Meaning, personal purpose and the Big Five personality traits in exploring leader effectiveness in South Africa’s FMCG sector during the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Aim/purpose – Effective leadership in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era requires the right mix of personality traits, a deep sense of meaning, and personal purpose. The Big Five personality traits theory was chosen for its cross-cultural applicability and effectiveness in describing various personality traits precisely. The study had a two-fold objective: first, to explore the impact of meaning and personal purpose on the effectiveness of leaders in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector in South Africa (SA) during 4IR era, and second, to understand how meaning and personal purpose are embedded within the Big Five personality traits.

Design/methodology/approach – The research design was qualitative phenomenological, and 13 purposively sampled participants were interviewed to explore their experiences as senior leaders adapting to the 4IR demands in the FMCG industry in SA. The data were analyzed using a manual thematic analysis process.

Findings – The findings showed that leaders perform optimally when they have a sense of meaning and personal purpose and that leaders in SA’s FMCG industry require support and expert guidance to adapt to the digital era.

Research implications/limitations – Leadership development should address the new competencies required to transition to a new way of leading in the 4IR. This study is limited to South Africa’s FMCG industry.

Originality/value/contribution – The study expanded the theoretical understanding of meaning and purpose and the integration of these concepts into the Big Five personality traits.