The Big Five Personality Test and Construction
The Big Five Personality Test is the most widely used personality test in the field of psychology, and also one that anyone can do themselves in less than an hour. https://bigfive-test.com/test
The theory behind the Big Five Personality Test is that there are five major personality traits that everyone measures upon the spectrum of including;
· Conscientiousness – impulsive, disorganized vs. disciplined, careful
· Agreeableness – suspicious, uncooperative vs. trusting, helpful
· Neuroticism – calm, confident vs. anxious, pessimistic
· Openness to Experience – prefers routine, practical vs. imaginative, spontaneous
· Extraversion – reserved, thoughtful vs. sociable, fun-loving
A lot of research has gone into which personality traits make the best leaders. However, study after study after study were inconclusive or contradicting. This is great news for us all because no matter what our natural personality traits are, we can all become great leaders. This seems self-evident when you look at the personality of Richard Branson vs Alan Joyce. Both successful leaders with completely different personalities.
However, in the unique field of construction, studies have shown at least three of the five traits that correlate with a high performance in construction.
Low Neuroticism: Calmness & Emotional Stability
Construction is a high-pressure environment, where critical and time pressured decisions are often required to be made in ambiguous situations. As a leader, one’s emotional state impacts one’s followers. A leader’s positive emotions will positively impact follower’s performance (Mayer et al., 2008) and negative emotions will decrease motivation and performance (Von Glinow et al., 2004). ‘Cracking under the pressure’ can both, make one ineffective with regards to the task at hand and create a feeling of chaos and doubt among one’s followers.
High Conscientiousness: Structure & Conscientiousness
Large construction projects require the use of many systems and processes to ensure that various KPIs, such as; Quality, Safety, Environmental, Commercial and Program are met (Might & Fischer, 1985). With the complexity of many modern construction projects, it is important for leaders to create structure in the workflow to provide clarity and certainty in an ambiguous environment. A lack of structure and control systems can exacerbate uncertainty and ambiguity among followers and lead to a decrease in performance. Therefore, a conscientiousness leader, is one who is well structured, dutiful and will see tasks through.
High Openness to Experience; Intellect/Imagination
Referred to in different versions of the Big 5 as ‘Openness to Experience’, Intellect/Imagination is essential to leaders in construction due largely to the ambiguity and uniqueness of each new project. Problem solving in construction often requires significant creativity and the ability to think ‘outside of the box’.
Key Take Aways
Look inwards to understand your innate personality traits better.
Understand how your traits can be strengths or weaknesses in your position.
Use this understanding to develop your lacking traits and unlock your potential (e.g. if you find yourself neurotic and struggle under pressure, try meditation or mindfulness or anything you believe will help to remove this hurdle to reaching your full potential).
Remember, while we can’t change a personality trait, understanding it will help us to control our behaviours.