The effects of hospital executives' personality traits on their perceptions and trust.

Abstract

This field study examines the relationship between hospital executives' personality traits and both their perceptions of their subordinates' levels of skills and their level of trust in those subordinates. CEOs or senior executives of 37 acute care hospitals with at least 200 beds were surveyed. The high Nurturant manager did not perceive greater trust or skills than the low Nurturant manager. However, there was a significant and negative correlation between Person-Dominant managers and trust scores. Furthermore, the high Goal-Dominant managers varied significantly less than the low Goal-Dominant managers in their perceptions of their subordinates' skill. The study calls for a reexamination of the influence of personality traits on hospital executives' perceptions and trust. Power in the hands of certain managers may lead to the devaluation of the abilities and motivations of subordinates, and even the devaluation of their subordinates themselves.