PERSONALITY

Mukhtiar Ali Talpur

What Is Personality

When we talk of personality, we don’t mean a

person has charm, a positive attitude toward life,
or a constantly smiling face. When
psychologists talk of personality, they mean a
dynamic concept describing the growth and
development of a person’s whole psychological
system
Defining Personality
The definition of personality we most frequently use was
produced by Gordon Allport nearly 70 years ago. Allport said
personality is “the dynamic organization within the individual
of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique
adjustments to his environment.” 1 For our purposes, you
should think of personality as the sum total of ways in which
an individual reacts to and interacts with others. We most often
describe it in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits
Measuring Personality

The most important reason managers need to know how to

measure personality is that research has shown personality
tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast
who is best for a job. 2 The most common means of measuring
personality is through self-report surveys, with which
individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors, such as
“I worry a lot about the future.” Though self-report measures
work well when well constructed, one weakness is that the
respondent might lie or practice impression management to
create a good impression
When people know their personality scores are going to be
used for hiring decisions, they rate themselves as about half a
standard deviation more conscientious and emotionally stable
than if they are taking the test just to learn more about
themselves. 3 Another problem is accuracy. A perfectly good
candidate could have been in a bad mood when taking the
survey, and that will make the scores less accurate
Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment
of personality. Here, a co-worker or another observer does the
rating (sometimes with the subject’s knowledge and
sometimes not). Though the results of self- report surveys and
observer-ratings surveys are strongly correlated, research
suggests observer-ratings surveys are a better predictor of
success on the job.
However, each can tell us something unique about an
individual’s behavior in the workplace. An analysis of a large
number of observer-reported personality studies shows that a
combination of self-report and observer-reports predicts
performance better than any one type of information. The
implication is clear: use both observer ratings and self-report
ratings of personality when making important employment
decisions.
Personality Determinants
An early debate in personality research centered on whether an
individual’s personality was the result of heredity or of
environment. It appears to be a result of both. However, it
might surprise you that research tends to support the
importance of heredity over the environment.
Heredity refers to factors determined at conception. Physical
stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle
composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms
are generally considered to be either completely or
substantially influenced by who your parents are—that is, by
their biological, physiological, and inherent psychological
makeup. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate
explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular
structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely

used personalityassessment instrument in the world. 10 It is a
100-question personality test that asks people how they
usually feel or act in particular situations. Respondents are
classified as extraverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or
intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or
perceiving (J or P). These terms are defined as follows:
● Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I). Extraverted
individuals are outgoing, sociable, and assertive. Introverts are
quiet and shy.
● Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N). Sensing types are practical
and prefer routine and order. They focus on details. Intuitives
rely on unconscious processes and look at the “big picture.”
● Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F). Thinking types use reason
and logic to handle problems. Feeling types rely on their
personal values and emotions.

● Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P). Judging types want

control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured.
Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous
These classifications together describe 16 personality types,
identifying every person by one trait from each of the four
pairs. For example, Introverted/ Intuitive/Thinking/Judging
people (INTJs) are visionaries with original minds and great
drive. They are skeptical, critical, independent, determined,
and often stubborn. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic,
logical, analytical, and decisive and have a natural head for
business or mechanics
The ENTP type is a conceptualizer, innovative, individualistic,
versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. This person
tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but
may neglect routine assignments
The Big Five Personality Model

The MBTI may lack strong supporting evidence, but an

impressive body of research supports the thesis of the Big Five
Model—that five basic dimensions underlie all others and
encompass most of the significant variation in human
personality. 12 Moreover, test scores of these traits do a very
good job of predicting how people behave in a variety of real-
life situations. 13 The following are the Big Five factors:
● Extraversion. The extraversion dimension captures our
comfort level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be
gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be
reserved, timid, and quiet.
● Agreeableness. The agreeableness dimension refers to an
individual’s propensity to defer to others. Highly agreeable
people are cooperative, warm, and trusting. People who score
low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.
● Conscientiousness. The conscientiousness dimension is a
measure of reliability. A highly conscientious person is
responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who
score low on this dimension are easily distracted,
disorganized, and unreliable
● Emotional stability. The emotional stability dimension—
often labeled by its converse, neuroticism—taps a person’s
ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional
stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Those
with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious,
depressed, and insecure.

● Openness to experience. The openness to experience

dimension addresses range of interests and fascination with
novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and
artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the category are
conventional and find comfort in the familiar
• Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

• Although the Big Five traits have proven highly relevant to

OB, they don’t exhaust the range of traits that can describe
someone’s personality. Now we’ll look at other, more
specific, attributes that are powerful predictors of behavior
in organizations. The first relates to our core self-evaluation.
The others are Machiavellianism, narcissism, self-
monitoring, propensity for risk taking, proactive personality,
and other-orientation.
• Core Self-Evaluation People who have positive core self-
evaluations like themselves and see themselves as effective,
capable, and in control of their environment. Those with
negative core self-evaluations tend to dislike themselves,
question their capabilities, and view themselves as powerless
over their environment. 29 We discussed in Chapter 3that
core self-evaluations relate to job satisfaction because
people positive on this trait see more challenge in their job
and actually attain more complex jobs.
• But what about job performance? People with positive core
self-evaluations perform better than others because they set
more ambitious goals, are more committed to their goals,
and persist longer in attempting to reach these goals. One
study of life insurance agents found core self-evaluations
were critical predictors of performance. Ninety percent of
life insurance sales calls end in rejection, so an agent has to
believe in him- or herself to persist. In fact, this study
showed the majority of successful salespersons did have
positive core self-evaluations. 30 Such people also provide
better customer service, are more popular co-workers, and
have careers that both begin on better footing and ascend
more rapidly over time. 31 Some evidence suggests that
individuals high in core self-evaluations perform especially
well if they also feel their work provides meaning and is
helpful to others. 32
• Machiavellianism
• Kuzi is a young bank manager in Taiwan. He’s had three
promotions in the past 4 years and makes no apologies for
the aggressive tactics he’s used to propel his career upward.
“I’m prepared to do whatever I have to do to get ahead,” he
says. Kuzi would properly be called Machiavellian
• The personality characteristic of Machiavellianism (often
abbreviated Mach) is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who
wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use power.
An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic,
maintains emotional distance, and believes ends can justify
means. “If it works, use it” is consistent with a high-Mach
perspective. A considerable amount of research has found
high Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less,
and persuade others more than do low Machs. 3
• They like their jobs less, are more stressed by their work,
and engage in more deviant work behaviors. 36 Yet high-
Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors. High
Machs flourish (1) when they interact face to face with
others rather than indirectly; (2) when the situation has
minimal rules and regulations, allowing latitude for
improvisation; and (3) when emotional involvement with
details irrelevant to winning distracts low Machs. 37 Thus,
in jobs that require bargaining skills (such as labor
negotiation) or that offer substantial rewards for winning
(such as commissioned sales), high Machs will be
productive. But if ends can’t justify the means, there are
absolute standards of behavior, or the three situational
factors we noted are not in evidence, our ability to predict a
high Mach’s performance will be severely curtailed
• Narcissism
• Hans likes to be the center of attention. He looks at himself
in the mirror a lot, has extravagant dreams, and considers
himself a person of many talents. Hans is a narcissist. The
term is from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a man so vain and
proud he fell in love with his own image. In psychology,
narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of
self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense
of entitlement, and is arrogant. Evidence suggests that
narcissists are more charismatic and thus more likely to
emerge as leaders, and they may even display better
psychological health (at least as they self-report). 38
• Despite having some advantages, most evidence suggests
that narcissism is undesirable. A study found that while
narcissists thought they were better leaders than their
colleagues, their supervisors actually rated them as worse.
An Oracle executive described that company’s CEO Larry
Ellison as follows: “The difference between God and Larry
is that God does not believe he is Larry.” 39 Because
narcissists often want to gain the admiration of others and
receive affirmation of their superiority, they tend to “talk
down” to those who threaten them, treating others as if they
were inferior. N
• Narcissists also tend to be selfish and exploitive and believe
others exist for their benefit. 40 Their bosses rate them as
less effective at their jobs than others, particularly when it
comes to helping people. 41 Subsequent research using data
compiled over 100 years has shown that narcissistic CEOs
of baseball organizations tend to generate higher levels of
manager turnover, although curiously, members of external
organizations see them as more influential. 42
• Self-Monitoring
• Joyce McIntyre is always in trouble at work. Though she’s
competent, hardworking, and productive, in performance
reviews she is rated no better than average, and she seems to
have made a career of irritating bosses. Joyce’s problem is
that she’s politically inept. She’s unable to adjust her
behavior to fit changing situations. As she puts it, “I’m true
to myself. I don’t remake myself to please others.” We
would describe Joyce as a low self-monitor.
• Self-Monitoring
• Joyce McIntyre is always in trouble at work. Though she’s
competent, hardworking, and productive, in performance
reviews she is rated no better than average, and she seems to
have made a career of irritating bosses. Joyce’s problem is
that she’s politically inept. She’s unable to adjust her
behavior to fit changing situations. As she puts it, “I’m true
to myself. I don’t remake myself to please others.” We
would describe Joyce as a low self-monitor.
• Proactive Personality

• Did you ever notice that some people actively take the
initiative to improve their current circumstances or create
new ones? These are proactive personalities. 51 Those with
a proactive personality identify opportunities, show
initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change
occurs, compared to others who passively react to situations.
Proactives create positive change in their environment,
regardless of, or even in spite of, constraints or obstacles. 52
Not surprisingly, they have many desirable behaviors that
organizations covet. They are more likely than others to be
seen as leaders and to act as change agents. 53 Proactive
individuals are more likely to be satisfied with work and
help others more with their tasks, largely because they build