"She had taken a personality test offered by her HR department and it had described her as structured, detail-oriented, and reserved. The report from the test went on to say that she'd be well-suited to roles that require quiet focus and independent work. My client had taken that to mean she wasn't cut out to lead teams or drive strategy."
"Returning to my client, she came to me because she was also feeling stuck in her job. She wanted new responsibilities, and she was definitely interested in the pay raise that would come with a promotion. First, we worked on painting her existing traits as strengths. Being reserved was recast as being mindful of others' perspectives when making decisions. Preferring to stay out of the spotlight meant she was great at lifting up the accomplishments of her team."
Leadership is not tied to a single personality profile. Multiple combinations of Big Five traits create different pathways to effective leadership. Personality traits change across the lifespan, and intentional actions can accelerate those changes. Reserved, detail-oriented individuals can leverage strengths such as mindfulness, quiet focus, and team-centered recognition to lead effectively. Developing specific behaviors — like practicing assertiveness and decision-making — can build leadership capabilities even when initial personality measures suggest otherwise. Recasting existing tendencies as assets and targeting skill development enables career growth and readiness for higher-responsibility roles. Organizations should avoid pigeonholing employees based on test labels and support deliberate trait and skill development.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]