If you go onto a development programme within a big corporate, it’s common for that to include personality profiling of some description. In recent years, even smaller businesses often pay for a personality profiling tool so you may well have experienced one or more. And there are stacks of them out there – DiSC, Myers Briggs, Insights, and Clarity 4D are just some of the most common
Many of them have free online versions, where you do a 20 minute quiz, pop in your email address and Bob’s your uncle… a spookily accurate sounding report lands in your inbox
If they’re so popular, they must be useful, right? All that money spent must be doing some good. Well maybe. But maybe not
I’m going to be up front and tell you my thoughts on personality profiles are mixed. While they can be a really useful part of self-reflection, I’ve also seen people tie themselves in knots worrying about what their report says
Below, I explain how personality psychometrics work and why they’re not the be-all and end-all.
The background to personality profiles
The idea behind personality tests is that they give an insight into how someone might act or respond based on their personality. The first ones were developed during World War 1, with the aim of predicting who might be likely to suffer from shell shock
The development of the Myers Briggs type indicator, which suggests there are 16 personality types, came about because a Mum wanted to understand why her daughter had what she thought was an unlikely attraction to the man she went on to marry
This has become the most popular personality test worldwide, with millions of people taking it each year. Yet the theories it was originally based on (by the psychologist Carl Jung and written in 1921) were just that. There was no scientific evidence for the theories, just a fella with a pipe sharing his observations with the world
And in the years since, the outcome of the tests has been used for all sorts of applications, from dating to recruitment and career planning. Companies across the globe pay a fortune and licensed consultants who administer the assessments make a tidy profit. All with no confirmed scientific reliability or validity. Helluva marketing coup
How they work
Regardless of which personality assessment you take, the fundamental principle is that you answer a series of questions about yourself. You might select which option is most like you and which is least like you from a series of options. You might rate from strongly disagree to strongly agree with a series of statements. You might pick which option you’d choose in a certain situation
Regardless of the format, the answers you give form the basis of the report that you get back at the end. No wonder it’s normally spookily accurate – the answers you get back are literally what you think of yourself!
How valid are they?
One of the issues I’ve already mentioned is that personality profiling is lacking in reliability and validity. What does that mean and what’s the difference? Apologies to any Grandma being taught to suck eggs, but here’s the official definition…
Reliability refers to whether the same person gets the same result if they are retested. Validity asks how well the assessment fulfils its function. Which gives a clue to some issues
In theory, personality doesn’t change very much in the short term – so if you do the same assessment it should give the same outcome. In reality, personality can be affected by a lot of factors in the short term as well as the long term. I experienced this myself – when I was working in employed roles, the ‘people’ aspects of my personality reports shone through. I loved being around people, leading teams and I had a lot of care and empathy for them
Later on, after 9 months of self employment and without a team around me, very little of that showed. My personality hadn’t changed, but my environment and the context for the way I answered the questions had changed a lot
When it comes to validity, the big question is ‘what is the function of a personality test?’ I’ve seen them used in recruitment and to based promotion decisions on. In that context, studies suggest they aren’t valid.
There’s no evidence that you need to be an extrovert to be a sales person. CEOs across the globe have every different type of personality from every personality test. When it comes to predicting success, personality profiles are not valid and trying to use them for that purpose risks bias and discrimination. Not great
Are they worth doing?
It might sound like my views on personality tests are pretty scathing and I’m going to tell you to stay away from them. In fact, I’ve found them really useful in my own career and I think there can be a place for them based on a few clear caveats
Bear in mind they are your own perception of yourself. Which may or may not reflect other people’s perception of you. And which may change based on how you’re feeling at the time you answer the questions. Who cares if it changes in a few months, does the report feel accurate to you right now?
Personality profiles might not predict success, but they DO reflect your preferences. Understanding what those are and what might take a bit of effort can be useful. For example, if you’re like me and your preference is for introversion then you likely find too much peopling is tiring. Knowing that and planning your work time to take it into account can enable you to be more productive by building in reflection time away from other people
Flexibility is where it’s at. Personality profiles might reveal your most natural / practised behaviours and how you might normally respond to things when you don’t think too much about it. But just because something is most natural doesn’t mean it’s most appropriate or helpful. So focus on flexing your behaviour to get the result you want and need
Want to know more about personality profiles and how to make sure they help rather than hinder? Listen to my podcast episode on using them to win friends and influence people