A Comparison of Leadership and Personality

Styles: Imran Khan a Captain and Politician

Presented by

Hamna Ayub
Introduction
• Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician
• Former cricketer
• Humanitarian
• He drives the Pakistan movement of justice and is a member of the National
Assembly of Pakistan
• He played worldwide cricket for twenty years
• He began playing cricket at the age of 13 years (Khan, 2011).
• After completing his studies at Oxford, he became a member of Pakistan’s
national cricket group in 1976 and played till 1992
Cricket Career
• Imran Khan’s test debut was against England in 1971, and the ODI debut was in
the year 1974
• He functioned as the captain of the team alternatingly all through 1982–1992
• In 1982, at the peak of his vocation he acquired the captaincy of the Pakistan
cricket team from Javed Miandad
• He played 48 Test matches as the captain and 139 ODIs
• His first year as the leader was the height of his benefaction as a fast bowler and
also as an all-rounder
• He logged the best test bowling of his vocation by taking 8 wickets for 58 runs in
opposition to Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981–1982 (Iqbal, 2015).
• By the completion of this series in 1982 and 1983, he had occupied 88 wickets
in 13 Test matches in the era of one year as captain

• In India in 1987, he drove Pakistan in its first historic test series victory and
this was trailed by Pakistan’s first series triumph in England

• Pakistan and India co-facilitated the 1987 World Cup, however neither
volunteered beyond the semi-finals (Khan, 2011).

• In 1988, he was requested to come back to the captaincy by the premier of

Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he declared his resolution to
return to the team (Hassan, 2017).
• He is one of the eight world cricketers to accomplish ‘All-rounder’s Triple’ label
in Test matches (Iqbal, 2015).

• He finished 3,807 runs and took 362 wickets in total in Test cricket

• Not long after coming back to the captaincy, he drove Pakistan to a new
triumphant visit in the West Indies, which he has described as “the last time I truly
bowled fine”

• In 1992, Pakistan won its first World Cup Trophy under the captaincy of Imran
Khan which was remarkable (Iqbal, 2015).

• He resigned from cricket in 1992 as one of Pakistan’s most prosperous cricketers

Political Career
• In April 1996, he established the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), a moderate
political party, and turned out to be the party’s state spearhead

• Imran Khan challenged for a seat in the National Assembly in October 2002 and
worked as an opposition participant from Mianwali till 2007

• He was again chosen to the parliament in the 2013 races, while his party developed
as the second leading party in the republic by general poll

• At present, he works as the governmental spearhead of the party, therefore

supervising the third biggest block of members of parliament in the National
Assembly ever since 2013 (Jason, 2013)
• Pakistan general elections in October 2002 through 272 electorates, Imran Khan projected
in the elections and was ready to make an alliance if his party did not get a bulk of the
poll

• On 21 April 2013, Khan propelled his last advertising effort for the 2013 races from
Lahore where he tended to a large number of supporters at The Mall, Lahore

• He declared that he would haul Pakistan out of the conflict commanded by United States
on fear and convey peace to the Pashtun ethnic belt

• Pakistan’s 2013 elections were carried out on 11 May 2013 all over the republic

• Imran Khan’s party PTI gained 30 straightly voted governmental seats.

• Imran Khan’s most major opposition is PML-N; the Sharif’s (Ahad, 2013).
Literature Review
Personality and Leadership Styles
• People who have task-oriented personality types tend to have considerable focus
on details. They are not comfortable initiating an action-plan until they are
satisfied they have all the necessary facts (Barrick & Mount, 2013)
• Bass (2016) states,
“Personality theorists tended to regard leadership as a one-way effect: Leaders
possess qualities that differentiate them from followers. But these theorists did not
acknowledge the extent to which leaders and followers have interactive effects by
determining which qualities of followers are of consequence in a situation.”
• The combination of leadership style and personality type appears to meld into a
psychological combination that produces the ethos of a leader (Lord, DeVader, &
Alliger, 2016).
• In addition, Goleman (2011) states,

“It is quite unlikely that there is a single basic pattern of abilities and personality trait
characteristics of all leaders. The personality characteristics of the leader are not
unimportant, but those which are essential differ considerably depending on the
circumstances”

“Leaders are not just identified by their leadership styles, but also by their personalities,
their awareness of themselves and others, and their appreciation of diversity, flexibility, and
paradox” (Barrick & Mount, 2013)
The DISC Model
• The DISC model is based on following:
Some people are more outgoing, while others are more reserved.
Some people are more task-oriented, while others are more people-oriented
(Goleman, 2011).
Personality Traits
Outgoing
Reserved
Task-oriented
People-oriented
• The Dominant "D" type. An outgoing, task-oriented individual will be focused on getting things
done, accomplishing tasks, getting to the bottom line as quickly as possible and completing the task.
The key insight in developing a relationship with this type person is respect and results (Bass &
Stogdill, 2016).

• The Inspiring "I" type. An outgoing, people-oriented individual loves to interact, socialize and have
fun. The key insight in developing a relationship with this type person is admiration and recognition.

• The Supportive "S" type. A reserved, people-oriented individual will enjoy relationships, helping or
supporting other people and working together as a team. The key insight in developing a relationship
with this person is friendliness and sincere appreciation (Marston, 2012).

• The Cautious "C" type. A reserved, task-oriented individual will seek value, consistency and quality
information. This person focuses on being correct and accurate. The key insight in developing a
relationship with this individual is trust and integrity (Blake & Mouton, 2010).
Leadership Styles
• Democratic Leadership
 In this leadership style, subordinates are involved in making decisions
 The democratic leader holds final responsibility, but the individual is known to delegate authority
to other people, who determine work projects (Zaccaro, Rittman, & Marks, 2018).
 The most unique feature of this leadership is that communication is active; upward and
downward (Goleman, 2011).
• Strategic Leadership Style
 Strategic leadership is one that involves a leader who is essentially the head of an organization
 The strategic leader fills the gap between the need for new possibility and the need for
practicality by providing a prescriptive set of habits (Marston, 2012)
 An effective strategic leadership delivers the goods in terms of what an organization naturally
expects from its leadership in times of change
 55% of this leadership normally involves strategic thinking (Bass & Stogdill, 2016).
• Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is all about initiating change in organizations, groups,
oneself and others
Transformational leaders motivate others to do more than they originally intended
and often even more than they thought possible
They set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performance
(Blake & Mouton, 2010).
• Transactional Leadership
This is a leadership that maintains or continues the status quo and is task oriented
It is also the leadership that involves an exchange process, whereby followers get
immediate, tangible rewards for carrying out the leader’s orders
Transactional leadership can sound rather basic, with its focus on exchange.
• Coaching Leadership
 Coaching leadership involves teaching and supervising followers
 A coaching leader is highly operational in setting where results/ performance require improvement
 Basically, in this kind of leadership, followers are helped to improve their skills
 Coaching leadership does the following: motivates followers, inspires followers and encourages
followers (Hamilton & Schriesheim, 2017).
• Charismatic Leadership
 In this leadership, the charismatic leader manifests his or her revolutionary power.
 It actually involves a transformation of followers’ values and beliefs
 This distinguishes a charismatic leader from a simply populist leader who may affect attitudes
towards specific objects, but who is not prepared as the charismatic leader is, to transform the
underlying normative orientation that structures specific attitudes (Goleman, 2011).
• Team Leadership
 Team leadership involves the creation of a vivid picture of its future, where it is heading and what
it will stand for
 The vision inspires and provides a strong sense of purpose and direction (Hamilton &
Schriesheim, 2017)
 Team leadership is about working with the hearts and minds of all those involved (Hamilton &
Schriesheim, 2017).

• Visionary Leadership
 This form of leadership involves leaders who recognize that the methods, steps and processes of
leadership are all obtained with and through people
 Most great and successful leaders have the aspects of vision in them
 However, those who are highly visionary are the ones considered to be exhibiting visionary
leadership
 Outstanding leaders will always transform their visions into realities (Blake & Mouton, 2010).
Models of Leadership
Leadership Participation Model
 Kouzes and Posner discuss five characteristics they deem essential for successful leadership
 A good leader turns observers into doers (Barrick & Mount, 2013).
 Role Model. A leader needs to be an exemplar, initiating action and presenting her or himself as a
paradigm case of what a person should be and how actions should be performed.
 Inspiration. The others need to feel that they should follow; they need to be inspired but with a
goal. They need to see that there is a desired endpoint to their actions. Leaders may intellectualize
a situation but they have to be able to stand firm in the face of adversity.
 Facing Adversity. An individual cannot be deterred or wither. Courage is a hallmark of good
leadership. That is a main feature that others see in a good leader. Often a leader will have to be
creative, and it is this creation that sets a person off from the humdrum of those who follow (Bass
& Stogdill, 2016).
 Empowerment. Getting others to act and conveying a sense of empowerment to others
 Generates Enthusiasm. A vital component of leadership not only getting others to act, but they
need to act with passion (Barrick & Mount, 2013).
Decision-making Model of Leadership
• The Vroom-Yetton-Jago focuses upon decision making as how successful leadership emerges and
progresses
• The parameters shaping a decision are quality, commitment of group or organization members, and
time restrictions
• The aim of the Vroom-Yetton-Jago decision-making model of leadership is to assess how the nature
of the group, leader, and situation determine the degree to which the group is to be included in the
decision-making process (Vroom, 2014)
 The autocratic essentially is a dictator, taking one’s cue from transactional leadership methods,
which, in essence say that the leader tells the group, “obey”
 The consultative approach has the leader going to the group for suggestions on how to carry out
tasks
 The "group" method of decision making is the most democratic, where the group ultimately makes
the decision (Goleman, 2011).
• The theory states that there can be many styles of leadership and no one type fits all situations, thus
making this a contingency theory
Rationale
Personality and leadership are two different concepts, but both of these play an important role in defining the
respective qualities and traits
The different styles of personality; agreeableness, people and relation oriented is related to a democratic,
inspiring, a charismatic leader
Similarly, the dominant, task oriented personality is also a strategic and transformational leader.
This biographical research aims to identify the varying personality and leadership styles within an individual
As the captain of Pakistan cricket team the requirements and expectations from Imran Khan were quite different
from the Imran Khan who is the Chairperson of one of the strongest political party of Pakistan
The transition from one phase to a completely different one as the life history with an account of a comparison
of the personality and leadership styles is the main theme of the study
Personality and leadership define the role of an individual in one’s life and the behaviors and actions can be
predicted from the styles and analysis of previous patterns
These traits provide an outline of an individual and the behaviors which are expected from the subject in
question during a life course
The examination of the personality and leadership styles provides an in-depth information of an individual
It also helps to highlight the changes in these when the same individual has different roles in communities
Moreover, there is change in the social structure of the followers and colleagues with whom the individual is in
relationship with.
Method
• Objectives
To explore the leadership and personality styles from the autobiography of Imran
Khan (Imran: An autobiography of Imran Khan and Pakistan: A Personal History)
To examine the leadership styles and personality characteristics of Imran Khan as
a captain of Pakistan Cricket Team and the Chairperson of a political party.
To explore the similarities in leadership and personality styles of the young
cricketer and the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf.
• Material and Sample
The data will be collected from the autobiography of Imran Khan, print and
electronic media articles and interviews
A semi-structured interview will also be conducted from Imran Khan.
Procedure
Consent will the taken from the supervisor and institution for conducting the biographical research. Informed consent
will also be taken from the subject of the study (Imran Khan). The subject will be approached through the local
representatives of the political party. The subject will be briefed regarding the purpose of study. The data will be
collected from the autobiography, interviews in person/ media, newspaper articles, media campaigns, routs, and
processions. The interview guidelines will be discussed and formulated after discussion with the supervisor.

Proposed Analysis Plan

Content analysis is a method used to analyse qualitative data (non-numerical data). The technique can be used for data
in many different formats, for example interview transcripts, written content, and audio recordings.
The researcher conducting a content analysis will use ‘coding units’ in their work. These units vary widely depending
on the data used. The content analysis of the autobiography; “Pakistan: A Personal History” will be done and the
observations will also be recorded from the interviews given to anchors, press conferences, routs and articles on print
and electronic media. Along with these semi-structured interview will be conducted for in detail study.

Limitations
 The autobiographical research cannot be generalized
 It lacks replicability which does not provide the evidence of validity
In the words of Imran Khan
“I learned a lot, as the leader of the team. Cricket is the only sport where you need
leadership on the pitch; no other sport gives so much of a role to the captain as in
cricket, in all other sports it is the coach who is crucial. A leader on the cricket field can
raise the performance of an ordinary team, whereas a poor captain can prevent a talented
team from fulfilling its potential. A cricket captain, to be leader, has to lead by example -
he has to show courage if he wants his team to fight. He has to be selfless if he wants his
players to play for the team. He has to have integrity if he wants to command the respect
of the team. Above all, in times of crisis, he must have the ability to take the pressure -
that's when a team needs the leader most.”
“When I became captain, the great players had left and I had to lead a very
inexperienced team; before entering a match, I knew that if I did not perform, the
team would not win. It didn't mean I always ensured the team won, but it meant I
automatically put myself under pressure. If a captain shows any weakness or
buckles under pressure, the team collapses, and I knew that without my
performance the team wouldn't succeed. I discovered that the most crucial time for
a leader is when there's a crisis, and by constantly playing under pressure, I learned
to cope with crises”
“As corruption in the bureaucracy rises, the life of the citizens becomes more and
more unbearable. And policy implementation by the government becomes yet more
difficult with such a corrupt civil service. This is not just about economics, but
about the nation's self-esteem. How can Pakistanis ever be encouraged to achieve
their potential while we remain a cowed nation that cannot operate without
international aid? In cricket I discovered a team that has self-esteem and belief in
itself will play way beyond its capabilities and can even thrash a more talented
team. The tragedy of Pakistan is that we have become accustomed to these crutches
from the US and multilateral and bilateral lenders. Not only has it destroyed our
self-belief but we have never learned to live within our means and our corrupt and
incompetent ruling elite are bailed out time and time again.”
References
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Questions/ Discussion