Many factors impact a person's leadership style and success as a leader. Communication style and how well a person gets along with others are two factors. Some leadership and communication styles may be more effective in some situations and contexts. In contrast, others could be more suitable for different circumstances.
In the Big Five personality model, agreeableness is the trait that mainly determines the way how people communicate and interact with people. Since it looks specifically at behaviors and interactions with others, agreeableness (and its opposite, antagonism) is highly associated with leadership.
People with high levels of agreeableness are typically warm, friendly, and empathetic, which makes them excellent communicators. They have strong social skills and can quickly build relationships and trust with others. Meanwhile, antagonistic individuals are more competitive and assertive. Others often perceive them as more dominant, confident, and even unpleasant or hostile in some situations.
A person's level of agreeableness impacts how we communicate in our personal life and in the workplace. By understanding how these traits work, you can adapt your leadership style to your team's specific needs, get the best results from your efforts, and build and maintain strong relationships with your colleagues, friends, or loved ones.
This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both traits in leadership and communication and their impact on team dynamics and effectiveness. You'll also learn how to use your personality style to increase business and career success.
Need to know your Agreeableness vs. Antagonism scores? Take the Big 5 Career Test and the Big 5 Personality Test to help you better understand your personality.
How Agreeableness and Antagonism Affect Leadership and Communication
Agreeableness and antagonism are traits identified by psychologists as part of The Big 5 personality model. Agreeableness measures the extent to which a person is cooperative and trusting, while antagonism quantifies their degree of hostility and suspiciousness.
Agreeable individuals have high emotional intelligence and can quickly establish and maintain strong social relationships. They are typically good communicators, empathetic toward others, and have excellent listening skills. In contrast, antagonistic people generally are less trusting of others and more cynical and skeptical.
Paradoxically, both of these personality traits can have a positive or negative impact on leadership and communication.
For example, being agreeable is beneficial because it helps build trust and relationships with others, making it easier to influence and motivate team members. However, being extremely agreeable may also have the downside of allowing others to take advantage of you.
On the other hand, antagonistic personalities may offer more objective perspectives in decision-making and problem-solving and help prevent groupthink and other blind spots. However, others can also perceive them as aggressive and hostile, negatively impacting team morale and cooperation.
While on the surface, it might seem that scoring really high on agreeableness is the “best” (after all, who doesn’t want to be “nice”), it may not be the optimal fit in every work context.
Is Being Too Agreeable Bad for Leadership? Can Nice People Be Good Leaders?
Agreeable individuals may perform well in leadership roles within work settings with flatter hierarchies and in social contexts with less competition.
The most innovative organizations are currently adopting more flat structures, including team-based and collaborative initiatives. Such social contexts are likely to favor agreeable individuals because they are trusting of others and open to communication. In addition, agreeable individuals tend to be more effective in situations where cooperation is required, such as team projects or team-based roles.
Flat organizational structures are great for innovative or creative work, allowing different perspectives to be considered and encouraging collaboration. This approach is essential in professions where innovation is vital, such as in the technology sector.
In a competitive social context, agreeable individuals may not be given sufficient credit for their contributions due to their tendency to be more open to others. This lack of recognition is especially likely if their contributions, such as those in innovation or creativity-based work, are not easily measurable. These are the work environments where someone who scores higher on the antagonistic side of the spectrum may do better.
Leadership Styles Associated With High Agreeableness
If you are highly agreeable, these types of leadership may be best suited to your personality.
- Servant leadership, in which the leader serves as a mentor or coach to their team.
- Transformational leadership, where the leader inspires and empowers their team to achieve common goals.
- Altruistic leadership, where the leader supports and cares for their team members as a friend.
These leadership styles are best-suited to the strengths of Agreeable individuals, as they require strong social skills and empathetic connection with others. For example, servant leaders are great at cultivating relationships and building trust among their team members. In contrast, transformational leaders can inspire and motivate people to achieve common goals.
Moreover, altruistic leaders are more likely to be seen as a friend by their team members and thus have the ability to inspire and motivate them through personal relationships.
Leadership Styles Best-Suited for Antagonistic Individuals
Suppose you score higher on the antagonistic side of the spectrum. In that case, these types of leadership may be best suited to your personality.
- Authoritarian leadership, in which the leader makes decisions unilaterally and focuses on discipline, order, and control. Overall, there are more effective leadership styles than authoritative. Still, it is necessary for some places, such as the military.
- Directive leadership, where the leader gives clear instructions to their team and holds them accountable.
- Coercive leadership, where the leader uses threats and punishment to achieve their goals. Coercion is not an effective leadership style and, at the extreme, can lead to a toxic work environment.
While antagonistic individuals may not be well-suited to traditional leadership styles focused on group agreement and consensus, they tend to be more effective leaders in competitive environments. This style can benefit large organizations where success depends on achieving results quickly and managing internal competition.
In addition, antagonistic individuals may be more willing to make difficult or unpopular choices to achieve goals, which can be an asset in highly complex or ambiguous situations. So, they are more effective as risk managers or in roles where they can be decisive, even if their decisions are not always popular.
Are Agreeable Individuals Better Leaders Than Antagonistic Ones?
If you’re looking to strengthen your leadership skills, you may be wondering which is better, being more agreeable or more antagonistic. Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer to this question. It depends mainly on the particular leadership role and the context in which it is being performed. However, most scholarly studies prove that such leadership styles as transformational leadership tend to be more effective than authoritarian or directive leadership styles for most types of work.
Ultimately, being a good leader requires a balance between these traits. You need to be able to get along with others, but you can’t give in to everyone’s demands. Above, we listed leadership styles best suited for people who score high on either side of the spectrum.
However, other leadership styles that can be effective, depending on the setting and the strengths of the leader, include:
- Democratic leadership style,
- Autocratic leadership style,
- Bureaucratic leadership style,
- Charismatic leadership style, and
- Coaching leadership style.
Fortunately, effective leadership doesn't depend on personality alone; it also relies on skills you can learn.
How to Become More Successful in Leadership
The development of social skills and empathy takes time and practice. Some tips include cultivating relationships, listening and understanding others' perspectives, and maintaining an open mind. Strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills can also help build strong relationships and effectively manage others.
Ultimately, whether you are agreeable or antagonistic, the key to success in leadership is to focus on your strengths and develop areas where you may be less skilled. Understanding your levels of agreeableness and antagonism can also help you improve your personal relationships.
However, agreeableness is just one personality trait that impacts your communication style. Learn how the traits of Conscientiousness, Openness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism also play a role your leadership abilities.
Learn more about Agreeableness vs. Antagonism:
