An Evaluation of the Personality Traits Required for Crisis Managers Facing the Enemy's Soft War

Considering the features of crisis scenes such as time pressure, severe threat, surprise, uncertainty, lack of accurate information together with a mass of contradictory data, severe stress and confusion, it is necessary to study the personality traits of crisis managers in order to deal with crises. Hence, the present study aims at evaluating the personality traits and personal characteristics of crisis managers. This is a descriptive study and its population includes the crisis managers working in Tehran province. A sample of 150 crisis managers was selected and a researcher-made questionnaire, the Millon Psychological Inventory, the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and the Eysenck Preference Inventory were utilized to collect the data. It was found out through scientific methods that the researcher-made questionnaire and the other measurement scales are both valid and reliable for our purpose. Our findings indicate that there is a high rate of creativity, endurance, planning ability and mental health and a medium rate of risk taking, influence power and accountability among the crisis managers. Of course, the last three traits of the crisis managers in Tehran province need to be further investigated. Studies of the personality traits of crisis managers can help select capable individuals for different management positions which typically deal with various natural, social and cultural crises. Also, such studies can help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the working crisis managers and promote or replace them with more competent managers.