Exploring the Impact of Personality Awareness and Personality-based Influencing Preferences on the Perceived Influence Capacity of New Leaders in Higher Education Community-engaged Practice

This dissertation explores the leadership development needs of new administrators engaged in community-engaged scholarship (CES) within higher education institutions. As these individuals transition from entrepreneurial, autonomous roles to formal administrative positions, they often lack essential competencies in areas such as project coordination, conflict resolution, interdisciplinary collaboration, and managing university-community partnerships. Addressing this competency gap is critical to enhancing their effectiveness as leaders who can bridge institutional and community interests.

The study investigates the potential for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to enhance perceived influence and leadership effectiveness among emerging CES leaders. A professional development program was implemented, incorporating MBTI assessments, specialized workshops, and individualized coaching aimed at strengthening influence-building strategies.

Results indicate that increased self-awareness of personality traits, particularly among extroverted participants, was linked to enhanced perceived influence competencies. However, introverted participants did not consistently report lower influence capacity. The integration of personality assessments, developmental workshops, and coaching significantly improved participants' self-efficacy, critical thinking, and application of influence strategies in practice. Notably, coaching was perceived as a key factor in translating theoretical insights into actionable leadership behaviors, resulting in improved job satisfaction and performance.

These findings highlight the importance of personality-based professional development in strengthening leadership capacities for CES roles. By fostering selfawareness and adaptive influence strategies, higher education institutions can better equip new leaders to serve as effective agents of community change and institutional collaborators, thereby enhancing university-community partnerships and advancing social equity initiatives.