Leadership Emergence in the Arts: Personality Traits and Motivation to Lead Among Administrative Leaders in a Norwegian Context

Based on the leadership literature, this paper aims to investigate personality traits and motivation to lead in administrative leaders and non-leaders in the field of art, in a Norwegian context. Data was gathered from 141 administrative leaders from music and arts schools, and from 213 performing artists. For comparison purposes, a sample of 83 corporate leaders and 69 non-leaders was collected. The results indicate that motivation to lead among artistic individuals was almost identical related with leaderlike characteristics as for corporate individuals. Individuals entering administrative leadership positions in the field of art were also associated with leaderlike characteristics when compared with non-leaders. The only unexpected finding was a negative relationship between extraversion and individuals in administrative leadership positions. Also, motivation to lead did not differentiate administrative leaders and non-leaders in the field of art. The results are discussed in terms of how leadership characteristics operate in the field of art, and the effect of domain-specific characteristics in this setting.