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 re- quires 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 effective- ness 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 em- bedded within the Big Five personality traits. Design/methodology/approach – The research design was qualitative phenomenologi- cal, and 13 purposively sampled participants were interviewed to explore their experi- ences 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 sup- port 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. Keywords: leadership, meaning, personal purpose, fourth industrial revolution, five- -factor personality theory, personality traits. JEL Classification: O15, M10, M21.