Personality will always be important because human behavior will always be important. On episode 133 of The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp answer these listener questions about personality:
- To what extent is personality universal versus shaped by cultural context?
- How do routine behaviors reflect deeper personality traits?
- Are authentic leaders more authentic to the self or the job?
- What’s the latest research on toxic workers?
- What role does personality play in team effectiveness?
- How should organizations address the dark side in leaders?
You ask, we answer! Send your listener questions to hello@thescienceofpersonality.com.
To What Extent Is Personality Universal Versus Shaped by Cultural Context?
The broad dimensions of personality, such as the Big Five traits, are universal. How they’re expressed can vary by cultural context. “Specific behavior can reflect different underlying dimensions depending on context,” said Ryne. A specific behavior in Japan might reflect a different underlying personality dimension than it would if enacted in Mexico. How is individual personality formed? Biology and behavior. A psychometric assessment can indicate an individual’s motivations and worldview, which reveal how they’re likely to behave in any given situation.
How Do Routine Behaviors Reflect Deeper Personality Traits?
Our personality can be described as the sum of all the behaviors that we enact. For example, students who make their beds are the most likely to show up for class. These two separate habits are connected by a penchant for routine and rule following. “That’s the beauty of broad personality assessments. They are context-free,” Ryne said. Predicting how someone will act at any given moment is incredibly difficult, but personality data predict how someone is likely to act across a variety of situations. While the Hogan assessments are largely used in the workplace, things that happen outside of work have an impact on work. That’s how small, routine behaviors reflect underlying patterns of personality.
How Accurately Do Other Instruments Measure Ambition?
Ambition predicts important workplace outcomes, such as climbing the corporate ladder, getting promoted, or becoming an executive. Most measures of personality are based on the five-factor model, but ambition isn’t one of those five factors. Other instruments tend to obscure ambition, even very comprehensive ones, such as the NEO-PI and the HEXACO. That’s because ambition is more complex than just mixing the broader trait categories of extroversion and conscientiousness. Consequently, the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) measures ambition on its own separate scale. “You really need to extract the social ascendancy part of extroversion and the achievement and motivation parts of conscientiousness to get ambition,” Ryne said.
Are Authentic Leaders More Authentic to the Self or the Job?
A traditional view of authenticity in leadership is about being yourself, that is, acting with vulnerability and self-disclosure. But too much freedom or openness—being too authentic to self—can create problems. Why? “Your true self is usually not what you really want to be,” said Ryne. We socialize children to resist their impulses; the unregulated self doesn’t typically exercise any strategic self-awareness. In that case, truly authentic behavior in leadership roles could prove counterproductive toward individual and organizational success. Authenticity toward the job would likely be more effective.
What’s the Latest Research on Toxic Workers?
Toxic workers are often confused with incompetent workers. Both types of workers are not very good, but toxic workers seem to bring intentionality to their performance at work. “Incompetent workers are not qualified, so others have to make up for those inefficiencies. Toxic workers are often very qualified, but they create additional work and problems for others to solve,” Ryne said. Toxic workers, despite having competence, cost their teams more than they may be worth. Employers tend to hope they can fix the toxicity and keep the talent, but Hogan research suggests that’s not realistic.
What Role Does Personality Play in Team Effectiveness?
The team is not the sum or the average of its members’ personality. Although many personality characteristics are related to building teams, trust is essential to team effectiveness. An elevation on any scale on the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) can erode trust through different mechanisms. Behaviors such as giving up on projects quickly (high Excitable), being mistrustful of others (high Skeptical), or micromanaging (high Diligent) affect trust. “That’s the how personality plays a role in shaping effectiveness and trust,” said Ryne. Team building isn’t about individual performance. Rather, leaders should ask, “How are my behaviors individually going to impact the team?”
How Should Organizations Address the Dark Side in Leaders?
We often don’t recognize our own dark-side behaviors. Having passion and energy for new projects and opportunities is often a strength (HDS Excitable). But when it manifests as a tower of unfinished projects, it has stopped being beneficial. Our behavior sometimes doesn’t result in what we expected. Understanding the potential downsides of their strengths can help leaders improve their performance. Organizations that equip leaders with insight into their dark sides empower them to gain strategic self-awareness. “We maximize that talent by recognizing our potential derailers and using that information the best way we can,” Ryne said.
Listen to this conversation in full on episode 133 of The Science of Personality. Never miss an episode by following us anywhere you get podcasts. Cheers, everybody!