Newswise — A study comparing Australian CEOs with U.S. business leaders finds that the Americans are more conservative and buttoned down, while the Australians are more fun-loving and risk-taking. The research is described as the first major study of its kind of Australian CEOs.
The findings are based on results of three personality assessments administered by U.S.-based Hogan Assessment Systems to 55 Australian CEOs. The Australians were compared with a database of 8,490 U.S. business leaders representing a range of organizations and business sectors. Data were analyzed by HAS president Robert Hogan and by Peter Berry of the Peter Berry Consultancy firm in Australia.
"The Australians and Americans fit a standard profile for managers and executives " hard-working, socially skilled, and self-confident " but there are interesting and subtle differences," says Hogan. In general, U.S. leaders score higher as conservative and cautious managers who are more likely to "do it by the book," whereas the Australians tend to be more flexible, risk-taking and action-oriented.
He says the Australians score higher in the areas of hedonism and social engagement and thus appear to be more "fun loving." The Americans score higher on valuing learning for the sake of learning, while the Australians prefer their learning to have a more practical application.
"These Australians are hard-working, results-oriented executives," says Hogan, noting that sometimes CEOs can act like politicians in order to climb the corporate hierarchy. "Politician-type CEOs promote themselves. Real leaders promote their organizations."
The Australian CEOs run organizations with annual revenue ranging from $2 million to $450 million and employing between 10 and 8,500 employees. Ages ranged from 37 to 63, and 23.6 percent were women.
Assessments taken by the CEOs include the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), which predicts how individuals will perform in a job on a day-to-day basis; the Hogan Development Survey, which assesses 11 patterns of behavior that can derail a manager's career; and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory, which reveals a person's core values and drivers. Hogan Assessment Systems is based in Tulsa, Okla., but has distributors in more than 30 countries.
The 2006 study, undertaken by The Executive Connection, a worldwide organization for chief executive officers, is described as the first major study of Australian CEOs showing how personality characteristics contribute to a leader's ability to build, lead and maintain high-performing teams and successful businesses. The study found six key traits, noting that the CEOs are successful, in part, "because of their high levels of self-awareness and self-management."
The study also compared Australian owner-operator CEOs with Australian corporate CEOs. Researchers found that corporate CEOs are looking for more recognition of their achievements and a high profile, while the owner operators are more modest and less in need of the limelight.
An executive summary and detailed report ("The TEC CEO Leadership Study") can be found in the articles section of Hogan's Web site, http://www.hoganassessments.com/Articles.aspx.
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