Locus of control is a personality measure that indicates the extent to which people believe that they have control over what happens to them in life. Internals believe that what happens to them, good or bad, is largely a result of their choices and actions. Externals, on the other hand, believe that what happens to them is caused by external forces beyond their control. Accordingly, externals are much more comfortable with a directive leadership style, whereas internals greatly prefer a participative leadership style because they like to have a say in what goes on at work.