entrepreneurial Status: A Meta-Analytical Review. 259-271. Web.