Personality correlates of leadership development in Canadian Forces officer candidates

This study investigated the relationship between personality and leadership development in a sample of Canadian Forces officer candidates. At Time 1, personality assessments were obtained from candidates, interviewers, and references at various Canadian Forces Recruiting Centres. Six to nine months later at Time 2, 174 military officer candidates were evaluated by instructors and peers on various aspects of the Basic Officer Training Course (BOTC). Results revealed that BOTC final grade and instructors' ratings of leadership were predicted by self-ratings of the Locus of control factor and its subordinate trait, internal control. Also, the references' ratings of the Surgency factor and its subordinate trait, dominance, predicted the BOTC final grade and ratings of leadership. Four years later at Time 3, we examined the extent to which self-ratings of personality obtained at Time 1 predicted leadership performance and perceptions of leadership styles. Dominance, energy level, and internal control predicted some leadership criteria, with dominance predicting the most. Overall, these results indicate that measures of personality are associated with leadership development in the military.