Personality

”He who knows others is clever, he who knows himself is enlightened”

Lao-Tzu

Objectives

1/ Identify factors determining personality

2/ Explain the “Big Five” personality dimensions and identify your own profile

3/ Define the impact of the major personality traits on the work behavior and job performance

Personality

Physical and mental characteristics which are responsible for a person’s identity and determine his/her unique adjustments to the environment

What determines your personality? Heredity ?

– Shyness, fear, aggressiveness

– Separated twins

(parental environment?)– Job satisfaction is

stable over time and across jobs

Environment ?

(cultural factors, family, group membership)

PERSONALITY

“Me and my circumstances are

one and the same thing!”Ortega i Gasset

Personality Traits

Trait: underlying dimension along which people differ

one from another

At least partly genetically and biologically determined

=> rather stable

Any relation between personality, behaviour and job

performance ? (=> Psychometrics: testing and

assessment of intelligence, ability and personality; e.g.

screening candidates!)

The Big Five Dimensions Costa et McCrae (1992)

Broad acceptance 5 major personal dimensions (independent):

– Extroversion: sociability; assertiveness; activity; positive emotions

– Agreeableness: altruism; trust; modesty; cooperation; avoiding conflicts

– Conscientiousness: order; responsibility; achievement striving; focusing on goals and deadlines

– Emotional stability (vs Neuroticism): anxiety; tension; impulsiveness; relaxation; security; discouragement

– Openness to experience: fantasy; aesthetics; feelings; ideas; curiosity; values

The Big Five Dimensions

Openness to experience

Emotional stability

Conscientiousness

Agreeableness

Extroversion

A person may have low, moderate, or high degree of each of these factors

Moderate HighLow

Big Five Universal: consistent across cultures Stabilized personality structure by age 30, but some changes after 30 : environment

matters! – Consciousness, Agreeableness increase– Neuroticism and Extroversion decline for women– Openness declines (very slowly)

USA: – Population-dense areas are associated with higher

Openness and lower Agreeableness– Ethnically diversed states shows higher Openness– Places with higher precipitation have higher rates of

Neuroticism

Big Five: correlations with behaviour and performance

Conscientiousness (self-discipline, obligation, persistance): the strongest positive correlation with job performance, job knowledge, job commitment and training results

Extroversion: with promotions, salary level and career satisfaction (managerial and sales positions)

Big Five: correlations with behaviour and performance

(cont.)

Openness: with training competencies

Low emotional stability: negatively with job satisfaction; no correlation with performance!

Big Five: other correlations

with Organizational Cultures

– Extroversion: team-oriented and agressive cultures (sales positions)

– Agreeableness: supportive cultures

– Openness: innovative cultures

Big 5: General Correlations Extroverted people (vs introverted):

– Happier in their jobs and life, have more friends, spend more time in social situations; but more impulsive (higher absenteism) and more likely to engage in risky behavior

Agreeable people:– Better in school (children); less likely to have risky behavior

Conscientious people :– Live longer, engage in less risky conduct; but do not adapt as well to

changing contexts, have more trouble in learning complex skills, less creative

Emotionally stable people:– Happier, more satisfied (job and life), fewer health complaints; less

fast and less relevant reactions in bad moods

Open people– More creative (science and art), less religious, cope better with

change and organizational uncertainties

www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

Problems with testing Certain traits may be cardinal (pervasive across all

situations) or secondary (evident only in quite restricted situations)

Individuals are not trapped in the categories: scores reveal tendencies and perferences

Some people will not fit in with generalizations !

Methodology: circularity of traits

If you want other people pass your test: 70% of candidates may meet the minimum pass rate

Rouslan Koumakhov RMS

Locus of Control:degree to which people believe they are

masters of their own fate

Believe that their own actions influence what happens to them.

People are easier to motivate

Believe events in their life happen because of luck, or chance.

May feel helpless to change things.

Internal External

- Internals are more likely to emerge as group leaders- Groups led by internals perform better- Internally controlled CEOs select risky and innovative strategies to a higher degree- Internally controlled CEOs are more future oriented and more entrepreneurial.

Rouslan Koumakhov RMS

Machiavellian Personality(“If it works, use it”)

Mach scale:

willingness to put self-interests and own preferences above the interests of the group, and the ability to influence and manipulate others for personal gain

High Machs :

– view human nature cynically,

– show few scruples, lack honesty,

– rely on emotional appeals,

– more flexible in behavior,

– are persuaded less and persuade others more

Situational factors:- interacting face to face

with others rather than indirectly (autonomy);

- situation having minimum or flexible rules (norms) allowing improvisation

- emotional involvement with irrelevant details distracting low Machs

Rouslan Koumakhov RMS

Machiavellian Personality and Leadership

There are no very clear stable linkages to leadership, but:

High Machs tend to be more successful, but not effective leaders

Medium Machs tend to be most effective leaders (good negotiators, do not abuse their power, focus on group goals)

Cross-cultural differences:– Chineese managers score higher on the

Mach scale than US managers

Examples of individuals exemplifying personality traits

(Big 5 Model)Dimension High Low

Emotional stability Washington Hamlet

Imagination, non-conventionality

Van Gogh Henry Ford

Radicality, Experimentation

Karl Marx Queen Victoria

Self-sufficiency, independance

Copernicus Marilyn Monroe

Control, discipline Thatcher Jagger