Dark triad, light triad, and achievement motivation as correlates of job performance among managers: A circumplex model of personality metatraits perspective

This study examines how Dark and Light Triad personality traits relate to managerial job performance through achievement motivation, drawing on the Circumplex Model of Personality Metatraits and the Hierarchical Model of Achievement Motivation. The study was conducted among 351 managers. Relationships between personality traits, achievement motivation orientations, and multiple dimensions of job performance were examined using GLM analyses. Psychopathy was directly and negatively related to contextual performance. While controlling for achievement motivation, Machiavellianism showed a positive relationship with counterproductive work behaviors, while humanism was positively linked to task and contextual performance. Narcissism and Kantianism were positively related to all types of achievement motivation, whereas psychopathy was negatively related to mastery-approach motivation. Both mastery-approach and performance-approach motivations were positively associated with task and contextual performance, with performance-approach motivation showing a negative relationship with counterproductive work behaviors. Achievement-approach motivation mediated the relationships between narcissism, Kantianism, humanism, and both task and contextual performance. By integrating personality and motivational perspectives, this study highlights achievement motivation as a key mechanism linking personality traits to managerial performance, offering a nuanced understanding of how motivation shapes managers’ job outcomes.