Competencies, Personality Traits, and Organizational Rewards of Middle Managers: A Motive-Based Approach

People are rewarded for how they behave, but what do middle managers get for their behavior at work? In this article, we draw upon socioanalytic and role theories to linking competencies, personality, and organizational rewards among a sample of middle managers. The goals of this study were (a) to identify a motive-based competency structure and (b) to understand the antecedents and consequences of these motive-based dimensions. We found that a three-factor structure formed by “achievement,” “power,” and “affiliation” fit our data well. Each of the three dimensions showed a distinct pattern of personality correlates. Power was found to have the strongest impact on organizational rewards. Our results further suggested that personality impacts organizational rewards mainly through the motive-based dimensions. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.