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The focus of this study was to identify leader behaviors that elicit successful engagement of employees with autism spectrum disorder, a population that is powerfully emerging into the workplace. The ultimate goal was to improve the quality of life of employees with autism spectrum disorder by facilitating an environment leading to their success. Through a series of interviews with 54 employees with autism spectrum disorder, results indicated that leadership has a great effect on employee attitudes and performance, and that the notion of leadership preferences is quite complex culminating in several important behaviors rather than one superior leadership theory. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Most research examining the relationship between effective leadership and personality has focused on individual personality traits. However, profiles of personality traits more fully describe individuals, and these profiles may be important as they relate to leadership. This study used latent class analysis to examine how personality traits combine and interact to form subpopulations of leaders, and how these subpopulations relate to performance criteria. Using a sample of 2,461 executive-level leaders, six personality profiles were identified: Unpredictable Leaders with Low Diligence (7.3%); Conscientious, Backend Leaders (3.6%); Unpredictable Leaders (8.6%); Creative Communicators (20.8%); Power Players (32.4%); and Protocol Followers (27.1%). One profile performed well on all criteria in an assessment center; remaining profiles exhibited strengths and weaknesses across criteria. Implications and future directions for research are highlighted.

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