Self-Oriented Versus Other-Oriented Leadership

Why some prefer self-focused leaders while others prefer other-oriented leaders.

Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D.

Key points

• When it comes to emerging as a leader, there are multiple pathways.
• Some emerge as leaders by holding other-oriented traits, while others get there by being self-oriented.
• Data presented here show that people who hold humanist beliefs tend to prefer other-oriented leaders.
• Conversely, those who hold Dark Triad traits tend to show a preference for self-oriented leaders.

Picture these two scenarios:

Candidate X is running for President of the USA. He has held several elected positions prior at the county and state levels. He has a reputation for really getting what he wants. He seems to focus very much on himself during campaign season. He is not afraid to put the feelings of others aside to get what he wants. He knows that his vision is best for everyone.

Candidate Y is running for President of the USA. He has held several elected positions prior at the county and state levels. He has a reputation as truly believing in the good side of his constituents. And he seems to truly care about people from all walks of life. He prioritizes the needs of each individual constituent over his own political success. He truly hopes that his vision is best for everyone.

In a recent study from our research team (based on an advanced undergraduate research class in the State University of New York at New Paltz Psychology Department), we asked participants (comprised largely of psychology majors at our university) to read each of these scenarios and rate each hypothetical candidate on a 1-7 scale in terms of how much they like the candidate.

Two Broad Paths to Leadership

Our research is partly based on the idea within evolutionary psychology that is referred to as strategic pluralism (see Gangestad & Simpson, 2000). This idea basically speaks to the fact that there are often multiple paths or strategies that evolved to help humans navigate various spheres of life. With this idea in mind, our team concluded that there seem to be two very different paths for emerging in a leadership position. In some cases, people who have reputations for being truly caring about others and about the broader community (such as Candidate Y from above) might emerge as leaders. However, it is often the case that people who are highly effective at advancing their own goals (such as Candidate X from above) end up gaining support and emerging as leaders.

Predicting Preferences for Self Versus Other-Oriented Leaders

Given how wildly different these two strategies are, it seems that leadership approaches in high-level positions (such as being the president of the USA) may well vary quite dramatically—leading to situations in which one president may be authentically other-oriented and self-sacrificial while another president may, using highly different means, be largely focused on themselves, perhaps at a cost to others.

Given this portrait of governmental leaders, we were interested in whether there are specific personality traits that differentially predict preferring a relatively self-oriented leader (e.g., Candidate X) versus a relatively other-oriented leader (e.g., Candidate Y).

In a sample of nearly 300 American adults, we found that facets of the Light Triad (see Kaufman et al., 2019), which includes faith in humanity, Kantianism (seeing others not in terms of how they can be exploited for one's own gain), and humanism (or truly believing in our shared humanity across all people) was positively related to liking Candidate Y (the other-oriented candidate) while overall scores on the Dark Triad (see Paulhus & Williams, 2002), comprised of narcissism, Machiavellianism (the tendency to manipulate others for one's own gain), and psychopathy (caring little about the feelings of others) was, overall, predictive of liking Candidate X, the self-oriented candidate. Machiavellianism was particularly predictive of liking the self-oriented candidate.

In short: People who identify as high on Light Triad traits (and who tend to genuinely embrace a humanistic perspective in life) tend to show a preference for other-oriented leaders, while those who are high on Dark Triad traits tend to show a relative preference for self-oriented leaders.

Bottom Line

In democratic organizations and political systems, people are empowered to choose their leaders with their votes. Importantly, there are multiple routes to emerging as a leader. In some cases, a ruthless, self-oriented approach might lead to winning elections and emerging in an important leadership position within a democratic context. In other cases, demonstrating authentic other-oriented attributes leads to being supported as a leader.

Based on our research (Lombard et al., 2023; Lombard & Longo, 2023; Lombard et al, under review), it seems that we can better understand why people might prefer self-oriented versus other-oriented leaders. In short: People who lean toward having Light Triad personalities tend to prefer other-oriented leaders while those who lean toward having Dark Triad personalities are more likely to endorse relatively self-oriented leaders.

As is true in so many spheres of life, when it comes to emerging as a leader of others, there are multiple approaches—including approaches that are genuinely other-oriented versus approaches that are primarily self-oriented.

People often seem baffled as to how and/or why others may disagree with their political leanings. Perhaps the evolutionary-personality approach presented here sheds light on this issue.

When it comes to electing someone into a major leadership position, a lot is on the table. Hopefully the data and analysis presented here help shed light on this process—a process that ultimately affects all of us.