Does Purpose Matter? The Stability of Personality Assessments in Organization Development and Talent Management Applications Over Time

Abstract

Personality assessment has a long history of application in the workplace. While the field of organization development has historically focused on developmental aspects of personality tools, other disciplines such as industrial-organizational psychology have emphasized its psychometric properties. The importance of data-driven insights for talent management (e.g., the identification of high potentials, succession planning, coaching), however, is placing increasing pressure on all types of applied behavioral scientists to better understand the stability of personality tools for decision-making purposes. The current study presents research conducted with 207 senior leaders in a global consumer products organization on the use of personality assessment data over time and across two different conditions: development only and development to decision making. Results using three different tools (based on the Hogan Assessment Suite) indicate that core personality and personality derailers are generally not affected by the purpose of the assessment, though derailers do tend to moderate over time. The manifestation of values, motives, and preferences were found to change across administrations. Implications for organizational development and talent management applications are discussed.

Dark traits as a potential feature of leadership in the high-performance sports coach

“…Thus, by bringing coaches in the high-performance sport context into regular leadership personality realms developmental initiatives which originate from broad-based perspectives on leadership, coupled with associated measures common across other industries, may be applied in this context; facilitating passage from developing coach to experienced coach. It is worth noting, however, that given the developmentally responsive aspects to some of the dark/maladaptive traits which can be potentially dysfunctional characteristics (e.g., they can be regulated with the right support), 34 the behaviors represented in the ‘reserved’ dimension may be a useful focal point in assisting developing coaches to moderate impacts of these tendencies on those they lead and work with (both developing and experienced coaches were, on average, similar in scores on this domain, however developing coaches scored higher than population norms whereas podium coaches did not). Indeed, all of the potential maladaptive behaviors (when expressed situationally) captured through the Hogan’s inventories (when expressed situationally) are susceptible to interventions with regard to developing appropriate compensation and coping skills to effectively manage impact.…”

“…Indeed, all of the potential maladaptive behaviors (when expressed situationally) captured through the Hogan’s inventories (when expressed situationally) are susceptible to interventions with regard to developing appropriate compensation and coping skills to effectively manage impact. 34,39,41,42 The emphasis being on the functional modification of these types of behaviors, rather than attempts at elimination. Thus, support or developmental initiatives, for high-performance sport coaches should remain cognizant that a broad behavioral repertoire (e.g.…”

“…The potential varied utility of such approaches is suggested through similar work in other domains. 34…”

“…This is a widely used tool in organizational contexts across a broad range of industry sectors (e.g. law enforcement, health care, military, business), 34–36 however applications in the sports sector have been limited to date. The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) is part of the HPS and is a 206-item measure of 44 underlying facets consolidated into seven broad-based personality domain categories.…”

“…These categories are often characterized as ‘light’ traits. 34 The broad-based personality domain categories of the HPI include ‘adjustment’ (reflects the degree to which someone appears calm and self-accepting), ‘ambition’ (reflects the degree to which someone appears leader-like, competitive, and socially self-confident), ‘sociability’ (reflects the degree to which a person seems to need or enjoy interactions with others), ‘interpersonal sensitivity’ (perceptive, tactful, and socially-sensitive), ‘prudence’ (concerns conscientiousness, conforming, and dependable), ‘inquisitive’ (reflects the degree to which someone is perceived as bright, creative, and interested in intellectual matters), and ‘learning approach’ (reflects interest in education and the degree to which someone pursues development opportunities). 37…”