Post Hoc probing of leadership traits exhibited by executives in Public Sector Enterprises

This research tries to identify the leadership traits exhibited by the executives at various hierarchical levels. The study also tries to explore the influence of leadership traits of boss (officer) on leadership traits of subordinate (officer). Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited- Kochi Refinery, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Madras Fertilizers Limited and Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited were the organizations chosen for the study. The sample was selected using Stratified Random Sampling Method. The three strata identified were junior level, middle level and top level of executives in the above five organizations. It was found that the leadership traits of subordinate and superior officers are different in the organizations. Comparison of leadership traits indicated that there is no significant difference in leadership traits of self across organizations. Similarly there is no significant difference in leadership traits of boss across organizations as per the assessment of the respondents. There is significant positive correlation between leadership traits of the subordinate officer and the corresponding leadership traits of boss. This may be due to the exposure to the leader's behavior over a period affecting the behavior of the subordinate officer, resulting in the subordinate officer emulating the leadership traits of the boss.