Personality Assessments @ Work
More Harm Than Good?
Some people have commented before that my career path is a tad unusual. I like to think there is a common thread from one role to the next, but I can certainly see how the diversity of roles and experiences might seem out of the ordinary. One of those roles, sandwiched inside my resume between my work inside a church and my current work leading Access Ventures, is a stint working for both a family office and as the global organization design (OD) manager at a manufacturing company. So from my time as a pastor to running OD to launching Access Ventures, I have used A LOT of personality profiles…A LOT.
Now, I certainly think they are useful…but it’s important to understand that they can also be harmful. And what is also crazy about some of the different profiles is how we jump from one to the next in society - chasing deeper self awareness. In the best of things…they help you identify ways to understand yourself, how to work with others, and how to (hopefully) achieve what it is you desire for yourself and in your career and life.
But (and a BIG but), I have seen personality profiles excuse bad behavior, diminish personal responsibility, exclude a person from a “type of role”, and be weaponized in groups. When not properly placed and properly understood, personality profiles can do more harm than good. Have you ever taken the test and it says your results are 95% accurate and immovable only to take it a couple years later in another context and the score be drastically different - but now you are boxed in at work within a certain personality type? Have you ever heard teams describe themselves as an ENTJ (Myers-Briggs) or 3 wing 2 (Enneagram) or high green line (KOLBE) and then make assessments about their work and the team in uninformed and inaccurate ways?
Now, before you respond with shock to this line of thinking and questioning, I do think there can be a helpful place for personality assessments within a personal and professional development plan or in improved team dynamics. What I want to caution is what I often see…a company does a team retreat; has everyone take a test; invites in a guru; and then never pick up the material again. Or, teams that use profiles improperly in hiring processes that in some ways dehumanize the person behind the score.
Kari O’Grady is an expert in organizational psychology and an associate professor of psychology at BYU agrees. She said she believes using personality tests as a screening mechanism for hiring employees is unethical and potentially harmful to a company.
Where companies can thoughtfully integrate these tests in team improvement plans they can be super helpful in building transformative cultures. Where companies get it wrong, they feed into a transactional culture that reduces people to numbers and scores.
As you look to use personality profiles ask yourself a couple of questions…
Which one has academic rigor to support its development and application? It seems that of late, the Enneagram is all the craze and while there are elements of it that I personally love and appreciate, it is important to understand that it doesn’t have the same academic research and development for teams like the Myers-Briggs or DiSC or some of the other tests. I would strongly recommend (especially where you are using it within teams and within interpersonal relationship dynamics and within team conflict…consider at least evaluating the data as you make your decision.
What is the designed purpose for this personality test? Is it better used for personal development or team dynamics? Would you ever have more than one for different purposes? When we first started Access Ventures, we had everyone take the Enneagram but we could never figure out a way to use a tool designed for personal reflection and personal development within teams without it feeling intrusive or clunky. Inevitably, we elected to continue to offer the Enneagram - but as a tool within each team members professional development planning that was for their benefit and not something shared broadly. We looked then to the Myers-Briggs for team dynamics and discussions. This allowed us to provide one tool for self improvement and then one for team work, team language, and team dynamics.
Are you willing to commit the time and attention within meetings, team communication, and retreats to ensure they are used properly? If not, strongly consider NOT using them. This is KEY…don’t miss this step. If you are not willing or interested or able to truly embed whatever personality test you are incorporating into your company fully…DO NOT EVEN START. It would be better to not use these tools and bring speakers in on topics for team training and team development than to introduce a personality test you never intend to thoughtfully engage with. Resist the urge to do the test and at the end say “isn’t that cool how that test knows me” but never do the hard work within the company to actually use it within team friction or development plans.