Of the five major personality factors, emotional reactivity is most closely associated with psychological health and well-being. This factor has been identified by many researchers as, e.g., anxiety, neuroticism or emotionality. It reflects the tendency to be tense, anxious, easily upset or high strung. However, the eTest personality inventory was normed on a well adjusted […]
Extraversion is a well-researched primary personality factor. This is usually the first dimension that arises from statistical research, called factor analysis, on most personality inventories. At the most basic level, it is seen as an orientation towards the external world of people, things, events, etc., or toward the internal world of thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. […]
extraversion; big five; personality traitsAs we navigate the transition from pandemic work adjustments to whatever the “new normal” may be, we’re all dealing with a little extra uncertainty and change. The additional effort necessary to handle this change can add stress and can potentially lead to more irritability, shortness, or rudeness in our interactions at work. Are these kinds […]
Bad behavior in the workplace, no asshole rulePersonality is not destiny…but our personality traits strongly influence our work preferences and choices for our careers, and our behavior on the job. We can learn new skills and behaviors, but the structures of our personalities are our factory settings. There is a professional consensus that personality can be accurately described by five broad factors. […]
I’ve updated Active Leadership to add a section on problem-solving teams and the action learning process for organizational development, and to reflect some of the changes in organizational life in recent times. I may publish it in a more traditional format at some point, but right now I just want to make it available for […]
High-Stakes Leadership Recent events (the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown of global economies and civil unrest) have intensified the spotlight on leadership in situations of danger and high stakes. These circumstances have clearly highlighted the need for good data, objective analysis of facts, the courage to make decisions in the face of pressure and incomplete information […]
bad times, hodge golson, leadership, leadership in pandemic, leading in bad times, leading in crisis, tough leadershipAs of this post, we’re coming out of a pandemic that will probably have lasting effects on the way we work. All of us have had to be more flexible and innovative to meet the dual goals of staying healthy and continuing to provide services and products. Front-line people are continuing to work at physical […]
As of this writing, there are signs we’re slowly coming out of the twilight zone of a once-in-a-century virus pandemic and global shutdown. Of course this is frustrating and frightening. But there are valuable lessons and insights from such experiences if we discipline ourselves to see them. This can be a time of great opportunity […]
Research and observation tell us that the hard skills (quantitative, data-analytical, technical, specialized knowledge) are important early in a career but that the soft skills (influence, relationship building, political savvy) are crucial for later success, especially in leadership. This is clearly the case in technology companies which are heavily populated with smart people who have […]
The Intersection of Arrogance and Intelligence It’s good to be competent. Being arrogant, not so much. But they’re often related. Being smart, bright and clever often leads to business success. But having these intellectual gifts also means that one gets used to being right, being perceived as a good problem-solver and being valued by others. […]