PM Dr.

Abdul Hadi
Dr Syed Shatir A. Syed-Hassan
CEng MIChemE

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and
Organisation:
Understanding Individual
Differences

An organisation is a collection of
people who work together and
coordinate their actions to
achieve a wide variety of goals

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

ORGANISATION.....???

 Why some people in an organisation

embrace change and others are fearful of
it?
Why some employees will be productive
only if they are closely supervised, while
others will be productive if they are not?
Why some workers learn new tasks more
effectively than others?

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Some Questions To Think

 Individual differences have a direct impact

on the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of
each member of an organization
People who perceive things differently behave
differently
People with different attitudes respond differently to
directives
People with different personalities interact differently
with bosses, co-workers, subordinates, and customers

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Individual Difference

 Effective organisational leadership practice

requires that individual behavior differences
be recognized, and when feasible, taken
into consideration while carrying out the job
of managing the organisation.
Two categories of individual difference:
Personality
Ability

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Individual Difference

 Personality = The overall profile or combination

of characteristics that capture the unique nature
of a person as that person reacts and interacts
with others.
Predictable relationships are expected between
peoples personalities and their behaviors.
Examples of personality:

Perfectionist, critical, impatient, demanding,

Relaxed, easy-going,
Fun, friendly
Shy and quiet

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

The nature of personality

Extroversion

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Neuroticism
(Emotional
Stability)

Openness to
Experience

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

The Big Five Personality

Dimensions

Extroversion

Outgoing, talkative, sociable,

assertive.
The opposite (introversion): quiet,
shy, cautious

Conscientiousness

High Conscientiousness: Careful,

dependable, self-disciplined

Openness to
experience

Low Conscientiousness: Careless,

less thorough, more disorganised,
irresponsible

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

The Big Five Personality

Dimensions

The Big Five Personality

Dimensions
Agreeableness

Neuroticism

Low Agreeableness:
Uncooperative, short-tempered,
irritable
High Neuroticism: Anxious, hostile,
depressed

Low Neuroticism (high emotional

stability: poised, secure, calm

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

High Agreeableness: Courteous,

good-natured, emphatic, caring

High: Flexible, creative,

curious
Openness to
experience

Low: more resistant to

change, less open to new
ideas,

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

The Big Five Personality

Dimensions

Nature
Biological heritage

Personality

Nurture
Life experiences

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Personality Determinants

Nature
Personality

Feelings
Personality
Thoughts
Attitudes
Behaviours

Situational
Nurture
Factors

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

The interaction of
personality and situational
factors

 Ability = what a person is capable of

doing
Two types of ability affect performance
Cognitive ability/mental ability
Physical ability

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

The nature of ability

Nature
Biological heritage

Cognitive
& Physical
Abilities

Nurture
Education, practice,
and experience

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Ability Determinants

Which matters most:

Personality or Ability?

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Class Discussion