Success and Failure among Senior Public Administrators – The Key Role of Personality

Although the nature of work undertaken by managers of organizations has been widely studied, the influence of personalities of managers, particularly in the public sector, appears not to have been examined in detail. The personality characteristics of 50 senior Australian public sector managers are compared with their achievements in terms of the known objectives of their organizations. Describes the outcome of this study. Identifies flaws including lack of trust in subordinates, lack of inspiring trust from subordinates, lack of commitment and aggressive selfish behaviour. Demonstrates that such flaws can bring about disaster for the manager and for the organization.