The Big Five Personality Traits and the Business Environment

The Big Five Personality Traits attempt to construct the dimensions of personality that encompass all other minor personality traits¹. This model has been used extensively to examine people and their ability to function within the business setting. While this model is generally used for psychology purposes, it is highly effective for investigating employees that have potential for upper level management within organizations. One must be reminded that this is only a model to describe and explain different personality traits, but theories have been developed according to the results seen when using this model. The model is often explained using the acronym OCEAN (O being for Openness to Experience, C being for Conscientiousness, E being for Extraversion, A being for Agreeableness, and N being for Neuroticism).

The Big Five Personality Trait #1: Openness to Experience

Openness to Experience describes a person who tends to be creative, spontaneous, and artistic². This personality trait lends itself to those people who are daring and creative in their thinking and have a propensity to stand outside of the norms.

The Big Five Personality Trait #2: Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is the personality trait that ascribes itself to people who are disciplined, deliberate in their actions, goal oriented and careful in their processes. This personality trait lends itself to people who have a high need for achievement and seek to attain such achievement in the best and most efficient manner.

The Big Five Personality Trait #3: Extraversion

Extraversion is mostly self explanatory. Extraversion describes the person who likes to be around other people. This personality trait lends itself to people who enjoy other people's company and attain personal satisfaction and gratification through other individuals.

The Big Five Personality Trait #4: Agreeableness

Agreeableness is the personality trait that describes the person who is empathetic, a "people-pleaser", and altogether enjoyable in a social setting³. This personality trait lends itself to people who are very friendly, hate conflict and act as mediators when conflict arises.

The Big Five Personality Trait #5: Neuroticism

Neuroticism (also called emotional stability) is the personality trait that determines how emotionally stable a person is. One who scores high on this personality trait tends to have feelings of anxiety or depression and is generally concerned about their image in front of others.

In relation to business and management in general, those who score high in the personality traits of conscientiousness and extraversion tend to be promoted to management positions. These types of people tend to be promoted because: 1) they are focused on the task at hand and will work hard to do it well (conscientiousness), 2) they are not afraid to ask questions and get help in order to provide better results (extraversion), and 3) they make upper level contacts frequently and keep those contacts informed about their work (a mixture of both).

So where do you fall in this spectrum? It is important to know your general personality traits so that you can maximize your strengths and accommodate your weaknesses. I cannot stress this enough - know yourself and how you function in the business environment! Upper level management takes note of people who know themselves well and work according to their strengths. Be sure to discover your personality traits, strengths and weaknesses today!

1. Goldberg, L. R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48, 26-34.
2. Costa, P. T. & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO personality Inventory professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
3. Graziano, W.G., & Eisenberg, N. (1997). Agreeableness; A dimension of personality. In R. Hogan, S. Briggs, & J. Johnson, (1997). Handbook of Personality Psychology. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.