People love to label themselves, and others, with character traits. This is especially true in the workplace: the innovator, the people pleaser, the bold, etc. There’s no shortage of personality assessment tools that give you a type or a color. Personality traits define our path in life. What’s more, they serve as predictors of our future: romantic relationships, career paths, and even job performance.
Personality at work
Managers, entrepreneurs, and supervisors all share the responsibility of leading others, but they have very different roles. Entrepreneurs create the idea and the process of implementing the idea of the company they founded. Managers set goals, motivate employees, and organize activities for the companies they work in. Supervisors are more involved in the day-to-day work and operational mandates.
Let’s look at each one in turn.
Neuroticism: Anxiety, pessimism, self-consciousness
Entrepreneurs and managers were found to be lower in neuroticism compared with supervisors and employees. This could be because emotional stability makes it easier to deal with the stress and uncertainty that are often associated with these positions. Both of these positions have integral responsibilities to ensure the success of their companies. ‘
Agreeableness: Cooperation, trust, compassion
Managers were found to be less agreeable than supervisors and employees. Although it is true that being more agreeable would improve co-worker and customer relations, in some ways, it may be more beneficial for managers to be lower in agreeableness.
Managers have to make difficult decisions for the good of their company, which may involve negative consequences for their co-workers. Being lower in agreeableness allows them to make these decisions and prioritize their own self-interest as well as the interest of the company.
Openness to experience: Intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, creativity
Entrepreneurs were found to be more open to experience than managers, supervisors, and employees. This finding is perhaps the least surprising. Entrepreneurs need to be innovative, as they need to create a service or product that is new and different from what is already out there.
Conscientiousness: Discipline, organization, responsibility
Entrepreneurs, managers and supervisors were found to be more conscientious than employees. In higher positions, conscientiousness is selected through promotions and senior hiring.
Extraversion: Sociability, assertiveness, gregariousness
Entrepreneurs and managers were found to be more extroverted than supervisors and employees. Having exceptional social skills is crucial for entrepreneurs as it allows them to have good relationships with other companies that can help them expand their reach.
These skills will also be key to ensuring they pitch their ideas to interested parties in the best way. Managers on the other hand need to be dominant in order to assert their authority over their employees.
