AN EXAMINATION OF LINKAGES BETWEEN PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND DIMENSIONS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Recent research in organizational behavior has found that ''transforma tional leadership'' can engender improved employee work outcomes in ma ny types of organizations. Personal characteristics of transformationa l leaders, however, have not been thoroughly investigated. This paper reports the findings of a study that explored relationships between pe rsonal characteristics and dimensions of transformational leadership u sing sales managers as the population of interest. Findings suggest th at a reconceptualization of the proposed linkages may be necessary. Po tential explanations for the results obtained are presented along with managerial and research implications.