CEO-Military Leadership and the Power of "The Worm at the Core" in Candidate Selection

"The Worm at the Core" is a conception of true self that make up a leader's essence that only comes out in the most difficult positions (i.e. risk of death, serious harm, significant lose, ruined reputations, etc..) We hear about leadership personality as it relates to corporate level, politics, and within the military but don't often go down to the core. People can be trained to improve their leadership but some of that comes from a deeply rooted biological origin that bubbles up only in difficult situations. Whether you are a business guru or a military leader your inner strengths will determine your leadership essence.

Top leaders and their top management teams will be successful if they have the right personalities in the right positions. Leadership is often personality based (some of it can be learned) that derives from a person's core value systems. We often don't know who that is until we put people in difficult positions where choices are not perfect. Its an aha moment when stated values and enacted values occur. When picking your next leadership candidate consider 1.) impact of CEO-TMT Personalities on firm change; and, 2.) The deeper self through the Terror Management Theory

CEO-TMT Personalities and Firm Change

Researchers conducted a metal analysis of studies related to CEO/TMT personalities and how it impacts various external (firm performance) and internal (organizational structure) management outcomes through on adaptation and decision making (Abatecola, et. al 2013). The investigators explore the connections between psychology-based decision making and behavioral corporate governance. That can be important if you want high performing organizations where leadership ability in difficult situations will be tested to create lasting organizational change.

What they found was CEO emotional stability, extraversion and conscientiousness related to bureaucratization, strategic pro-activity and firm performance. Meaning, that a CEO's emotional awareness mixed with extraverted personalities and conscientiousness can work to create organizational change to redevelop functioning bureaucratic systems. In other words, when companies/organizations (i.e. civilian or military) that want to see successful change initiatives should consider the merits of certain personality types that help get them there. 

The Deeper Side of Self-Terror Management Theory

Terror management theory (TMT), a social and evolutionary psychology theory, was originally proposed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski to explain how people act under threats to life. You can read more about that in the publication Terror Management Theory (Thompson, et. al 2012). Leadership is often theoretical until it is applied to a real life scenario. Battlegrounds include physical risk and board rooms include career risks. Both are highly stressful. It is part of your core personality and we often select leaders by false outward appearance that crack under pressure while others might excel under pressure. (Worm at Core, The Power of Death)

Self-esteem and cultural encoding become highly important in difficult situations. When pushed the brink people will often dig deep and rally around core values and principles. What those are can be defined through one's culture. For example, one leader may rally around pro-social values to help people overcome a challenge while another will begin to scapegoat specific people within their population as "evil". Its hard to know precisely who will do what until they are placed in very difficult situations (This is why I support universalism as a meaningful world view in our core cultural attributes to better ensure unity among diverse people. Culture is programming of the mind. Flexible and adaptable cultures can take in more information adjust to difficulties while overly rigid cultures create increased conflict.).

Because we don't have perfect measures of personality and performance under duress (i.e. worm at core) we have to do the best we can in candidate selection. You will want to think about emotional stability, extraversion and conscientiousness as factors in success as well as any historical/background of leaders functioning during chaotic times. Current personality mixed with past performance can be a powerful consideration when selecting future candidates. Just keep in mind that we never know who someone truly is until they have been challenged. Some will thrive and some will collapse. It is not dependent on their social class, the college they attended, or who they are connected with. True leadership walks the talk.

Abatecola, Gianpaolo & Mandarelli, Gabriele & Poggesi, Sara. (2013). The Personality Factor: How Top Management Teams Make Decisions. A Literature Review. Journal of Management & Governance. 17. 1073-1100. 10.1007/s10997-011-9189-y. 

Thompson, J. et. al (2012). Terror Management Theory S. Chait, in Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/terror-management-theory......