Leadership Traits, Leadership Practices, and Big Five Personality Dimensions: A Quantitative Descriptive Study of Educational Department Heads in Universities in Lahore

Abstract

Leadership is increasingly recognized as a key component in organizational success. It is the art of motivating a group of people or an organization toward achieving collective goals. This quantitative, questionnaire-based study examines the role of personality type in determining the leadership levels of Heads of Departments in universities in Lahore. The study draws on the Big Five Personality Test, which assesses five major dimensions: openness, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Data were collected from 100 Heads of Departments across five public and five private universities in Lahore using a 50-item questionnaire designed to evaluate personality traits. The findings reveal that educational leaders exhibit a range of dominant personality traits, with openness (n = 47) and agreeableness (n = 30) being most common, highlighting creativity, curiosity, empathy, and cooperation as prevalent characteristics. Extraversion (n = 24) and conscientiousness (n = 8) were also observed, supporting effective communication, team engagement, and dependability, while neuroticism (n = 5) was relatively rare. Overall, these results suggest that certain traits, particularly openness and agreeableness, may play a prominent role in shaping leadership practices within educational settings.