● CHAPTER 2 ●
Understanding Personality
Personality Defined
Personality is simply described as a pattern of how an individual thinks, feels, and behaves.
We know that there are many characteristics that make every person unique. Our patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior are what make us different from each other in meaningful ways.
Science has afforded us to an opportunity to see patterns in how we think, feel, and behave. Research into personality has shown we have predictable behavioral patterns that can help us better relate with each other.
There is no “Best”
It is important to clearly state that there is no “best” personality. We are all unique and have value and worth in our collective humanity. As we further explore RelateAbility, we must always start from the foundational principle:
Every personality type is equally important to the effective functioning of our teams and organizations.
Nature AND Nurture
There is a long-standing debate on whether aspects of our personality are born in us or are the result of our life experiences. There are those that believe behavior is largely inherited and focus on the relationship between our biology and behavior, referred to as Nature. There are those that believe behavior is largely shaped by our environment and life experiences, referred to as Nurture.
The developers of TeamRelate believe that our personality is shaped by both Nature and Nurture. This approach allows us to look at the complexity of human personality in a continuum. Personality is a combination of natural or predetermined traits and aspects that are learned and developed.
As such, we have components of our personality that we cannot change, and many other components that can be developed. RelateAbility is an ability that honors our natural styles and also provides us the freedom to adapt and grow with our environment.
Although we might find ourselves more easily relating with individuals that share our same Communication Styles and Core Convictions, it is critical that we never assume that any one personality type is fundamentally better than another.
Background and Research History
RelateAbility is anchored in the scientific research of personality and the historical experience of human interaction. The study of personality has a broad and complex history. Provided below are highlights of key personality research that has informed the TeamRelate Model.
2200 B.C.— A Focus on Performance
The earliest personality testing dates back over 4000 years, beginning with the Chinese around 2200 B.C. Testing focused on how individuals performed on certain tests, like penmanship, for example. The purpose of the tests was to determine who would be chosen for civil service positions in Peking.
300 B.C.— A Focus on the Physical
Around 300 B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote a short paper on how to distinguish an individual’s personality based upon their physical characteristics. He argued that examining a person’s hair, forehead, eyebrows, lips, and other bodily features could determine several personality characteristics, such as how wise, foolish, healthy, or deceitful a person was.
1900’s
1921: Carl Jung, noted Swiss psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, wrote his theory of personality in a book entitled Psychological Types. Dr. Jung introduced the concept of Personality Types, stating that people have different preferences for how they function. He invented the “functional types” or “psychological types” of Introversion and Extroversion. The first serious, validated scientific assessments began during World War I. They were used to screen out army recruits who might be susceptible to shell shock.
1928: William Marston published Emotions of Normal People, which introduced the DISC Theory. Marston viewed people behaving along two dimensions, with their attention being either passive or active, depending on the individual’s perception of his or her environment as favorable or antagonistic. He placed the axis at right angles, four quadrants form. Each quadrant describes a behavioral pattern: (D) Dominance, (I) Inducement, (S) Submission, and (C) Compliance. The system came to prominence as part of the US Army’s recruitment process during the years preceding WWII, and then became a popular tool in the commercial sector.
1943: Over a period of forty years, Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). MBTI is based on the ideas of Carl Jung. Motivated by her observation of the waste of human potential during WWII, in 1943, Myers further developed these ideas into a system to provide an easy way for everyone to understand and appreciate the Jungian personality types.
1949: Donald Snygg and Arthur W. Combs introduced a theory of personality called the Phenomenal Field Theory. This theory stated that all behavior is influenced by the conscious mind and can be understood if the researcher sees the world through the individual’s eyes and mind. Similar to the saying, “You can’t understand a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes,” we can choose to consider what another person is thinking and experiencing to better understand and relate with them.
1953: Carl Rogers created 19 Propositions as a foundation for studying personality. The propositions were principles rather than stages of types. His primary focus was on the development of the self-concept and how people develop and grow in their understanding of themselves and others. These Propositions create a set of assumptions and guidelines when using personality assessments.
1965: Raymond Bernard Cattell developed a Personality Model that included 16 traits. He described these 16 traits on a continuum. This provides 32 measures and allows for everyone to have some degree of every trait. Cattel is also known for creating a new statistical method of measuring validity called Factor Analysis. This method is still used today as a statistical tool to measure assessments.
1980: Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal introduced the Big 5 Personality Model, also known as the Five Factor Model (FFM) in 1961. The model became more widely used in the study of personality in the early 1980s. In 1990, J.M. Digman advanced the FFM of personality, which Lewis Goldberg extended to its current form (Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience). These Five Factors are widely regarded as the gold standard in personality research. The FFM of personality is based on the fundamental principles and goals of Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor Model.
1995-Present
1995: University of Southern California professor Michael Williamson saw the need to simplify the many Personality and Behavioral Models for use in the workplace. By creating a model that focuses on our ability to relate with others, the science becomes practical and more easily applied in the real world of work. He created Communication Styles and Core Convictions that are the foundation to the TeamRelate Model. In 2003, he created the 24 questions that are used in the TeamRelate Survey. The remainder of this book details the TeamRelate Model and how it can be used to increase RelateAbility.
2007: Dr. Michael Williamson partnered with Dr. Mark Vickers to launch WorkTraits 1.0 and consulted with hundreds of organizations and teams to increase their effectiveness. Dr. Vickers created detailed profiles, coaching and mentoring insights, and expanded the model to include Checkpoints. Continued research and validation was headed by Dr. Bart Weathington of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a leader in assessing behaviors and values. In 2013, the name “WorkTraits” was changed to “TeamRelate.”
2015: Ceridian acquired TeamRelate to further enhance their Human Capital Management (HCM) System. Ted Malley, Chief Customer Officer, lead the integration of the TeamRelate model into Ceridian’s Dayforce HCM technology. As a result, 3000 customers currently using Dayforce have access to the fully integrated TeamRelate assessment, profiles, coaching, and mentoring insights to use in their Talent Management processes. Dr. Brian O’Leary and Dr. Kate Rogers of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga continue to provide research and validation testing on the TeamRelate Model and Technology.
2016: Dr. Wade McNair, an Organizational Psychologist and Human Capital Strategist, joined the TeamRelate team to further the strategy and research around TeamRelate and enhance the model for building workplace relationships and organizational engagement. His contributions to the TeamRelate Model include additional research to support the model and the application of RelateAbility to Emotional Intelligence, Workforce Engagement, Conflict, Trust, and Improving RelateAbility.