Self discovery: Know your personality traits

Hi, welcome to the fifth day of The Leads Intellectual challenge: a 30-day intellectual challenge with Fatai Kareem. If you would like to know how you can take advantage of your tendency to get things done and engage better with other people, read the fourth day challenge here.

Today, he will he discussing personality traits: Five-Factor Model. Do you like being in a quiet place? Do you wonder what makes that other person to be a party lover? Do you get angry easily? You don't know your personality traits and want to know? 

Well, read this challenge to the end. Having a better understanding of your personality traits and that of other people will make you to be able to predict your behaviour in some situations and cope better with them. What are these personality traits?

Personality traits reflect your characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours, which are considered to be consistent, stable and different from other people's. These traits show your likelihood of behaving in a particular way in some situations and over time. The most widely used system of personality traits is known as "The Big Five” or “Five-Factor Model” (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae & John, 1992; McCrae & Costa, 1987). This system of personality traits has five broad traits with the acronym OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. These traits are measured in terms of high and low with corresponding difference in behaviour with respect to the score. And this affects areas of life of a person, hence it can be used to predict how well a person can perform some tasks.

O - Openness to experience

This is the trait that reflects the tendency to be interested in new things, ideas or experience. It  comprises active  imagination, attentiveness  to inner  feelings,  a  preference  for  variety, aesthetic  sensitivity, intellectual  curiosity, and  independence  of  judgement.

You are highly open to experience if:

• you are imaginative, creative and innovative.

• you like to explore and try new things, ideas and places.

• you are unconventional.

• you are prepared to entertain new ethical, political and social ideas.

• you can cope with change.

• you are curious and open-minded.

• you are willing to question authority

• you are flexible.

You less open to experience if:

• you are conventional in your behaviour.

• you are conservative in your outlook

• you resist change.

• you prefer doing things and seeing things the same way.

• you perform well at routine work.

Having a high level of openness is important in jobs that require creative thinking and a flexible attitude. A person with low openness may excel in jobs that involve routine work and do not require creativity.

C - Conscientiousness

This is the trait that reflects the tendency to be responsible, organized, hard-working, goal-directed, and to follow rules and norms. It comprises self-control,  reliability, industriousness and responsibility. This personality trait is a key ingredient for personal and professional success.

You are highly conscientious if:

• you are organised and work with plans.

• you are thoughtful and cautious.

• you are more deliberate about your choices.

• you control your impulse.

• you are mindful of deadline.

• you prioritise important tasks.

• you perform well with schedule.

• you pay close attention to details.

• you are goal-directed and achievement-oriented.

• you take your commitment to yourself and others seriously.

You are less conscientious if:

• you find it hard to complete assigned tasks within a given time.

• you procrastinate on important tasks.

• you avoid structure and don't work well with a schedule.

• you are careless with things and don't strive to take good care of things.

• you do fail your promise and commitment.

• you don't return or put back items.

• you make mess of your work and spend more time on correcting your mistakes.

Research shows that people with high conscientiousness performs better at work by performing their works diligently and on time, following the rules and regulations of the company, being punctual, being hardworking and committed to their works, and working towards achieving the goals of the company. While those with low conscientiousness are careless and lazy workers who mess up their works, spend extra time on correcting their mistakes, don't show up on time for appointment, and find it hard to adhere to the rules and norms of the organisation.

As a low conscientious person, you can increase your conscientiousness through personal development by engaging in activities and with people that can help you to develop the trait. You can apply goal-related metacognitive technique by envisioning a clear path to a long-term goal, anticipating any possible obstacles, and ultimately, envisioning yourself achieving the goal. The more you are aware of the goal you want to achieve, the more you are likely to pay attention to achieving it.

E - Extraversion

This is the trait that reflects the tendency to be sociable, talkative, enthusiastic, and enjoy relationship with others. Introversion is considered to be the opposite of this trait.

You are an extravert if:

• you have warm attitude.

• you are talkative.

• you are gregarious and sociable.

• you are assertive and self-confident.

• you are excitement-seeker.

• you have positive emotions.

• you prefer to learn through experience.

• you enjoy working in group.

• you are energised by others and keep a big group of friends and acquaintance.

• you are enthusiastic and passionate.

You are introvert if: 

• you are quiet and prefer being in a quiet place.

• you are timid.

• you are reserved.

• you are introspective and self-aware.

• you prefer to learn through observation.

• you feel exhausted after spending time with lots of people.

• you keep a small group of friends and acquittance.

• you enjoy working independently.

• you tend to feel overwhelmed in busy social situations.

Extraverts perform well at jobs that involve social interactions and working as a part of a team. While introverts perform well at jobs that allow them to work independently and have less social interactions.

A - Agreeableness

This is the trait that reflects the tendency to agree and go along with others rather than to assert your own opinions and choices.

You are agreeable if:

• you are altruistic.

• you are sympathetic to others.

• you are eager to help others.

• you believe that others will help you when you help them.

• you value harmony in relationship.

• you are cooperative and compliant.

• you are forgiving.

• you are tender-minded.

You are disagreeable if:

• you are egocentric.

• you are sceptical of others' intention.

• you are competitive.

• you are rude and uncooperative.

• you are hard-hearted.

Research shows that agreeable people are likely to succeed in occupations where training, teamwork and customer service are relevant. While disagreeable people are likely to perform well at jobs that require objectivity and logic.

N - Neuroticism  

This is a trait that reflects the tendency to frequently experience negative affects  such  as  fear,  sadness,  embarrassment, anger,  guilt  and  disgust.

You are highly neurotic if:

• you are having irrational ideas.

• you are unable to control impulses.

• you are coping poorly with stress.

• you are constantly worrying about things.

• you usually feel insecure.

• you are always feeling inadequate.

• you get angry easily.

• you are always depressed and anxious.

You are less neurotic if:

• you are not getting irritated by small annoyances.

• you are usually calm.

• you are even-tempered and unemotional.

• you do feel secured.

• you are able to face stressful situations without becoming upset.

• you are self-satisfied.

• you are emotionally stable.

Research shows  that emotional  stability  (the  opposite  of  Neuroticism)  is  the second  most  important  characteristic  that  affects  the employability  of  candidates. Also, Neuroticism  is  inversely  related  to  job  performance.

If you are not sure of what your personality traits are, take personality test here.

Case study

1. Adrika is a brilliant lady with a warm attitude. However, she does get angry by little annoyances. She is offered a job as a customer service personnel. Will her personality traits affect her performance? How can her personality traits affect the organisation? How can she perform well?

2. Hannah, the owner of a beauty salon, doubts the fairness of the financial report presented to her by her manager. She wants someone to look into the matter. She is to decide between her two brothers: Sulaimon (an agreeable person) and Chukwu (a disagreeable person). Who is likely going to perform well in this situation? Who should she choose?  

3. Benoy always gets to school late and doesn't attend to assignment. His class teacher is not happy with this attitude. Through an investigation, she discovers that Benoy's mother has low conscientiousness. How can she help Benoy to behave better? What are likely future implications for Benoy? As his class teacher, how can you explain these implications to his mother?

Disclaimer: All names used are for illustration purpose. 

Do you find this challenge to be helpful? Share with your friends and family. It might be helpful to them as well.