What is Personality?

What is Personality?

Introduction

A commonly understood fact is that if management techniques were not present, chaos would reign supreme. Effective management is the key to our progress from cavemen to space explorers. It is the sole reason behind the development of our society as we see it today. Right beside all examples of success from effective management, evidences exists of catastrophic failures caused by bad and irresponsible management. When evacuation plans for a natural disaster fail, when a plane crashes, when governments are unable to improve the nation; ineffective management is the root cause. Studies have shown that some of the most successful leaders and managers only succeeded because they knew who they were leading (Simonton, 2012, pp. 630-640). They understood the mindset of their people. They understood their personalities. We must understand the personality differences that exist amongst people. Only then will we be able to use the work force to its full potential

Discussion

Personality and Behavior in the Workplace

The term personality can be divided into two parts. They are inherited behavior, or traits and learned behavior, or characteristics. Though there is a difference between the two, they combine to form an individual's personality. Research shows that traits are extremely difficult to change. On the other hand, characteristics can be altered because they are gained through external experiences (Sackett and DeVore, 2001, pp. 146-65).

Traits

Traits are generally what direct our development. They guide what and how information is gathered, processed and eventually acted out. They are our preferences and how we use those preferences in our daily lives. Traits are usually visible. This is the first bit of information someone else learns about you. They further use knowledge of our alleged traits in order to find a way to speak to us, and we decide how to react based on the same traits. It is these same qualities that frame our creativity in solutions and how we handle our work. Natural traits shape our talents, perceptions and emotions. Furthermore, these traits play a vital role in establishing our values, principles and core beliefs (Spector et.al, 2006, pp. 30-47). These three things directly influence our conduct and behavior towards ourselves, the people around us and most importantly how we live. Five common traits are used to describe personalities. In psychology, they are referred to as The Big Five Factors and are explained as follows.

Openness is often described as an appreciation for emotion, adventure, curiosity, art, unusual ideas, imagination, and variety of experiences. People with this particular trait are known to not rely entirely on their experiences. They are comfortable with new ideas (McCrae and Costa, 1987, pp. 81-90).

Conscientiousness: Conscientiousness is can be described as the tendency to show self control, restrain, and perseverance. People that possess conscientiousness aim for achievement that may be considered against the odds. The trait exhibits preferences for plans and predictability rather than impulsive behavior

Extraversion is the socialist in all of us combined. They constantly seek the company of others. Their positive emotions, energy and enthusiasm help ...