Trait and team-based approaches to leadership have rarely been integrated, although both are central to leadership research. While trait approaches focus on leader personality and leader behaviors directed at individuals, team-based approaches highlight team processes and leader behaviors directed at teams. We bring together both approaches by drawing on the HEXACO personality framework, narcissism, and the team-based leadership concept of identity leadership. Specifically, we investigate how leader HEXACO personality traits and narcissism relate to follower perception of identity leadership. In a pre-registered study of 113 leader-follower dyads, leader Agreeableness and Emotionality were positively related to follower perception of identity leadership. Findings highlight the value of integrative perspectives on trait and team-based approaches to leadership by demonstrating the relevance of leader personality for follower perception of team-focused leadership.
Wölk et al. (2026) studied this question.