How does personality affect teamwork?

1. How does personality affect teamwork?

2. How does personality affect teamwork? Psychology research highlights a wide variety of different personality types. One way to understand these types is the “Kiersey temperament sorter”. Kiersey looks at the extent people tend towards: Extroversion vs introversion Intuition vs sensation Thinking vs feeling Judging vs perceiving (making decisions work vs making informed decisions) It isn’t that any of preferences are better or worse. But it is important to understand how they act as a major influence on how people approach team work. When a group contains lots of different temperaments but does not acknowledge this, conflict can get in the way of the work.

3. Extraversion vs introversion People who tend to draw energy from the company of others prefer extraversion, while those who regain energy from solitude prefer introversion. The main source of conflict between extraverts and introverts comes from the fact that when they interact, extraverts become more “charged” the longer the interaction, while introverts’ energy depletes as the interaction goes on. Western society tends to approve of extraversion and disapprove of introversion, with the result that introverts often feel displaced in society. In teams it is important to remember this, and that people who are naturally introverted are not inferior people because of this.

4. Intuition vs Sensation Kiersey suggests that the difference between people who prefer Intuition and those who prefer Sensation is more pronounced than any other area of temperament. He suggests that the two preferences of Intuition and Sensation are responsible for the most miscommunication, misunderstanding and denigration between groups of people. Sensation types are most interested in facts, experience and knowledge. Intuition types, by contrast rely primarily on their instincts and internal voice and are generally uninterested in facts The language a person uses can be a clear indicator of whether they prefer intuition or sensation.

5. Thinking vs Feeling Kiersey defines the difference between thinking and feeling as being based on whether someone is more comfortable with a logical, impersonal, objective decison making process or a values-based, personal decision making process. At the extremes Thinkers tend to see emotion-led choice as being muddle-headed and silly, while feelers tend to find decisions based on logical rules to be “almost inhuman”. Kiersey points out that both types are perfectly capable of either type of decision; the difference between thinkers and feelers is to do with preference, not ability.

6. Judging vs Perceiving Judgers tend to prefer closure and completeness over retaining options, while perceiving types tend to prefer keeping things open and fluid. The clash between judging and perceiving types can be a source of irritation because, while judging types push hard towards final decisions, perceiving types hold out for additional information. There is also potential for confusion over the names, as there can be a belief that judging types are judgmental and perceiving types are more perceptive. Neither is true; instead, each type has a preference for one mode of decision-making over another.

7. Implications Different preferences can be extremely helpful in managing complicated projects. You could make a first guess at your own temperament/preferences based on this outline as a basis for thinking about learning and working partnerships Are there projects that you are involved in where you can identify a need for a colleague with a different preference from your own? Are there aspects of your role where you need to work outside your comfort zone where finding say a thinker or a feeler to work with you would be helpful? Who do you think you might turn to for another perspective?

8. Find out more • Study reference: • Kiersey, D. & Bates, M. (1978) Please understand me: Character & Temperament types. 5thedn. USA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company • Two other resources on this line highlight further information about personality preference: • ‘how do personality preferences influence teamwork?’ This includes a link to an online questionnaire which will help you identify your preference, • ‘what is the best team for the task’ is a tool you can use with your team.