BULLETPOINT

FOCUS REPORTS
FOR THE THINKING MANAGER

Personality, Competence & Fit

2 Getting Personal O 4 Type-testing O 6 Testing for O

Intelligence
7 Competence & Fit O 8 Missing Link: O

Motivation
9 Online Testing O 10 How to Test O 12 Understanding O

Personality
14 Personality Change O 15 Finding Leaders O 16 References & O

Leading from the Front Series

REPORT

Further Reading

Personality, Competence & Fit

Until recently, when assessing people for recruitment or promotion, it was common to ask technical questions first and leave personality issues to the end. Now this wisdom is being reversed. Many skills are soon outdated; whats needed is the ability to pick up new ones fast, and to handle problems arising from situations rather than systems. So, instead of assessing technical record, attention is switching to:
O O O

BULLETPOINT

F O C U S
R E P O RT S

the personality needed for success in a people-centred workplace the competence to stay technically proficient in a learning organisation and the right fit with buyers and colleagues already in place

INSIGHT
I N S P I R AT I O N

SOLUTIONS
KNOWLEDGE
IN JUST

16

PAGES

Personality has been shown to shape the acquisition and exercise of skill. Hence the demand pull from recruiters who find psychological deficiencies harder to fix than skill gaps. But theres also a supply push, from psychometric testers claiming to measure soft skills as precisely as hard ones. This report shows you how to steer between push and pull, to reach a proper measure of the people you employ.

Getting Personal
A BROADER CONTRIBUTION

Tracking the shift

After years of technical fixes and strategy initiatives businesses have learnt to think of change in terms of people. Human Resources (once Personnel Management) is being reconceptualised as Intellectual Capital - investment in which may give higher returns than in most hardware or software. But to demonstrate those returns, HR must put a value on people: measuring what they do, and how this relates to performance, was till recently much easier than gauging who they are. So valuing people often means little more than logging the formal skills they bring to the job, the precision with which they carry it out, the resulting performance, and what this means in terms of profit. Personality, harder to quantify than formal skill and impossible to grade with the same precision, was pushed aside in this initial rush to calibrate the human side. Yet when someone approaches a company, the way its representatives engage with them is key to how well they believe theyve been served.

Disney World: when looking for ways to measure theme park staff competence, and effectiveness of training them, discovered dangers of metric that left out personality: it could have measured sweepers solely on the task they performed, by benchmarking against cleaners in other organisations - but this would have ignored their importance for helping, humouring and entertaining customers, for which the emotion and the right charm count for even more than the motion of the right arm.

GUEST APPEARANCE

The test explosion

20 years ago, psychometric testing was still a laboratory pursuit; today, there are few companies that dont employ tests in some form. Sales of psychological testing services grew around 15% a year through the 1990s, mainly because of:
O

Hotels: found that while skills of behind-the-scenes staff get most management attention, its the personality of front desk staff that mainly shapes guests service perception, and where extra HR budget is best spent.

deregulation: chartered psychologists, regulated in the UK by the British Psychological Society (BPS), lost their control over test design and administration, and a new range of independent testers moved into the market new types of test: established tests were reconfigured to be more quickly and
easily administered; and new tests arrived, many claiming to pinpoint more specifically and reliably the personal characteristics needed for particular jobs

CLOSED MINDS AT THE TOP

While more current and aspiring employees are being exposed to psychometrics, those at the top are still allowed to keep their thoughts to themselves; survey of senior executive appointments in 200 large UK companies found:
O

objectivity claims: despite their still wide error margins, tests promised a more
systematic and insightful assessment than interviews, references or group discussions

the rise of people-centred work: a growing no. of jobs involve servicing, managing
people, for which personality can be as important as objective ability; exam grades and achievements on a CV may tell you about technical competence, while revealing little of the personality - for which a test may be the only way to get an insight

only half used any formal assessment during selection: the rest relied entirely on informal soundings and recommendations, or internal appraisal information, despite widely claimed (and legally challenged) risk of old boy network excluding women and minority applicants few of the rest used any psychometric test: just as top execs who go to business school dont expect to sit examinations, they dont expect their interview to be followed by any pointscoring test top people tend to choose their own successors: with help of head-hunters - looking for personalities like themselves, with no attempt to determine if this is more appropriate than others for the job

Generation X: the 1963-80 birth cohort, now prominent in selection roles, has been found to value relationships and people-centred leadership more than its predecessors - and it wants to see these qualities reflected in those it recruits marketing and branding: with over 3,000 tests now on offer, those who publish
and administer them have stepped up their selling effort - playing up the scientific foundations, and performance gains following adoption ACCOUNTING FOR SUITABLE PSYCHOLOGIES Big Four accountants: together receive up to 15,000 graduate applications for less than 1,000 vacancies, and initially used literacy and numeracy tests as screens for assessment and interview. Deloitte & Touche added psychometric tests in 1999, and registered an improved professional exam pass rate. Ernst & Young pioneered routine personality tests for graduates, and others have trialled them, building on already extensive use when selecting for internal assignments and promotions. They serve as a kind of comfort blanket in a time when there is increased risk to the employer in terms of ... relying on subjective information ... [and] substantial pressure on cost during the recruitment process PwC recruitment director.

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G e t t i n g Pe r s o n a l

People measurement
When deciding what furniture to bring into your house, you wouldnt measure only one dimension: physical size, shape, style, material, cost, special features, and how it fits with past and future acquisitions - are all important in deciding whether what gleams in the shop-window will still sparkle when its actually in place. Its the same with bringing people into your organisation; except that there are many more dimensions to consider, theyre harder to identify and measure, and what counts as right is much more likely to change over time. A century of research has spawned hundreds of tests for different aspects of humanity, on which UK firms spend over 150m/year. Psychologists distinguish between tests of:
O

TESTING TO DESTRUCTION?

Whenever a group of psychologists or HR people get together, you can start a round of Monty Pythons Four Yorkshiremen by describing someone you know who uses psychometric tests badly. Chartered occupational psychologist and test publisher Robert McHenry

ability: potential to understand, learn, acquire skills on and off the job; classically measured by the intelligence (IQ) test, of so-called general intellectual ability aptitude: what people can actually do, as result of natural ability or past training; typically measured by exam or practical test in specific area where strength is sought personality: enduring features of a persons attitudes and behaviour that set them
apart from others; also termed Level B, the first two test types being Level A

SEARCHING FOR NORMS

A tests results are more revealing, and less likely to discriminate unfairly, if its first tried out on large samples to establish a performance norm to which subjects test scores can then be compared; but the expense of this means:
O

Mind the crossfire

More than with ability and aptitude, researchers of personality disagree over:
O

how much its fixed, vs how far its features can be changed or new ones learnt
personality can change gradually through experience, or sometimes suddenly through traumatic events, and people can work to change aspects of it that they or others dislike; but some psychologists question the extent to which personality improvement courses can deliver on their promises
O

many older tests were normed 10-30 years ago, in the US unlikely to be appropriate to tests conducted now in the UK, where cultural differences are known to produce systematically different scores some newer tests have no norm - they can only describe characteristics, not assign them a score and show how this compares with average

how many dimensions it has, and in what ways these can be mixed
its usual to identify at least 4-5 independent personality traits, and 16-25 possible combinations; some are disproportionately represented in certain activities, eg management or sales, but this doesnt stop other combinations succeeding there

whether it has features that are measurably good and bad, or just different
most scales merely position people on different extremes, eg introvert or extravert - placing no number on it, so not permitting comparison with others

how different ones fit together, and whether there are optimum combinations
tests can reinforce recruiters tendency to look for people like themselves - resulting in teams and firms clustering similar people, and forming a culture thats uncomfortable for other types; but best teams may require a mix of personalities synergy and unity of opposites beating monoculture and community of clones

One way independent testers signal scientific status is by investment in researching and updating the norms for their tests - or subscribing to larger, out-of-house testing programmes. The biggest UK investor in test design and norming research, Oxford Psychologists Press (OPP), now sells to 60% of FTSE100 firms.

TRAPPING THE CHEATS

how closely particular personalities are a good or bad fit with particular jobs
tests have little to say on where best to employ the personalities they identify - this needs separate research, to see if best performers fit a particular personality profile

how culture-free personality tests can be

theres evidence that tests may assume a set of values that discriminate against those from non-mainstream cultural and social backgrounds; with over 90% originating in the US, theres also risk of a more general cultural bias; eg as British people in general are less emotionally expressive than Americans, most will fare badly on an emotional intelligence test designed and standardised in the US

The best tests include questions that catch people out if they try to misrepresent their personality to bring it closer to what they think selectors are looking for; eg CPI test designers claim they can easily spot an untruthful pattern of answers, alerted by responses to specially planted alarm bell questions. A study of 10,000 applicants to the US Army (a traditional test testing ground) found only 5% tried faking it. 3

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Type-testing
THE RIGHT STUFF

Ariel Capital: founder John Rogers INFJ personality was essential to the $14bn fund managers rise, according to investment leadership study: values of hard work, integrity and interest in people, revealed by MBTI, underpin the combination of cool calculation and warm relations needed for financialworld success; against expectation, hi-touch feeling counts for more than hi-tech thinking in taking the lead.
SELF-AWARENESS SAVES

The Myers-Briggs Type Indication (MBTI)

Still the biggest test, given to 3m+ per year, MBTI uses multi-choice self-assessments to place people on four personality spectra, yielding 16 possible combinations:

1 Introverted (I) vs Extraverted (E): how far people keep their thoughts and
feelings to themselves, solving tasks on their own, and how far they share plans and problems with those around

2 Sensing (S) vs Intuitive (N): how far people must rely on direct experience and
observation to assess their situation, and how far they can use instinct or insight to reach quicker or deeper understanding than immediate observation allows

3 Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F): how far people rationalise situations, basing
decisions on cost-benefit calculation, and how far they empathise, engaging with own and others emotions, to see how these might subvert strict logic, predictability

On learning he had ENFP traits of people-orientation, conflict avoidance, flexibility and strong concern for feelings and values, a manager saw how this caused a recurrent problem over-promising and overcommitment, caused by fear of letting people down. By developing his ability to delegate tasks, or turn them down, he worked on his ability to say no to undoable tasks raising colleague satisfaction while reducing own stress, and laying the basis for long-run performance improvement.
MINDING THE GAPS

4 Perceiving (P) vs Judging (J): how far people can look at a situation objectively,
drawing conclusions from the observation, and how far they need a preconceived idea before attaching meaning to what they see PERSONALITY TYPES
ISTP
performers

often diffident and detached till given tasks theyre interested in and good at - when they take charge and show unexpected grit and skill reliably follow established procedures, value consistency and integrity, but arent good at handling new situations or less predictable people want freedom, but find it in trends that others set accept instruction and dislike delegation, often go beyond the call of duty, are keen to serve others but reluctant to order them around like the precision and predictability of closed systems, so prefer taking risks in a strategy game context (chess, bridge) rather than in real life exert authority in chosen specialist area, dislike straying outside it; good at getting job done, less good at involving others or tolerating their errors fascination with chosen tasks makes them good teachers, communicators, people developers, as long as disciplined with enough reality checks work hard for a cause - especially one that promotes underdogs - communicate fluently, generate strong friendships through ability to empathise admire winners and take risks to get among them, more concerned about result than style or scruples on the way to achieving them like organising and leading groups, value hard work and rule-obedience, communicate well, but are happiest with order and continuity like novelty and fun, good at entertaining and galvanising others fight injustice but prefer correcting to punishing those who play foul; can be emotionally torn when conviction and compassion conflict take risks to do what others view as impossible, ignore rules that block progress, value interesting people but ignore or ditch the rest like deciding, for others as well as selves, stick to courses of action through conviction, cant easily listen to contradictory voices quickly adapt to the role required to fit into a group, and whose vision of what its doing triggers new ideas, especially in brainstorming situations caring and charisma make them visionary leaders but who risk taking on too much, being undermined by more ruthless entrepreneurs

ISTJ
inspectors

ISFP
fashion followers

ISFJ
workhorses

INTP
analysers

A business services firm needed to create a global team to offer one-stop consulting, legal and audit advice for a global client; putting prospective team members through the MBTI showed how the styles of thinking and acting systematically differed between the professions, assisting the formation of congruent teams and helping them communicate.
SATISFIED CUSTOMERS

INTJ
system builders

INFP
wonderers

INFJ
activists

ESTP
impulsives

ESTJ
administrators

ESFP
enthusiasts

We do personality testing on all of our shortlist candidates, it gives our clients one more arrow in the quiver to assess candidates and see how theyd fit in culturally ... At the end of our searches we give both clients and candidates a quality survey, and 99% of them say the [MBTI] test is very helpful. Gayle Gorfinkle, president of executive search firm Gorfinkle & Dane 4

ESFJ
protectors

ENTP
visionaries

ENTJ
leaders

ENFP
actors

ENFJ
social entrepreneurs

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Ty p e - t e s t i n g

MBTI Caveats
MBTI carries a health warning in recruitment: it was never designed for applicant
ranking, and early versions showed gender, cultural and ethnic bias in their contextual knowledge assumptions. Drawn from Jungs personality theory (which stresses psychodynamics rather than psychometrics), MBTIs ubiquity may reflect first-comer advantage, coming before newer tests more specially designed for recruitment, eg
O

FUZZY LOGIC

DISC (examining Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness, marketed as Personal Profile System) 16 Factors Occupational Personality Questionnaire

O O

The power of feedback to make people live up to their MBTI labels means classification mistakes can be costly: eg someone finely balanced between Sensing and Intuition could swing one way into ESFP or the other way to ENFP, with very different expectations of whether theyll be leaders or mere transmitters of novelty and change. MBTI is less effective when people show only slight inclination towards one end of each dimension, so balance could be tipped if just one or two choices went the other way. Designers advise re-testing the slight scores, within 6 weeks, to make sure they were placed on the right side of the personality divide.

It may be better to recruit first, and ask MBTI questions later, when deciding where people go next in the organisation. Newer tests tend to probe more dimensions; eg Hogan Development Survey (HDS) gives percentile rank on 11 scales (Enthusiasm/Volatility; Duty/Dependency; Vivacity/Drama; Independence/Detachment; Shrewdness/Mistrustfulness; Care/Caution; Focus/Passive-aggression; Confidence/Arrogance; Charm/ Manipulativeness; Imaginativeness/Eccentricity; Diligence/Perfectionism). But if theres a new consensus, its the Big Five factors, tested explicitly by tests like NEO-PI or the Personal Characteristic Inventory, and sometimes known by the acronym OCEAN. THE NEW BIG FIVE 1
O

A TOUGHER TYPOLOGY

Openness to experience
people are sensitive to others needs, and adaptable to new situations - but they can also be pliable and suggestible, yielding to others pressure

vs
O

Inner direction
display consistency of a strong set of principles or personal convictions, sticking to beliefs even when pressured to conform to majority opinion - acclaimed as admirable steadfastness in some cases, condemned as foolish obstinacy in others, depending on whether the majority turns out to be right

Unlike MBTI, which provides positive feedback across the 16 types, using the Big 5 in work settings, such as training and coaching, tends to be evaluative ... Individuals may not want to learn that they are neurotic or lack agreeableness. James Michael, Journal of Leadership and Organisation Studies, Summer 2003

2
O

Conscientiousness
implies hard work, reliable performance and willingness to strive for goals

vs
O

Complacency
disinclination to work harder gives more motivation to work smarter, finding better ways that eventually raise productivity, and guard against the burnout that can afflict those who slog on without inspiration

COMING OF AGE

3
O

Extraversion
good at settling into groups, taking the lead when they need direction, enthusiastic and optimistic for projects they get involved in, and easy communicators

vs
O

Introversion
eager to express themselves in less obvious ways, like diligence at tasks and steadfastness in friendships, and more likely to finish ahead on tasks that need reflection to get round intuitively obvious but wrong ideas

Mid-life crises may arise from a mismatch between peoples natural personality and the one theyre forced to adopt for progress in early career. With self-knowledge from MBTI and other personality tests, those whove risen to decision-making roles can start to leverage the aspects theyve previously repressed, thus adding meaning to their lives and effectiveness to their work. For example, those whove stifled their Sensing can dust off forgotten interest in the arts, those with suppressed Feeling can switch to a less commanding, more understanding approach to handling other people. 5

4
O

Agreeableness
consensus seekers are often best equipped to bring about change, since they can rally people behind it and get the understanding that permits implementation

vs
O

Idiosyncrasy
by going against the grain have the better incentive to drive change, being readier to challenge convention and seek to show the merits of their alternative approach

5
O

Neuroticism
being out-of-tune with surrounding emotions can generate neurosis, leading to heightened sensitivity, anxiety and depression; but some neuroticism may be vital to give leaders the agitation that triggers change

vs
O

Equanimity
emotional stability is needed to stay friendly with other personalities, and stay focused on practicalities; but being out-of-touch with emotions leaves people too disengaged, liable to shock when their senses return

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Testing for Intelligence

DOES IT EXIST?

You cant measure intelligence. You can only measure how well people function under certain conditions. The real issue is the character of a person. You cant measure that in a test, and character is what measures the adequacy of employees. Dana Dennard, psychologist, Florida A&M University
BEATING THE BIAS

Personality testing may be controversial, but the debate remains sedate compared to that which continues to rage over intelligence testing.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) theorists argue that its normally distributed over the population, with average score 100, 150+ signifying genius. But the search for general intelligence unearthed specific types - eg verbal, numerical, analytical - on which people could score high even if their general IQ was low. Moreover, business use of intelligence tests is problematic because of charges that they:
O

discriminate unfairly, especially between genders and ethnicities

despite efforts to be culture free, most tests favour candidates who are familiar with the questions language and assumed knowledge, and the test situation; suspicion that minorities are likely to score lower, irrespective of ability or aptitude

US restauranteurs, convinced of cognitive tests ability to pick best candidates in the majority population, commissioned HR consultants to remove its known bias against applicants from minority populations. Main solutions are to minimise use of vocabulary, give lots of examples, and not to set a time limit; pilot tests showed minority candidates scores on revised test only 1-2% down, vs 25% on traditional tests. Its being developed because many operators are seeing potentially viable candidates who are not given a chance to prove themselves because they did not pass the cognitive ability test. Then they see these applicants shooting through the roof in a competitors organisation. Faith Hall Jackson, codirector, Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute, University of Houston

dont accurately define or consistently measure intelligence

some say that high IQ is nothing more than the ability to score well on IQ tests; peoples frequent ability to improve their scores by training challenges the assumption that whats being measured is innate, and grounded in basic ability

falsely assume a connection between intelligence and job competence

even if it exists and IQ tests put an accurate value on it, theres little evidence linking high intelligence with superior job performance; IQ scores on average can explain around 15% of employee performance variation; some psychologists ascribe the other 85% to softer forms of emotional intelligence (EQ); notable issues: - many high achievers score normal or below-average IQ - designers admit its hard to set accurate tests for people brighter than themselves - high intelligence can be unlinked to performance if people lack effort or motivation, and can link to dysfunctional performance if wrongly channelled - components may be too narrowly focused to give advantage in real-life situations; not everyone who zooms through crossword puzzles excels at all other verbal tasks

ignore the group context in which intelligence is exercised

high IQ minds may clash with those of less gifted team members, lowering overall performance, especially if knowledge of high IQ tips self-confidence into arrogance; but teams with uniformly high IQ can also underperform, if members are demoralised at finding colleagues are as bright as they are, and start undermining instead of complementing one another in the battle to outperform

Cognition gains recognition

GAIN AND ABLE

Instead of testing what people already know - with risk of gender and racial bias - ABLE tests give people information, assessing their ability to interpret and absorb it. By testing the full package of necessary skills, it comes closer to the job simulations that top the performance-prediction charts (but avoids their expense). Available for 12 job types (eg sales, customer service, manufacturing, senior management), it has won cautious Commission for Racial Equality approval after early tests in police recruitment. 6

Many studies now point to cognitive capacity as the best personality predictor of performance; new research suggests that cognitive tests explain on average 35% of performance variation, second only to costlier job simulations (45%). US studies show cognition correlating as high as 0.47 with job performance, 0.76 with training success; and focus on cognition contributes to success of tests such as ABLE, because:
O

it shapes peoples capacity to learn, solve problems and adapt

in changing environment, ability to pick up new skills quickly counts for more than proficiency with existing skills

it can be defined and measured with reasonable accuracy

tests show less gender or culture bias than those of verbal/numerical ability, getting closer to the pure aptitude test that earlier IQ measures tried and failed to provide

it mixes influence of personality, IQ and EQ

cognition spans hard problem-solving and soft person-handling capabilities; it may be the overall combination of these that determines work potential

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Competence & Fit

Once its accurately established, two other sets of information are required to make a personality profile commercially useful: the competences to which this personality most lends itself, and the other personalities with which this one best fits.
MISFIT

Competence: the right person for the work

There are no inherently successful people: only people who succeed in particular jobs. While they still identify general competences that allow some individuals to excel in many jobs, occupational psychologists now tend to acknowledge more specific competences - and recognise that these can vary across companies, and through time. At different stages in its core-product life cycle, the same organisation may need competence for innovation, sustaining rapid growth, marketing, cost reduction, geographical expansion and product diversification. The same characteristic can be differently labelled in different organisations, eg pursuit of excellence in a hospital = aggression in a high-growth technology firm. Six essential steps when adding personality to technical criteria:

Avery Dennison: selection uses two interviews specifically to assess fit - one conducted by behavioural interviewers in a social rather than an office setting, to give better insight into candidates interactivity. Averys Spartan International subsidiary discovered downside of failure to take fit seriously: manager recruited from large company had ideal CV for the 90-person company, but suffered instant and irreparable personality clash:
O

couldnt get used to small firms non-hierarchical, informal communication style became impatient at slower progress of changes that resulted from their being agreed through dialogue not imposed by command alienated other managers by trying to export the changes onto their territory, when his own proved too small

1 identify the main tasks - required by the job thats up for selection or promotion 2 determine the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) - needed for best
performance on these tasks

3 check the candidates technical preparedness - by seeing how closely they match
their KSA requirement - as evidenced by qualifications, experience or performance on practical tests

4 determine the personality - needed to acquire, adapt and best apply the KSAs 5 check the candidates personality preparedness - through scores on personality
test with the best record of identifying these characteristics; or on test of behaviours associated with best performance, eg Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)

It definitely isnt a culture fit and thats been very difficult ... Its much easier to fix a skill set than an individual. I cant send him on a course. Jenny Cruickshank, Spartans HR manager
CRAMPED COCKPIT

6 share assessments around - so that everyone whos been involved in assessment, of

KSAs or personality, can swop notes and reach a consensus.

Fit: the right person for the workplace

As well as the personal skills and ability to do solo aspects of the job, a successful worker needs interpersonal skills and compatibility to fulfil those aspects that link to others - co-workers, customers, managers, counterparts in other units - and to help others in their own solo work. Where its easier to fill competence gaps than reconcile personality differences, recruiting for fit wins out over recruiting for skill. And as its never certain how new recruits will fit in, existing talent, where known to fit, shouldnt be neglected recruiters with strong cultures advise going for the internal unless an outsider scores at least 25% higher - to offset the risk they wont fit in. HUNTERS AND GATHERERS: SYMBIOTIC PSYCHOLOGY Caliper: recruitment specialists research identifies two complementary types of successful salesperson: 2/3 are hunters with the drive to track down and haul in clients, but 1/3 are farmers with the empathy to wring most orders from them once they arrive. Very few have both qualities - its a case of combining them in the right ratio. So the best fit for a sales team depends on whos already there.

Never hire if you think there is going to be a mismatch between the candidate and the culture. You should never compromise on the values, but you can certainly compromise on the technical knowledge. Its absolutely a never because the values wont change. Alan Davis, chief recruiter of Canadas first astronauts
SELF POLICING

Survey: an employee who spends an hour a day on nonwork-related Internet and email use can cost employer 20-30,000/year; monitoring software can reduce this, but is costly to buy and use, and hurts staff morale; a cheaper solution is to avoid recruiting (or giving ready Internet access to) personality types most prone to engage in such surfing safaris. 7

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Missing Link: Motivation

PRIZE PERSONALITIES

Two surveys, 16 years apart, show aspiring top managers consistently seek one or more of five challenges: O starting a new business: launching a product or process, exercising entrepreneurial freedom within the firm
O

Highly conscientious people tend to be high on motivation, and highly neurotic people to be low on it; but beyond this, instilling the right motivation and checking that a person can fulfil their personality potential is as important as establishing what that potential is. Studies of business, diplomatic high-fliers suggest achievement motivation, and competences driven by it, are better predictors of success than raw intelligence. The main requirements for maximum motivation:
O

right interests and temperament for the work

few people can stir themselves to keep doing well at work they find inherently uninteresting or unrewarding, or which doesnt play to their strengths

turnaround: bringing back to profit a business or major unit that would otherwise have to close managing a big project: providing, and ensuring the use of, contact points between employees to avoid the communication breakdowns that often lead to accidents defining a new job: taking on a post that hasnt been done before, with broad range of responsibilities working abroad: exposure to other countries national and corporate culture

financial incentives alone are costly and usually insufficient

also risk encouraging tricks to inflate performance artificially; better solutions are to make the work more interesting, intersperse it with other more interesting tasks, or re-assign job to someone who doesnt find it boring

proper assessment of capability

if task is too far beyond their current capabilities, people lose motivation when theyre not getting good results; if task is too far within their current capabilities, they lose motivation - because its too easy and may become careless - moderate overstretch essential for talented employees who get more motivated, and learn faster, when given duties slightly beyond what theyve handled before - moderate understretch for tasks that have to be right first time; gaps between grasp and reach are best closed by training and development to extend reach

Unless given such tasks, high flyers recruited for leadership and creativity qualities may never show them - poor performance showing failure not of the tests, but of how the material they reveal is put to use.

belief that better performance will be rewarded

sustained motivation requires assurance that people believe the work is important, and recognise its being done well; extra pay for improvements made or targets met is one way to give such assurance; non-financial accolades, like extra time off or positive feedback from customers, can also be powerful motivators

addressing poor performance, but not punitively

helping people admit and address their lagging productivity - so they get extra rewards - works better than removing rewards, which often saps motivation further; but better workers lose motivation if others slackness or incompetence go unchecked - so if anyone keeps underperforming after skill and motivational gaps are redressed, they must be moved on before they drag down the rest of the team

TOO CLEVER BY HALF?

As well as setting a lower limit for test scores, below which applicants are assumed unable to keep up with the job demands, some companies set an upper limit - those scoring too high are equally unsuitable because theyll get too far ahead of those around them, destroying others motivation and, ultimately, their own. An upper bound to the hiring range also avoids over-focus on one spectacular score that may not be the most relevant. Research: test performance, like job performance, is not determined by cognitive ability alone but also variables such as motivation, persistence, values, and environmental considerations.

matching values - between individual and organisation

people only do their best if its for a purpose they believe in; employers must either express and uphold values that chime with employees, or recruit people who accept the values it has chosen to articulate; cultural fit must be ensured on top of all other requirements for skills and personality fit

MOTIVATION: IGNORE IT AT YOUR PERIL Surveys: (SITE) 85% of employees say motivation affects quality of their work; 59% say company doesnt motivate enough, 75% would try harder with a formal system of recognition; (Zogby) 78% of employees ready to leave for better offer elsewhere. Employees need more recognition. Make sure you are rewarding employees with something they actually want - Frank Katusak, executive director, SITE Foundation. Were finding from our exit interviews that the number one reason why knowledge workers leave is because they feel their talent was never fully leveraged - Nick Bontis, director, Institute for Intellectual Capital Research.

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O n l i n e Te s t i n g
Screen-based screening helps trawl a wider talent pool while avoiding getting snagged on unsuitable catches: online tests speed of delivery, completion and assessment can let them go into more detail than paper equivalents; and appeal to the PlayStation Generation makes younger applicants take them more seriously. Other advantages:
O O

FLYING HIGHER

improved detection of qualities that are key to performance cost and time savings
- Abbey Nationals online graduate recruitment offers 30-50% reduction in previous 5k/recruit cost sifting 2,500 8-page applications for 80 places within 6 weeks

frees up HR time to probe those whose skills and personality fit the basic bill
- KPMG screens out 30% of graduate applicants through its online application form and two follow-up tests

British Airways: internetbased psychometric test cut graduate recruitment cost 42% in first year; test data provide a check on accuracy of other recruitment procedures (eg interview, group exercises), and own accuracy can be tested by later performance on the job; test outcomes also checked to ensure theres no discrimination, eg against ethnic minorities.

DIY PSYCHOMETRICS

Next technical step: artificial intelligence interviewer, eg Unicrus Smart Assessment programme spots reliability, loyalty, sales, service and management potential among hourly-paid employees, cutting avge hire time to 3 days from 7; customer Blockbuster Video says it has improved retention and so grown the pool of future store managers.

CALL UP THE COMPUTERS Capital One: credit card issuer linked recruitment to its information-driven strategy for customer handling, with initial selection test administered online or via automated 45 min freefone questionnaire. Answers are automatically checked against proprietary database that matches traits to employee performance data. Closest matches invited to submit biographical info, and take computer-based tests at an assessment centre. Key benefits:
O

B&Q: cut recruitment costs 30% with online applications procedure including questionnaire that highlights right personalities for retail environment; handling over 100 online applications a day, its TalentTracker program picks out those who fit the company culture and which jobs they would be best for - and forwards chosen applicants anonymously, to avoid any risk of discrimination.

more intensive second stage: with unsuitable applicants eliminated early and cheaply, the rest can be probed much more fully - over 2 days, for 2-3 hours/day, with tests including a 60-90 minute simulation of typical work conditions quicker decisions: time-to-hire reduced by 52%, and rate at which vacancies can be filled raised by 71% higher-quality hires: even with more competition for telephone talent, new recruits are more loyal (first 6 mths quit/dismissal rate down 75%), and more productive: sales from centres up 36%; calls handled/hour up 12%; time used unproductively down 18%

PERSONALITY PUSH

After putting their CVs online for potential employers, applicants can now offer a matching personality profile - filling in online psychometric survey and being emailed the details of jobs that match its results. Abbott Laboratories: diagnostics division used selfprofiles from the DiscoverMe site, by first putting 30 of its best sales reps through the test to establish the right profile, then contacting applicants who matched it. We can find people who have the right qualifications and skill sets, but they personally wouldnt be happy working for Abbott in a sales role. If we could get both - the person that meets the role profile and has the qualifications and skill sets necessary to be successful - that would be ideal. Abbott Labs recruiter Laura Hennessy 9

But even if tests administered online use the same questions and scoring systems as traditional questionnaires, caution is needed over:
O

self-selection: it may be only a subset of personality types that comes forward for
computer-based or online testing - so norms for this group differ from those who take traditional tests, and some suitable applicants may not apply

difference in attitude: people may feel different, and reveal different things about themselves, in the more distant, anonymous online test situation: variations in mood, attitude and test conditions might cause variations in same persons test score artificial help: online questionnaire gives testee more chance to boost their results by checking answers with other people or info sources, exceeding time limit; PwC sets only half its numeracy tests online, the other half under its own supervision misunderstanding: on remote keyboard, testees cant seek guidance if theres
something they dont understand, about specific questions or the test in general

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How to Test
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

Robson Rhodes: accountants moved beyond traditional impressionistic City of London recruitment by:
O

(1) Job applicants

Psychometric test publishers claim more than 2 in 3 UK companies now use them. A Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey puts it at a lower average, but confirms its over half in people-centred professions. Tests objectivity might seem to give rejected applicants less ground for protest than more subjective interviews and references; but recruiters who probe personality have had to fight accusations of discrimination (if it picks out features that arent relevant to the job) and privacy invasion (if personal details are extracted and held on file). So when using any psychometric test, its essential to:
O

identifying competences required by managers and other staff groups - and checking for these when assessing applicants by more informal methods sending staff to developmental assessment centre at key career points including application for partnership, to check they have the intellect and interpersonal skill to go to the next stage

decide what youre testing for

as well as tests like Myers Briggs which position personality on a general set of scales, theres an increasing range of tests for subsets of personality characteristics, eg: - the Aptitude for Business Learning Exercises (ABLE) for capacity to learn on the job and adapt to changing conditions - Firo-B for interpersonal behavioural success - the five-factor Bass-Avolio Transformational Leadership Model Decide what personality elements the job requires, then find a test that reveals these use only if convinced that a specific personality type is preferable and identifiable.

Best defences: make sure any test is triangulated against other, independent measures; observe British Psychological Society (BPS) guidelines on which tests to choose, and how to administer them.
O

avoid relying too much on tests

psychometric scores may help confirm, and quantify, tendencies detected in CV or interview, and reveal relevant detail that these dont unearth; but they should never override what candidates show of themselves elsewhere in selection process

COULD DO BETTER

The BPS in its 1997 review of 40+ psychometric tests accuracy found only half were adequate, 5 poor and none excellent or even good; and some BPS reviewers warned that tests standard may be declining, because of:
O

avoid over-focusing on the norm for the test

tests are designed so that results are close to a normal distribution; its tempting to go for those who come close to the norm, but best choices for a job are often the ones who stand out, even though theyll often be harder to manage or fit into a team that already contains them. We dont want 750 people who are identical, because clients have different personalities too - HR director, PwC

peoples growing ability to train for the tests - to improve their score or put better spin on their personality increasing difficulty of checking test predictions against subsequent performance - as fewer stay long enough in a particular job to have this measured companies reluctance to give independent monitors the information - that would let test accuracy be assessed growing tendency to test for personality features that arent clearly linked to the type of work or level of performance being recruited for - or to use general tests when a specific characteristic is being sought

back up tests with behavioural interviewing

behavioural interviews focus questioning on how candidates respond to different situations and people; if you cant simulate one, ask them to name and discuss one theyve handled in the recent past, to move them beyond hypothetical answers and see which personality showed itself - and where it led them - at a moment of truth

measure the effectiveness of tests, and keep them under constant review
before adopting it, trying a test on current employees of varying quality can show how well it retrodicts on-job performance; after adoption, see if tests add any talent-spotting value by comparing performance of those whose selection included psychometrics with those whose didnt; and keep checking that the personality types picked out by the tests are those best suited to available work

TEST

VS

INTERVIEW

VS

SIMULATION

Survey: partly due to such doubts, US personality test use fell to 16% of all recruitments in 2000, from 28% in 1998. 10

BPS research: shows avge correlation only 0.15 between personality questionnaire score and on-the-job performance - a worse predictor than structured interviews (0.25) and job simulations (0.45).Tests can reinforce and partly substitute these measures, but can never wholly replace them, at present accuracy levels. Some more specific tests may do better: eg those for cognitive skills achieve an avge correlation with performance of 0.35.

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H ow t o Te s t

(2) Existing employees

As well as their growing use in selection, tests are increasingly being applied to existing employees, mainly for purposes of:
O

SHOP-FITTERS

monitoring performance
annual sales of employee performance monitoring software are forecast to reach $2bn by 2005, from $0.1bn in 2001, as firms start to track efficiency of their human asset use; eg British Airways, long accustomed to counting the flying time, turnaround time and downtime of its aircraft, now runs programs that count time spent to sell tickets or resolve complaints, and length of service reps workbreaks, with capacity to adjust pay for productivity differences

testing goodness of fit

personality scores can highlight those temperamentally unsuited to their work, if not showing where they might be better deployed; employees often welcome the chance to show theyve been given the wrong sort of work, or told to do it in a way that doesnt suit them; it shows any under-performance was due to misallocation not laziness, and helps them move closer to where theyd like to be

Sainsburys: internal review of recent underperformance showed buying and logistics were still good, but chain often weakened at shop level - where up to 20% of its 500+ store managers werent suited to the task; in service-intensive business, right manager in right store can add 15% to turnover, mainly by adopting innovations and correcting malfunctions quickly - misfitting manager can reduce it by same amount.
LEGALLY BINDING

selecting for promotion

good past performance isnt the only important criterion for promotion, if the higher-level work will make new demands eg solving more complex technical problems, taking charge of more people, coping with higher stress; psychometric measures can be a useful part of the capability evaluation for promotion potential

selecting for redundancy

testing for appropriateness to post-restructuring job might appear less arbitrary than last-in first-out or age-related choice; Sun and GE owe continuous improvement in part to an annual search for the 10% worst performers, who get paid off if they cant raise their game within 90 days; but many psychometric professionals advise against using tests for this purpose: embittered victims can allege discrimination - safer to use a more direct measure of past job competence

Fuzziness of definitions and looseness of link between test demands and job demands make IQ and related tests especially vulnerable to legal challenge, eg industrial tribunal forced reversal of decision, and revision of psychometric procedures that went into it, when British Rail tests rejected all 19 non-white applicants (from 23) for conversion from guard to driver. To survive legal challenge, testers must show not only that theyre distinguishing candidates only on ability, but also that ability difference will affect job performance; tests must show (in descending order of legal defensibility):
O

filling the information gap

if tests for new recruits were only recently introduced, youll know more about them than those who joined earlier; retrospective testing can raise older staff profile to the same amount of detail; but beware of testing for information only (its going to look like intrusive employee surveillance), and of data protection rules that may require restoration of symmetry by deleting new recruits records, not expanding those of older employees WHAT OTHERS THINK Hallmark: housebuilder entrusts personality and EQ assessment to co-workers. The Multi-Rater prompts online peer review of peoples self and social awareness, selfmanagement and relationship management ability. Main advantages:
O

content validity: practical skills needed on job are seen to be those gauged by the test concurrent validity: people performing best on the job get highest scores in the test predictive validity: high scorers on test have gone on to be good performers on job construct validity: general abilities and characteristics needed on job are seen to be those gauged by the test
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

helps executive team assess own management skills: by understanding how they come across to others; any problems boardroom colleagues perceive are likely to be amplified in the eyes of employees reporting to them promotes awareness of room for improvement: on which the eight executive team members must update one another at subsequent monthly meetings

There was a huge difference in how some people perceived themselves versus the end results. Some went through shock, anger or denial, and then reality, like Maybe Id better work on this - Allison Britton, EVP.

TechTarget: advertising firm seeks natural salespeople with competitive, selfmotivated, hard-working personality features, which it aims to identify in series of interviews. Looks especially for behaviours that signal the right personality, eg athletic sports participation. 11

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Understanding Personality
THRIVING ON DIFFERENCE

The best way to bridge a teams culture or personality differences is often not to impose one norm, but to accommodate a variety:
O

Corporate personality
The personalities a company hires, and those its members are encouraged to express, define its corporate personality - which customers soon come to recognise, whichever employee is at the phone or desk when they call. An ongoing challenge when recruiting and promoting is to find enough matching or complementary personalities to preserve the best aspects of current culture, while introducing sufficient new or contrasting personalities to enable necessary improvements and adaptations. A Big Five of organisational personality traits have been identified, with scales of:

knowing that a key member was high on creativity but low on self-discipline and organisation, a multicultural team reached a deal: he could turn up late, as long as he emailed latest work results in advance - and didnt complain that theyd started the meeting without him recognising some members were naturally forthright and others reticent, but all had important things to say, a cross-functional team found a simple rule to maximise communication effectiveness: introverts were allowed to interrupt the extraverts, who had to stay quiet when an introvert was speaking

1 authoritarianism: degree to which a firm has to secure obedience by commands

and financial incentives, rather than trusting people to do whats good for business

2 punitiveness: degree to which punishment for underperformance or mistakes

takes priority over rewards for excellence and diligence

3 conformity: degree to which employees are expected to follow rules and keep to
prescribed behaviour, rather than reaching own judgement on whats right

4 participativeness: degree to which employees can contribute to forming and

implementing decisions, and are kept informed of whats decided elsewhere

VALUING THE SQUARE PEGS

5 inclusivity: degree to which organisations values and beliefs match those of its
members, through letting them set corporate values or recruiting to match these

As well as discarding the lower tail of under-attainers, its not uncommon for recruiters to reject those who do too well in attainment tests, or come across too strongly in personality tests - on the grounds theyll quickly become disruptive or demotivated, once its clear their abilities arent going to be stretched.
O

Role over personality: helping people transcend their type

Corporate personality can override that of individuals, helping them adopt a different approach through the role theyre given and incentives they receive. For example, extraverts are often assumed to be better at approaching and communicating with strangers, and so better suited to roles such as selling and service which depend on making contact and building trust. But a study of organisational networking showed that introverted types did it equally well - just in a more soft-spoken way. Once given a job that demands a confident and outgoing nature, people tend to display one, even if it goes against the underlying type suggested by personality tests. In general, peoples ability to adopt the best behaviour for a given situation is strong enough to overcome any constraints from having the wrong personality traits. PUTTING PERSONALITY TO THE TEST Piper Alpha legacy: oil rig operators tightened their offshore platform manager selection procedures after criticisms in Lord Cullens blowout enquiry. As well as looking for 6+ years experience and degree-level technical skills, most seek personality strengths of leadership, communication, team building, decisiveness and coolness under pressure. But only 5 from a sample of 38 use personality tests to gauge these, the rest inferring them from experience and past record - need for familiarity which means 71% recruit exclusively from inside, and only 5% exclusively from outside. Most are now increasing their use of emergency simulations to see how personality traits revealed in the calm of the test room translate in to behaviours when the sirens start to wail. A four-day emergency management course, developed for firefighters and soldiers, displays candidates through CCTV and one-way glass as they sweat inside a simulated control room; expensive - but not as much as mishandling a real workplace disaster.

cutting off the upper tail makes sense provided theres evidence linking top scores to less than top performance in the job; but while cream can sour the milk if left to sink, its more often an enhancement if allowed to rise research evidence suggests that eliminating those who score above the upper limit of the selection range would not add to the predictive value of the tests; in addition, eliminating more intelligent individuals through fear of their inability to function in particular jobs could impede the organizations future by reducing the pool of highability candidates for higherlevel jobs and future leadership positions

SAM Advanced Management Journal, Spring 2003 12

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U n d e r s t a n d i n g Pe r s o n a l i t y

Mixing personalities
Cultural differences
From formalising different personality types within one national culture, researchers have gone on to reveal differences across cultures - both their typical personality, and the social attitudes and conventions that shape (and get reshaped by) its traits. National stereotypes may express them too starkly, but characters vary across borders, in ways that firms trading or recruiting internationally need to know, eg:
O

SELLING CHANGE

Different products, and people, need different presentational styles, so the personality-driven sales world has no one success formula. Even those born to sell must re-tune tactics to each client; by going their own way, people who arent naturals can still top the sales chart:
O

self-discipline, and what other people think, are especially important in Britain
eg on the California Personality Inventory (CPI) test, UK subjects on average score lower than US on every measure except two - they place a higher value on exercising self-control and creating a good impression

respecting and serving the group is more important in Japanese circles

interpersonal attitude tests show Japanese to be less concerned (than westerners and most other Asians) about other peoples feelings, and more willing to sacrifice an individuals interest for that of the group theyre a part of; eg over 50% of Japanese managers say main recruitment criterion should be right fit for the group, whereas over 90% of Americans say it should be right skills for the job

financial products: sales recruiters looking for highenergy, extraverted, resultsdriven individualists almost rejected one candidate on his personality test results; but he talked them into trying out his more soft-spoken, otheroriented, analytical approach - and rose to become top mutual funds seller, via client relationship building and attention to service detail electronic goods: a mildmannered telephone seller, forced into aggressive cold calling, generated much stress for himself and his targets, and few sales; left to adopt his own style, with fewer, longer calls that built up trust through dialogue, his success rate rose to over 1 call in 4, and he became top salesperson within 18 months
CULTURAL VARIATION

Americans are the most profit-driven

US priority for shareholder value over wider stakeholder commitment is confirmed by Centre for International Business Studies 15,000 manager poll: 74% of Americans (vs 55% Britons, 41% Germans, 19% Japanese) view the firm as a group expediently assembled to do task for financial reward, not as community with value in itself; 40% of Americans say profit is the only goal (vs 33% Britons, 24% Germans, 8% Japanese); 1% of Americans expect to stay with organisation, vs 16% Britons, 59% Japanese

Blending team spirit

Teams that bring together complementary personalities can perform as more than the sum of their parts - eg the secret of contrasting chair/CEO combinations and of teams mixing functions with different typical personalities. But disaster awaits teams whose personalities clash, or bring out the worst in one another: the traits and behaviours people show are shaped by those who work around them, as colleagues, coordinators and competitors. While measuring at the individual level, personality tests most constructive use may be in helping decide whos best brought together, or kept apart, at team level; especially as:
O

Geert Hofstedes survey across different national units of IBM (to control for the effects of company culture) launched research revealing five axes of cultural difference:
O

power distance: degree to which people accept hierarchy, obeying orders from above individualism: degree to which people expect selves, and others, to pursue own interests whatever others think uncertainty avoidance: degree to which people take risks in pursuit of bigger but uncertain reward, instead of sticking to current actions that get smaller but surer reward time-horizon: degree of willingness to plan, and make strategic sacrifices for, the long term, rather than focusing on immediate gratification masculinity: degree to which men, and male values, are expected to take precedence 13

teams determine the personality people display

although most tests measure them in isolation, people rarely work in isolation: theyre surrounded by machines, information systems, co-workers and support staff, whose collective input is vital to their individual performance; the best skilled and qualified employee, with the wrong personality, can slip down the results league because others do the minimum to help them, and may even undermine them
O

teams are the best place to store valuable knowledge

because people take away knowledge when they leave - those with best ideas often

leave fastest - its vital to get knowledge shared across the team, so its retained when original holders move on; a brilliant mind that keeps its secrets often adds less lifetime value than one thats less creative, but shares out what it comes up with Identifying right-fit members for teams, before theyre assembled, requires tests that measure cultural difference alongside culture-free measures of other personality traits.
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O

Personality Change
LET OUTGOING TYPES GO OUT ...

Even where a personality trait is relatively fixed, its owner can learn to change the behaviour by which personality is expressed:
O

Extraverts, the personality type that tests most reliably identify, are worth spreading thinly. When dispersed so theres only one per team, they can galvanise the introverts around them; if clustered together, theyre likely to battle themselves to the ground.

cognitive therapists: claim success in stopping dysfunctional thoughts that cause

anxiety and depression behavioural therapists: claim the same by changing dysfunctional conduct, from which better thoughts and attitudes can follow

emotional intelligence trainers: say that learning to recognise and interpret others behaviours, and watch the signals sent by ones own, can significantly raise EQ, with consequent improvement in other abilities central to work success

CLUSTER THE CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

... BUT

All three offer not a wholesale personality change, but a reconfiguration that minimises frictions and maximises synergies with others. Organisations can change their personality by altering those of their employees, or by recruiting a different personality type. But different personalities can easily become difficult personalities if the team context theyre placed in forces them to act out of character, or surrounds them with people who dont appreciate it. Personality tests dont always pick out personality problems - the people afflicted do their best to hide them, and the problems often only come to light when they start the job or run into others on it. Six types of discordant personality can cause particular disruption, but sound diagnosis can neutralise or even capitalise on them: PROBLEM PERSONALITIES
TYPE DESCRIPTION
O

In contrast, Conscientiousness, the most performance-linked trait, is best kept apart from other types. Put hard grafters together, and theyll spur one another to ever greater efforts; spread them around, and instead of lifting others out of their laziness, theyre more likely to be dragged down to join them: The minute they see one person thats not working hard or not trying, they start restricting their own levels, while the other team members feel the person high on conscientiousness is too analretentive, and they dont apopreciate his style. John Hollenbeck, professor of management, Michigan State University

HOW TO HANDLE
O

Dependence

over-reliance and clinging to others, due to fear of exercising responsibility that could end in failure; easily wounded by criticism; needs regular reassurance to avoid loss of confidence and depression shyness that inhibits workplace and social interaction, raising rates of absenteeism and stress

keep in secure, low-stress jobs where they can gain confidence by achieving targets and receiving approval - with motivation secured, can become diligent and loyal to extent that repays early hand-holding give work that doesnt need detailed dealing with others, or close supervision; can become among hardest working and willing to serve, once protected from the pressures of the crowd assign to jobs that can utilise their attention to detail and give them a sense of control, shielding them from situations that call for quick decisions or spontaneity in an unrehearsed social situation give them work that harnesses their genuine creativity and likeability, exposing others to upbeat side, while checking follow-through; stop friendliness tipping over into attention-seeking highly consistent rewards and disciplines that prevent the euphoric idealisation that later upset could convert to demonisation give work where they can fight external enemies, eg rivals and can take leadership role in innovation and strategy formation

Avoidance

IT TAKES ALL SORTS

Because personalitydisordered individuals may also be talented and productive in other aspects of their work, their more dysfunctional behaviours may be tolerated in the workplace, or co-workers and supervisors may even exploit them ... Personalities may not be easy to change, but they often can be accommodated, and a seemingly obstreperous or hopeless employee may be salvageable if you know how to play to his or her strengths. Laurence Miller psychologist and author of Shocks to the System

Obsessivecompulsion

revels in detail and need for order or exactness, gets frustrated by others who are untidy, unpunctual or imprecise; often extraverted and cognitively sharp, but more skilled at perfecting current procedures than thinking up new or improved ones excessive expressiveness - of enthusiasm, anger and other emotion - that drains others; when attention is withdrawn, easily sinks into depression and animosity swing between histrionic and avoidant, from phases of optimism and impulsiveness to pessimism that punctures self-image, creating love/hate relations with others mistrust of others driven by fear often self-fulfilling - that theyre hostile and deceitful

Histrionics

Borderline

Paranoia

14

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Finding Leaders
After much testing of existing leaders psychologists have retreated from the idea of a leadership personality. The spurs to assuming a leadership role are more situational (external conditions that pull a person to the front), than O psychological (internal dispositions that push them there) Almost any mix of characteristics can be moulded to lead, and different conditions call for different types of leader. Every type has a way to the top - HR challenge is to make sure they do so at the right place and time, in their own and the companys career.
O

EMOTIONAL BUSINESS

The combinations of desirable traits revealed in psychometric tests are similar to those often identified in individuals assessed for high Emotional Intelligence (EQ), on which high scores are claimed to link closely to job performance. Multinational consultancy: highest EQ partners won on average $1m/year more profit than those scoring lower. EQ attracts business because clients are drawn to those who best engage their emotions; and makes it more profitable, as more mutual benefits get explored and communication costs are kept down.
LEADING WITH EMOTION

Just as theyre not especially good at ranking a persons competence or predicting their performance on the job, personality tests cant judge a persons inherent leadership ability. But they can offer important clues as to whether theyre suited for a particular leadership role, or one that may sometimes require them to take charge:
O

whether their personality is the type that leadership requires in this context
extravert, intuitive, dominating personalities may be ideal for leading a battalion out of the war zone; introvert, sensing, consensual personalities are more likely to lead a reception-desk team out of a flexible rostering dispute; tests like the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (which classifies as Idealists, Rationalists, Guardians, Artisans) offer a quick check of informal temperament judgements; self-aware candidates will be ready to admit when theyre reaching for a role that doesnt suit their strengths

whether their values would be consonant with those they seek to lead
as much as their ability to take the right decisions, leaders success lies in getting those decisions accepted and implemented by others - which they wont do unless they can see the justice as well as the logic; tests like the career values inventory, while often administered earlier and for different purposes, help to show if a candidates values will inspire or incense those theyll be overseeing in the job

REGAINING THE LEAD BY RE-TUNING THE LEADERS A leading manufacturer: new CEO traced steady loss of market share to culture of complacency: customer service slow and bureaucratic; rivals beat it to new products, underperforming departments expected others to support them, and units didnt share information or cooperate despite efforts at integral strategic plan. His solution mixed skills and personality initiatives in pursuit of performance uplift:
O

Experiment: emotional intelligence coaching raised team members EQ scores 50% - and boosted their leadership skills by a similar amount: members gained the transformational leaders personal touch - and greater ability to get on with each other meant the team overall exerted and nurtured better decision-making. Permanent change in behaviour cannot be achieved just by improving employees skill levels. Change, especially regarding how we manage our and others emotions, can only be achieved by also changing employees beliefs on emotional management. Serge Sardo organisational psychologist and consultant
LIMITS OF CHANGE

re-asserted the companys mission: explaining why performance had to improve to guarantee survival; set up dialogue between managers, supervisors and staff to distil corporate goal into attainable individual goals re-clarified the companys values: seeking consensus on acceptable ways to achieve

the goals, ensuring peoples goals were consistent with their values, convincing them that better performance would result in better reward
O

monitored executive performance: via data-based tracking of outcomes against

goals, and 360-degree appraisal to reinforce subordinates sense of their leaders accountability; used multi-rater questions to check theyd not only attained goals, but in a way that upheld company values and complemented others efforts to attain their own
O

linked pay to performance assessment: so managers seen to be rewarded only

when theyd shown competence, delivered results and stayed true to values Though goals were mostly of the stretch type, they were quickly achieved, and share price recovery ensured survival. Positive motivational effect of this quickly increased customer satisfaction, as people went beyond call of duty to anticipate and accommodate needs, and pass round product improvement suggestions.

Ive seen a senior manager assume that giving a difficult staff member more attention would change deeply rooted behaviour. Laudable as this may be in its belief that noone should be written off, it wastes time. If someone is persistently cynical, negative and disruptive in their behaviour, it is more helpful to them, to you and to their colleagues if you help them find a different role. Brian Clegg, co-author Crash Course in Managing People 15

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R e f e re n c e s & F u r t h e r R e a d i n g
Are You the Right Man for the Job? FT The Business 8 April 2000 Born to Sell? J Chang Sales and Marketing Management 155(7) July 2003 Employee Workplace Effectiveness: Implications for Performance Management Practices Y Wong & R Snell Journal of General Management 29(2) Winter 2003 Fit More Important than Skills D Brown Canadian HR Reporter 14 July 2003 Getting to Know You J Barbian Training 38(6) June 2001

FOCUS
R E P O RT S
Other Reports:
O

The Organizational Personality and Employee Performance V Natoli Nonprofit World 21(1) January/February 2003 People, Competencies and Performance D Hofrichter & T McGovern Compensation and Benefits Review 33(4) July/August 2001 Personal Styles and Behaviours P Reid & T Reid Industrial and Commercial Training 35(2/3) 2003 Personalities at Work L Miller Public Personnel Management 32(3) Fall 2003 Personality Fit: A New Approach to Recruiting J Laabs Workforce August 1999 Psychometric Assessment Under Test N Coull & J Eary Training Journal November 2001 Psychometric Tests - Psychokiller? E Keelan Accountancy May 2003 The Seven Cultures of Capitalism C Hampden-Turner & F Trompenaars Piatkus 1994* Too Intelligent for the Job? K Moustafa & T Miller SAM Advanced Management Journal 68(2) Spring 2003 True or False:Youre Hiring the Right People A Overholt Fast Company February 2002 Using the MBTI as a Tool for Leadership Development? Apply With Caution J Michael Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies 10(1) Summer 2003 When the Psychometrics of Test Development Meets Organizational Realities P Muchinsky Personnel Psychology 57(1) Spring 2004 The Wisdom of Employment Testing T Stanley SuperVision 65(2) February 2004 * Indicates books
Personality, Competence & Fit is published by Bulletpoint Communications Limited, Furness House, 53 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey RH1 6RD, UK.Tel: +44 (0)1737 231431. Fax: +44 (0)1737 231432. Entire contents Copyright Bulletpoint Communications Limited.All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form is unlawful. This publication reflects a synthesis of the references listed. Any opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Bulletpoint.Bulletpoint may occasionally make its subscriber list available to top quality third parties;please contact us if you do not want to receive their information. ISSN 1350-3197 Cover photograph supplied by Creatas/Photodisc O O O

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