Teaching Transformational Leadership to Undergraduate Agricultural Leadership Students: Using the Personality Trait of Agreeableness To Improve Understanding

Abstract

Training undergraduate agricultural students to be strong, positive leaders will have a large impact on the industries they work within and therefore should be of utmost importance to agricultural educators. Transformational leaders (TL) tend to have higher performing, more satisfied teams; consequently, development of TL characteristics should result in a more productive future workforce. The personality trait of agreeableness has been associated with the interpersonal aspects of leadership; however, the literature is unclear whether agreeableness is a significant predictor of TL. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the personality trait agreeableness and TL in undergraduate agricultural leadership students. The findings indicated the facets of agreeableness had more predictive power on TL than the broader trait of overall agreeableness. Recommendations include framing TL development in a personality context. When discussing personality, a review of the facets of agreeableness should result in more meaningful learning for participants.