Personality Science - The 5-Factor Model
What’s it all about and why do we need it?
Why the heck should we learn about personality science? There are so many different things to think about right now. We are in a pandemic, our country is in a really tight recession right now. People are loosing jobs and companies morals are low due to a lack of business.
What could personality science possibly do to help with all of this you might ask? Well you see that is just thing. We have found through a lot of research and training on this subject that the future will belong to those leaders and individuals who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways and making sure they are implementing them into their businesses and lives going forward. In the future the great division will be between those that have learnt new skills to help them handle the complexities of today and those who are irrevocably distracted by various irrelevant mediums and stresses around them.
How can understanding personality science help, you might wonder?
Personality is all around us, and it contributes to nearly every conscious decision we make. But, most of us, have no idea how it works! We might consider personality on our romantic searches–looking for a partner who “matches” us or who is similar to us. Or we seek out friendships with people who complement our personality tendencies. But what about business?
Personality is just as important in the workplace as it is romantically and socially.
If you want to know how to be good at understanding and influencing people, you must understand the personality of your colleagues, employees, teams, and the individuals around you. Knowing the personality traits of the people you interact with every day is a necessary tool. In the workplace, when you know the personality traits of your employees or clients, you’re more likely to be able to:
· Set expectations for your team and clients
· Predict their behaviour (before a conflict arises)
· Delegate appropriately based on strengths
· Manage conflict
Now who would not want to know this? I wonder.
What is the 5-Factor Personality model then?
Robert McCrae and Paul Costa developed the Five-Factor Model (aka The Big Five). These five factors are: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism. And can be easily remembered with the acronym OCEAN. These factors are measured on a spectrum, meaning someone will fall high, medium or low on a spectrum for each trait.
Now, some of you may be thinking: “Why not take the Myers-Briggs?” The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, is taken by more than 2.5 million people every year and used by 89 of the Fortune 100 companies. So it must be good, right?
Not quite…
Research actually shows that as many as 50% of people who retake the MBTI get a different answer– even as short as 5 weeks later. In fact, most other personality tests are bogus.
Most personality tests are introspective, meaning they give you lots of feedback on your individual personality type, but nothing on the personality of anyone else.
The Big Five model of personality traits is the ONLY personality metric backed by social science standards, pier revue, preferred by academic institutions, and checks off 4 boxes:
· Reliability
· Validity
· Independence
· Comprehensiveness
There are five facets of personality, (Yes, everyone has the same five!) In order to maximise your success and well-being, it’s important to understand the roles of intelligence, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. For example, Neuroticism and the ability to cope with negative emotions are really important for maintaining a high-paying job and understanding the needs of others. Understanding how your unique personality traits impact relationships, work, and personal commitment is fundamental to your success.
By understanding personality, it’s possible to identify your strengths and weaknesses, improve your relationships with others so you can rectify your life and achieve a future you can be proud off.
Curios about your traits and those of the people you interact with daily?
We are in the process of putting together a webinar series, called Personality Science, to help you learn these traits. Be on the look out for this upcoming event and come and join us and learn the Five Facets of Personality (and how to manage them), what each personality trait means and how to leverage their strengths and weaknesses. We tend to idealise certain traits, such as high openness and high extroversion, but we need the entire spectrum of the five facets to understand ourselves and others. Remember, there is no best or worst personality trait, just clarity.
Need more information or your interest is peaked, tell us about it. Either sign up below with your email address if you are new, or send us an email.
To your success and clarity.
Tania