Personality theories, values and emotions
Personality is a person's unique, stable pattern of thought, feeling and behaviour. Managers use MBTI, the Big Five and job-fit ideas, and attend to values and emotions.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
| Dimension | One pole | Other pole |
|---|---|---|
| Social interaction | Extravert (E): outgoing, sociable | Introvert (I): quiet, reserved |
| Gathering information | Sensing (S): practical, detail-focused | Intuitive (N): big-picture, imaginative |
| Making decisions | Thinking (T): logic and reason | Feeling (F): values and emotions |
| Dealing with the world | Judging (J): planned, organized | Perceiving (P): flexible, spontaneous |
The Big Five model
| Trait | High scorers are… |
|---|---|
| Extraversion | Sociable, talkative, assertive |
| Agreeableness | Good-natured, cooperative, trusting |
| Conscientiousness | Responsible, dependable, persistent, achievement-oriented |
| Emotional stability | Calm, enthusiastic, secure (low scorers are tense, nervous, insecure) |
| Openness to experience | Imaginative, curious, artistically sensitive |
Other personality traits useful at work
| Trait | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Locus of control | Internal: I control my own fate. External: luck or other people do. |
| Machiavellianism | Pragmatic, emotionally distant, believes the ends justify the means |
| Self-esteem | How much a person likes or dislikes himself or herself |
| Self-monitoring | Ability to adjust behaviour to fit the situation |
| Risk-taking | Willingness to take chances |
| Proactive personality | Spots opportunities, takes action and keeps going until change happens |
Personality theories and job fit
Personality theories fall into broad families. Type theories such as the MBTI (built by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers from Carl Jung's ideas) sort people into categories. Trait theories such as the Big Five measure traits on a scale; conscientiousness predicts job performance across many jobs. Psychoanalytic theory (Sigmund Freud) explains behaviour through the id, ego and superego. John Holland's personality-job fit theory names six types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. Satisfaction is highest and turnover lowest when personality matches the job.
Values and emotions
Managers should use personality tests carefully in selection, and value emotional intelligence in team and customer-facing work.
Sri Lankan hotels and banks look for high agreeableness, emotional stability and emotional intelligence in front-office staff, who must stay calm and courteous with demanding guests. Enterprising people (Holland) often fit sales jobs, such as selling mobile packages for Dialog.
Short answer: “Name the Big Five personality traits.” Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience.
Structured question: “What is emotional intelligence? Explain its dimensions.” The ability to notice and manage emotional cues and information. Five dimensions: self-awareness, self-management, self-motivation, empathy and social skills, each with a work example.
Essay: “Explain the main personality theories and their use for managers.” Define personality; explain MBTI, the Big Five and other traits; Holland's job fit; then values and emotional intelligence, with workplace examples.
Big Five = OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (the opposite of emotional stability). Holland's six = RIASEC: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional.