Day 13: Personality & It's Role In Success

Personality is obviously not a skill, but understanding oneself and, by extension, others is important when pursuing goals and objectives. The ability to work successfully with others is a skill—a social skill—and personality theory can give us a lens through which to view behaviour. Therefore, understanding human personality is essential if you want to live successfully. We’re on Day 13 and discussing the role of personality in achievement. It’s an aspect of People Skills, the 4th of the 9 Mental Skills of Peak Performers.Learn more about personality testingIn sport, especially, there appears to be a particular persistent belief amongst players and coaches that you either have talent or you don’t. It seems we look for the simplest answer, and we trust our own automatic judgment on the matter. For example, it’s the new coach who made the team successful. Or, without such-and-such player, the team can’t perform. There may be some truth in this to the extent that an individual may have a significant influence on the group. However, staying within the sporting context, I have also seen teams perform exceptionally without their key player or coach. So let’s say, for argument’s sake, this is true. We believe that to “make it”, one must have the X-Factor. There must be something about this person that makes them special. Something that is required for anyone to make it. So what is it?Is it personality?Is it intelligence?Is it something expressed through genetics?Is it the environment?It is likely to be all these things, and by the very act of definition, we exclude other factors or variables that influence any given outcome. We like to simplify the world, you see. We like to find answers, and using System 1, which we discussed earlier in the series, we usually accept the first answer it presents to us.Let me briefly address the idea that success in life is related to personality. The Big-5 Model of Personality (with the acronym OCEAN or CANOE) suggests that certain life outcomes are correlated with its five primary personality traits, which are,* Openness to Experience* Consciousness* Extraversion* Agreeableness* Neuroticism (Emotionality)Personality is, of course, not limited to The Big-5. However, it is trusted by psychometricians and consistent in its findings, unlike the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is argued to be little more than pseudo-science. The Relationship Between Personality & Life Outcomes (in brief)The following is based on the research by Costa & McCrae (1992), Goldberg et al. (2007), Ozer & Benet-Martinez (2006), and Wright & Jackson (2023). When working with clients, I typically administer a version of the Big Five and discuss the test results with them. It helps people turn the mirror on themselves, so to speak, and understand their behaviour better. Personal reflection and introspection, in my view, are essential for living a successful and meaningful life.Openness to ExperienceOpenness to experience is associated with a person’s willingness to engage with new things and a willingness to accept change. Openness levels predict political views, occupational interests, and creativity. It is also related to a higher number of years of education. It is associated with investigative and artistic occupational interests and, interestingly, can predict substance abuse disorders. ConscienciousnessIf you are high on conscientiousness, you are likely to be very particular and highly detailed in most things you do. High conscientiousness is associated with relationship quality and predicts higher health status, greater odds of attaining a university degree, and higher salaries. Attention to detail, in other words, matters for success in life. However, be cautious, as extremely high conscientiousness may indicate inflexibility.ExtraversionHigh levels of extraversion are associated with subjective well-being and social status. In careers, extraversion is associated with increased work engagement and involvement. People high in extraversion are also more likely to assume leadership roles. But it’s not all rosy in the garden for Extraverts. Some research has shown an overlap with dark traits of personality, including narcissism and psychopathy.AgreeablenessAgreeable people can be described as cooperative, polite, kind, and friendly. Those high in agreeableness are more trusting, affectionate, altruistic, and generally display more prosocial behaviours. However, Agreeableness is not always a good thing. Dissenting voices are necessary to prevent biases from overly influencing decisions. To be always agreeable is to your and the group’s disadvantage.Neuroticism (Emotionality)We can describe Neuroticism as the degree to which our emotional state influences our behaviour. Do you fly off the handle easily? If yes, you are likely high on Neuroticism. It predicts lower well-being, psychopathology, and interpersonal problems, as well as poorer relationship quality. High neuroticism is associated with a diminished life span and can contribute to disease by shaping reactions to illness. So all told, high neuroticism is detrimental to success in life.Find out about psychometric testing and book an assessmentMental Skills Basics CourseSuffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit peak.humanperformance.ie