Life Experiences
Each person’s life also is unique in terms of specific events and experiences, which can serve as important bases of personality. For example, the development of self-esteem (a personality dimension that we discuss shortly) depends on a series of experiences that include the opportunity to achieve goals and meet expectations, evidence of the ability to influence others, and a clear sense of being valued by others. A complex series of life experiences with others helps shape the adult’s level of self-esteem.
As we weave an understanding of personality and other individual differences into our exploration of a variety of topics in organizational behavior, we hope that you will come to understand the crucial role that personality plays in explaining behavior.
Individuals clearly pay a great deal of attention to the attributes of the personalities of the coworkers with whom they interact. The following Self Competency feature shows how JetBlue’s former CEO David Neeleman’s personality was shaped by vari- ous forces and how these affected his leadership at JetBlue.11
If you want to understand the culture of a com- pany that is led by its founder, it helps to under- stand the personality of that founder. Neeleman spent the first five years of his life in Brazil where his father was a journalist. His family moved from Brazil, but he visited every summer. Brazil is a country that is divided between the haves and have-nots. He grew up in the rich part of the country and enjoyed a big house, a membership in country clubs, and so forth. During his junior year in Utah, he decided to return to Brazil to go on a mission for his church and ended up liv- ing in the slums or favelas of Brazil. The slums are where the desperately poor individuals live behind barbed wire fences in cardboard shacks.
He was struck by a few things living in the slums. First, most wealthy individuals have a sense of entitlement. They thought that they were better than the individuals in the slums. This both- ered him tremendously. Second, most of the poor individuals were happier than the rich individuals and they generously shared what little they had.
He experienced enormous pleasures and satisfac- tions from working with these individuals.
These experiences had a tremendous impact on the formation of his personality and his drive to manage JetBlue differently when he was CEO.
When he traveled on a business trip, he flew coach class. There was no Lincoln Town Car waiting for
him at the airport. At JetBlue, there are no reserved parking places. The coffee in the kitchen down the hall from his office was the same brand as that in the employee lounge at J. F. Kennedy airport.
There is only one class on JetBlue planes. The seats at the back have slightly more legroom, so individuals who get off the plane last actually have roomier seats in-flight. The desk and other furniture in his office were the same as that used by every- one else. He told pilots: “There are individuals who make more money at this company than others, but that doesn’t mean they should flaunt it.”
He was seen frequently on flights from Florida to New York City. Once the plane settled into its cruising altitude, Neeleman walked to the front of the cabin, grabbed the microphone, and intro- duced himself. He explained that he would be coming through the cabin serving drinks and snacks along with the crew. He took out the garbage when the flight was over just like the cabin attendants.
It was his chance to speak directly to JetBlue’s customers. JetBlue also started a Crewmember Crisis fund when he was CEO. Everyone donated to it and it was used to help employees in crisis. If someone at JetBlue gets cancer, they have health benefits, but they might tap the fund to pay a babysitter while at chemotherapy.
Employees and customers both continue to like the “touchy-feely” aspect of JetBlue.
Self competency
Insights for Leaders
Leaders should realize that their ability to change an individual’s personality is very limited and almost impossible. The idea that both nature and nurture interact to shape an individual’s personality is important. Heredity and the environment both play major roles in shaping personality. Also important is the fact that behavior is embed- ded in the way leaders think about subordinates.
In an increasingly global market, leaders in every country must think globally. Global competition is a reality and the number of leaders and others who are taking assignments in countries other than their own is rapidly increasing. These workers bring aspects of their own cultures into their organizations, neighborhoods, school systems, and homes.
Personality and Behavior
You don’t see a person’s personality, instead you see behaviors that reflect these internal characteristics.12 For our purposes, personality describes a person’s most dominant characteristics—shy, sensitive, reliable, creative, and the like. This meaning of personality is useful to employees because it contains a profile of characteristics that tell employees about the behaviors they can expect from their leaders. This pro- file also serves as a guide for how we might communicate with a manager or fellow employee. The main reason that we are interested in individual personality in the study of organizational behavior is because of the link between personality and indi- viduals’ competencies. Most individuals believe that there is a relationship between personality traits and behavior. Chet Cadieux, CEO of QuikTrip, a $4 billion privately held firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that operates more than 460 convenience stores in nine states, put all applicants through a personality assessment. He believes that extro- verted salesclerks sell more than introverted ones and that extroverted clerks will like each other and stay longer in the job than introverts.13
The vast number and variety of specific personality traits or dimensions are bewildering. The term personality trait refers to the basic components of personality.
Researchers of personality have identified literally thousands of traits over the years.
Trait names simply represent the terms that individuals use to describe each other.
However, a list containing hundreds or thousands of terms isn’t very useful either in understanding the profile of personality in a scientific sense or in describing individual differences in a practical sense. To be useful, these terms need to be organized into a small set of concepts or factors. Recent research has done just that, identifying several general factors that can be used to describe a personality.14 Before reading any further, please take time to complete the questionnaire in Table 3.1.
Big Five Personality Factors
The “Big Five” personality factors, as they often are referred to, describe an individu- al’s emotional stability, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness.15 As shown in Figure 3.3, each includes a potentially large number and range of specific
Learning Goal
2. Identify a set of personality dimensions that affect performance.
“When you have a leader who’s so friendly, it makes everybody feel good about what they’re doing,” says Jim Small, a general manager for JetBlue in San Juan. JetBlue continues to be generous with travel vouchers when
passengers are inconvenienced. Neeleman himself once drove an elderly couple from JFK to Connecticut, where he lives and they were headed, rather then let them spend $200 on a taxi.
To learn more about JetBlue, go to www.jetblue.com.
TABLE 3.1 Assessing Your Personality Using the Big Five
The following questionnaire gives you a chance to gain insights into your Big Five personality dimensions. Please answer the following 25 statements using the following scale:
5 = Strongly agree 4 = Agree 3 = Moderate 2 = Disagree 1 = Strongly disagree STATEMENTS
_____ 1. I am the life of the party.
_____ 2. I sympathize with others’ feelings.
_____ 3. I get chores done right away.
_____ 4. I have frequent mood swings.
_____ 5. I have a vivid imagination.
_____ 6. I don’t talk a lot. (R)
_____ 7. I am not interested in other people’s problems. (R) _____ 8. I often forget to put things back in their proper place. (R) _____ 9. I am relaxed most of the time. (R)
_____ 10. I am not interested in abstract ideas. (R) _____ 11. I talk to a lot of different people at parties.
_____ 12. I feel others’ emotions.
_____ 13. I like order.
_____ 14. I get upset easily.
_____ 15. I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas. (R) _____ 16. I keep in the background. (R)
_____ 17. I am not really interested in others. (R) _____ 18. I make a mess of things. (R)
_____ 19. I seldom feel blue. (R)
_____ 20. I do not have a good imagination. (R) _____ 21. I don’t mind being the center of attention.
_____ 22. I make people feel at ease.
_____ 23. I pay attention to details.
_____ 24. I am easily disturbed. (R) _____ 25. I am full of ideas.
SCORING
NOTE: If a statement has an “(R)” at the end of it, the scoring for that statement is reversed. That is, strongly agree is worth 1 point, agree is worth 2 points, etc.
1. Add your score for statements 1, 6,11,16, and 21: _________. This is your score for extraversion.
The higher the score, the more likely you are to be energetic, outgoing, and gregarious.
2. Add your score for statements 2, 7,12,17, and 22: _________. This is your score for agreeableness.
The higher the score, the more warm, tactful, and considerate you are toward others.
3. Add your score for statements 3,8,13,18, and 23: _________. This is your score for conscientious- ness. The higher the score, the more careful, neat, and dependable you are likely to be.
4. Add your score for statements 4,9,14,19, and 24: _________. This is your score for emotional stability. The higher the score, the more stable, confident, and effective you are likely to be.
5. Add your score for statements 5,10,15,20, and 25: _________. This is your score for openness.
The higher the score, the more imaginative, curious, and original you are likely to be.
traits. That is, each factor is both a collection of related traits and on a continuum as shown in Figure 3.3.
Researchers have investigated extensively the relationships between the Big Five personality factors and performance. Their findings indicate that employees who
have emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness perform better than those who lack these (the extremes of the conscientiousness continuum in Figure 3.3).
An individual with a personality at one extreme of the agreeableness factor continuum might be described as warm and considerate. But with a personality at this factor’s other extreme, the person would be considered cold or rude. Let’s define the terms used for the Big Five personality factors and relate these to Steve Jobs.
Emotional stability is the degree to which a person is calm, secure, and free from per- sistent negative feelings. Individuals who are emotionally stable are relaxed, poised, slow to show anger, handle crises well, resilient, and secure in their interpersonal dealings with others. Individuals with less emotional stability are more excitable, insecure in their dealings with others, reactive, and subject to extreme swings of moods. Teams composed of emotionally unstable individuals usually come up with relatively fewer creative ideas than teams composed of emotionally stable individuals. Individuals with emotional stability handle the stress of managing others better than those who are less emotionally stable. How would you rate Steve Jobs’ emotional stability?
Agreeableness is a person’s ability to get along with others. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are considerate, friendly, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests. Agreeable individuals also have an optimistic view of
Emotional Stability
(Stable, confident, effective) (Nervous, self-doubting, moody)
Agreeableness
(Warm, tactful, considerate) (Independent, cold, rude)
Extraversion
(Gregarious, energetic, self-dramatizing) (Shy, unassertive, withdrawn)
Conscientiousness
(Careful, neat, dependable) (Impulsive, careless, irresponsible)
Openness
(Imaginative, curious, original) (Dull, unimaginative, literal-minded) FIGU RE 3. 3 The Big Five Personality Factors
human nature. They believe individuals are basically honest, decent, and trustworthy.
Individuals who demonstrate low agreeableness are often described as short tempered, uncooperative, and irritable. They are generally unconcerned with others’ well-being and are unlikely to extend themselves for other individuals. Highly agreeable indi- viduals are better at developing and maintaining close relationships with others at work, whereas less agreeable individuals are not likely to have particularly close work- ing relationships with others, including customers and suppliers. How would you rate Steve Jobs on the agreeableness dimension?
Extraversion is the degree to which a person seeks the company of others. Extraverts enjoy being with individuals, are full of energy, and often experience positive emo- tions. Sociable individuals are extraverts. Extraverts are comfortable talking with others, speak up in a group, and are assertive, talkative, and open to establishing new interpersonal relationships. Less sociable individuals are labeled introverts. They tend to be low key, quiet, and deliberate. Their lack of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness; the introvert simply needs less stimulation and more time alone to recharge his batteries. Research has shown that sociable individuals tend to be higher performing individuals than those who are less sociable. These individu- als are also more likely to be attracted to managerial positions that require good interpersonal skills, such as marketing, sales, and senior management positions. How would you rate Steve Jobs on the extraversion dimension?
Conscientiousness is concerned with self-discipline, acting responsibly, and directing our behavior. Individuals who focus on a few key goals are more likely to be organized, reliable, careful, thorough, responsible, and self-disciplined because they concentrate on doing a few things well. Individuals who are less conscientious tend to focus on a wider array of goals and, as a result, tend to be more disorganized and less thorough.
Researchers have found that more conscientious individuals tend to be higher per- formers than less conscientious individuals, especially in sales. How would you rate Steve Jobs on this dimension?
Openness describes imagination and creativity. Individuals with high levels of openness are willing to listen to new ideas, have vivid imaginations, appreciate art and beauty, prefer variety to routine, and change their own ideas, beliefs, and assumptions in response to new information. Open individuals tend to have a broad range of interests and be creative. On the other hand, individuals who demonstrate low openness tend to be less receptive to new ideas and less willing to change their minds. They prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. Leaders who are high on openness tend to be better per- formers because of their ability to adapt to new situations and their willingness to listen to others who have different points of view. How would you rate Steve Jobs on openness?
Insights for Leaders
We must caution you that before a link can be established between job performance and any personality measure, it must satisfy two concerns. One is that the measure must be reliable. Reliability refers to how consistently a measure gets the same results. If you get on a scale and its reads 188 pounds, step off and then on again and the scale reads 170, it is not reliable. For a measure to be reliable, it must be consistent. Second, a scale must be valid. Validity refers to how important the measure is to other things that are important, such as job performance. Many of you took the ACT or SAT test prior to applying for college. Many admissions individuals believe that your test score is a valid measure of your past achievements and your capacity to compete academically at their institution.
Although each personality factor represents a collection of related traits, the link between personality and specific behaviors often is most valid when the focus is on a single factor rather than all five factors at once. Organizations are using the Big Five
as an assessment device for screening new employees as part of their interviewing process. Nordstrom’s requires sales individuals to be cheerful, energetic, and serve very demanding customers with a smile. Therefore, individuals are required to show extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability. Nordstrom’s human resource managers have found that these are valid measures leading to high performance for its sales staff. At Outback Steakhouse, the turnover of employees varies between 40 and 60 percent a year. Using the Big Five inventory, Outback managers found that by recruiting employees who were extraverted and agreeable, they were able to cut down on turnover and increase customers’ satisfaction with their dining experiences.
Similarly, Outsourcing Solutions, a debt collection firm, found that those employ- ees high in conscientiousness and introversion were able to sit for hours by them- selves to make calls regarding past-due accounts and stayed with the organization longer than those employees who did not demonstrate these traits. New Horizons Computer Learning Centers also faced high turnover until it discovered that those employees who were high in conscientiousness and extraversion made the best employees for them.16
Some individuals question these findings noting that one’s personality traits can undergo change. We recognize that one’s personality can evolve over time as a person becomes exposed to new experiences and situations. Graduating from college, break- ing away from one’s parents, starting a career, getting married, raising children, and being managed by various “bosses” can all shape the development of an individual’s personality. Also by examining our own behavior, we may learn to behave differently from situation to situation. Have you ever noticed how your behavior at a Super Bowl party is different than your behavior at work?
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the extent to which an individual believes that he or she is a worthwhile and deserving individual. In other words, individuals develop, hold, and sometimes modify opinions of their own behaviors, abilities, appearance, and worth. These general self-assessments reflect responses to individuals and situations, successes and failures, and the opinions of others. Such self-evaluations are sufficiently accurate and stable to be widely regarded as a basic personality dimension. In terms of the Big Five personality, self-esteem most likely would be part of the emotional stability dimension (see Figure 3.3).
Self-esteem affects behavior in organizations and other social settings in several important ways. It influences initial vocational choice. For example, individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to take risks in job selection, to seek out high-status occupations (e.g., medicine or law), and to choose unconventional or nontraditional jobs (e.g., forest ranger or jet pilot) than are individuals with low self-esteem. A study of college students looking for jobs reported that those with high self-esteem (1) received more favorable evaluations from recruiters, (2) were more satisfied with the job search, (3) received more job offers, and (4) were more likely to accept jobs before graduation than were students with low self-esteem.17
Self-esteem influences numerous behaviors. Employees with low self-esteem are more easily swayed by the opinions of coworkers than are employees with high self- esteem. Employees with low self-esteem set lower goals for themselves than do those with high self-esteem. Employees with high self-esteem place more value on actually attaining their goals than do those with low self-esteem. That is, high self-esteem indi- viduals break down jobs into specific tasks and prioritize their work so they can accom- plish their jobs. Employees with low self-esteem are more susceptible than employees with high self-esteem to procrastinate, suffer stress, conflict, ambiguity, poor supervi- sion, poor working conditions, and the like. In brief, high self-esteem is positively related to achievement and a willingness to expend effort to accomplish goals. Clearly,