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Personality and the Prediction of Team Performance

THOMAS A. O’NEILL* and NATALIE J. ALLEN

Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: Although much is known about personality and individuals’ job performance, only a few studies have

considered the effects of team-level personality on team performance. Existing research examining the effects of

personality on team performance has found that, of the Big Five factors of personality, Conscientiousness is often themost

important predictor. Accordingly, we investigated the criterion validity of lower-level Conscientiousness traits to

determine whether any one trait is particularly predictive of team performance. In addition to Conscientiousness, we

examined the criterion validity of the other Big Five personality factors. We found that Conscientiousness and its facets

predicted team performance. Agreeableness, Extraversion and Neuroticism were not predictive of team performance,

whereas Openness had a modest negative relation with team performance. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key words: team performance; team composition; personality; Big Five; narrow traits; personality facets

INTRODUCTION

The composition of a work team is defined by the individual

characteristics of its members. One implicit rationale

underlying the research on team composition is that

individual characteristics of team members (i.e. their

personalities, demographic characteristics, attitudes and so

on) serve as inputs that indirectly influence team perform-

ance through group processes (e.g. collaboration) and

emergent states (e.g. team cohesion). In other words, the

characteristics of team members affect the way in which a

team operates and its subsequent performance.

Personality, as a class of team composition variables, is

the focus of the present study. Over the past several years,

research on personality has received considerable attention

in the teams literature (e.g. Bell, 2007; Humphrey,

Hollenbeck, Meyer, & Ilgen, 2007; Peeters, van Tuijl, Rutte,

& Reymen, 2006). Interest in this topic continues for at least

two reasons. First, there is an intuitive appeal to the argument

that personality will influence team-related variables.

Conceptually, personality should be related to (a) team

knowledge, skills and abilities, (b) processes and emergent

states and (c) general dimensions of teamwork (e.g.

collaboration, supportive behaviour, team trust). Most of

these variables appear to be natural outgrowths of personality

and, therefore, one would expect personality to be a valid

predictor in many cases (see Halfhill, Sundstrom, Lahner,

Calderone, & Nielsen, 2005; Kichuk & Wiesner, 1998).

A second reason that personality continues to be

investigated in team settings is that it is a consistent and

important predictor of individuals’ job performance (e.g.

Barrick &Mount, 1991; Tett, Jackson, Rothstein, & Reddon,

1999). Extending these findings to the team level is needed as

organizations are increasingly turning to teamwork in an

effort to stay competitive in the global marketplace (Allen &

West, 2005; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). Thus, research on

personality and team performance is an ongoing priority.

In this study, we collected personality data frommembers

of project design teams, operationalized those data at the

group level (e.g. using the group mean on each trait), and

correlated the resulting team-level personality scores with

team performance. Our purpose in this research was

threefold. First, we examined the extent to which any

content-relevant personality facets of Conscientiousness

could demonstrate superior prediction of team performance

relative to a broad Conscientiousness composite. An

investigation of this type is needed given that Conscien-

tiousness has been shown to be one of the most consistent Big

Five predictors of job performance and team performance,

but the criterion validity of its facets have rarely been

examined at the team level (but see LePine, 2003). Second,

we investigated whether any personality factors besides

Conscientiousness could be valid predictors of team

performance in the present context. Specifically, we assessed

the criterion validity of the other Big Five factors:

Agreeableneness, Extraversion, Neuroticism and Openness.

Third, when considered as a team-level construct, personality

has historically been operationalized in several ways. In this

study we provide new evidence regarding the criterion

validity of the four most common team-level personality

operationalizations.

TEAM-LEVEL PERSONALITY

Typically, the operationalization of personality variables at

the team level is accomplished by aggregating individual-

level personality scores using one of four group-level

European Journal of Personality, Eur. J. Pers. 25: 31–42 (2011)

Published online 4 April 2010 (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/per.769

*Correspondence to: Thomas A. O’Neill, Department of Psychology, Social Science Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]

Received 29 July 2009

Revised 16 February 2010, Accepted 16 February 2010

indices: Mean, variance, minimum and maximum scores

(see Barrick, Stewart, Neubert, & Mount, 1998; Halfhill

et al., 2005; Williams & Allen, 2008). The particular

operationalization is usually chosen through a consideration

of the personality variable, the nature of the task, and how the

two are expected to interact (e.g. Allen & West, 2005; Hecht

& Allen, 1999; LePine, Hollenbeck, Ilgen, & Hedlund,

1997).

The mean approach involves computing the arithmetic

average of each team member’s score on the personality

variable. This approach is appropriate when the trait is

theorized to work additively—that is, when it is suspected

that the more (or less) team members possess the trait, the

better the team will perform. The variance approach indexes

the dispersion, or heterogeneity, of the trait across team

members. This operationalization is used when the

researcher believes a greater (or lesser) amount of variation

in the trait will be related to the criterion. Finally, sometimes

it is appropriate to consider only the team member with the

highest, or lowest, score on a trait (referred to as the

maximum or minimum approach, respectively), and refer to

that value as the team-level score. As an analogy, on an

assembly line, the number of units produced will often depend

on the slowest working team member, and, accordingly, the

minimum score on a trait such as Achievement could be most

predictive of team performance. Conversely, on a creativity

task, the teammember with the highest score on a trait such as

Innovation could be most responsible for the level of team

performance achieved (because a novel idea has only to

come from one team member). Theorizing about the most

appropriate operationalization for team personality is critical

as these may substantially affect the magnitude of person-

ality’s criterion validity (Moynihan & Peterson, 2004;

Williams & Allen, 2008).

In the most recent and comprehensive meta-analysis

examining relations between team-level personality and

performance, Bell (2007) found that, overall, team-level

personality does predict team performance. The findings for

lab studies were generally weak, likely because team

performance measurement in those studies tended to be

too coarse to detect small variations in behaviour related to

expressions of personality. Field studies in Bell’s meta-

analysis, however, demonstrated the strongest and most

consistent findings for Conscientiousness. Teams with high

means, high team member maximum and minimum scores

and low variance had the greatest performance levels

(Emotional Stability was coded in the socially desirable

direction). Other Big Five factors were predictive of team

performance, but not with the same magnitude and

consistency across operationalizations.

Given that Conscientiousness was the most consist-

ently predictive trait of team performance in Bell’s (2007)

meta-analysis, it is reasonable to consider that facets of

Conscientiousness might even be more predictive (see

Dudley, Orvis, Lebiecki, & Cortina, 2006). For example,

the factor of Conscientiousness encompasses several

more specific facets of personality, such as Industrious-

ness, Order, Self-Control, Responsibility, Traditionalism

and Virtue (see Roberts, Chernyshenko, Stark, & Gold-

berg, 2005). Arguably, some of these lower-level

personality variables belonging to the same higher-level

personality factor may correlate differently, in magnitude

or direction, from the others in the prediction of a

criterion (see Ashton, 1998; Ashton, Jackson, Paunonen,

Helmes, & Rothstein, 1995; Hough, 1992; LePine, 2003;

Paunonen, 1998, 2003). Reflecting on Bell’s meta-

analytic findings, as well as the literature demonstrating

the validity of narrow traits, we suggest that, in order to

maximize the predictive power of Conscientiousness as it

relates to team performance, criterion-relevant facets

ought to be considered.

The fact that personality variables other than Conscien-

tiousness (e.g. Agreeableness) were predictive of team

performance in Bell’s meta-analysis suggests that they, too,

may be relevant in the present study. As we will argue later,

our criterion, project team performance, could be associated

with certain team-level operationalizations of Agreeable-

ness, Extraversion, Neuroticism and Openness. Finally, the

method of operationalizing team personality (e.g. mean,

minimum) that will be most predictive of team performance

must also be considered in maximizing criterion validity. In

the section that follows we develop our predictions regarding

the operationalization that is, in the context of our study,

most theoretically appropriate for each personality factor and

facet included in this study.

THE PRESENT STUDY

Our sample consisted of concept design teams, composed of

engineering students, who worked interdependently for 6.5

months. The teams were engaged in an intensive, complex

engineering design task. The team members had shared

outcomes of significant value, and coordinated most work

dynamically and reciprocally (rather than through pooled or

sequential processes). These were classic ‘project teams’ as

they were created for a specific purpose and time frame, after

which they would disband (see Chiocchio & Essiembre,

2009). Knowledge of these contextual details was important

in generating predictions, outlined below.

The Big Five

In the present research we assessed the Big Five factors of

personality. In order to optimize their prediction of team

performance, we judged it most appropriate to operationalize

the Big Five factors, at the team-level, as follows:

Conscientiousness (mean), Agreeableness (mean), Neuroti-

cism (mean), Extraversion (variance) and Openness (maxi-

mum). Important theoretical rationales underlie the choice of

team personality operationalizations. Beginning with Con-

scientiousness, we contend that this factor captures a class of

attributes that manifest themselves as valuable resources,

such as achievement-striving, organization, planning and

task focus. The team may draw upon resources of this type to

accomplish its work (see LePine et al., 1997; Stewart, 2003).

An additive team-level conceptualization, using the mean

approach, is most appropriate in the present research because

32 T. A. O’Neill and N. J. Allen

the more team members are conscientious, the better the

team should perform (see also Barrick et al., 1998).

Similarly, Agreeableness represents a factor of personality

that can be expected to foster effective team interactions

because members are trusting, altruistic and cooperative.

Such teams could perform well because of their smooth

conflict resolution, and inclination towards open communi-

cation and information seeking (Peeters et al., 2006). We also

see Agreeableness as accumulating additively, as the more

members are characterized as agreeable, the more they

should have positive interactions, and in turn, create a higher

performing team. Regarding the personality factor Neuroti-

cism, most previous studies have found important relations

with team performance for the mean only (see Bell, 2007).

As Neuman, Wagner and Christiansen (1999) pointed out,

teams that are higher on Neuroticism will have difficulty

coordinating one another’s tasks and may experience

disruption from tempermental and/or impulsive team

members (see also Driskell, Hogan, & Salas, 1987). Thus,

we predicted that the mean operationalization of Neuroti-

cism would be most predictive of team performance relative

to other operationalizations.

Turning to Extraversion, we expected that the variance

operationalization would be the strongest predictor of team

performance for that trait. A team comprising all extraverts

could be expected to have high conflict as its members will

all be assertive and leadership oriented, and therefore, power

struggles are likely to emerge (see Barry & Stewart, 1997).

Conversely, a team composed of all introverts would likely

not perform well because members may not converse enough

to generate a compelling design idea and stay coordinated

during project work. A mix of introverts and extraverts (i.e.

heterogeneity) may characterize effective teams because

there will likely be fewer leadership battles, but enough

communication to keep the team coordinated and on track

towards effective task completion (see Mohammad &

Angell, 2003). Thus, we operationalized Extraversion using

the variance approach.

Finally, Openness was operationalized as the maximum

score. Given that the engineering projects in the present

study required that teams generate novel solutions to design

problems of their choosing, generating a creative solution or

approach to the project was critical. However, only one team

member is likely needed to generate an idea that other group

members can subsequently develop (see Valente, 1995).

Original and innovative ideas might be expected to come

from the member highest on Openness, which calls for the

maximum operationalization.

Conscientiousness facets

Recall that one purpose of this research was to investigate

whether any lower level personality facets, within the

Conscientiousness domain, would be especially predictive of

team performance. Regarding the selection of these narrow,

facet-level traits, we chose a subset that we expected, on an

a priori basis, to predict team performance on the project

teams’ tasks. To select the traits, we considered three sources

of content-relevant information that have been shown to lead

to effective a priori selection of criterion-relevant person-

ality traits (for a review, see O’Neill, Goffin, & Tett, 2009).

We began with a large pool comprising 35 narrow

personality traits found in two highly regarded and

established personality instruments: the Personality

Research Form (PRF; Jackson, 1989) and the Jackson

Personality Inventory-Revised (JPI-R; Jackson, 1994). A

sample of subject matter experts, comprising eight indus-

trial-organizational psychology faculty and graduate stu-

dents, rated the extent to which each trait would be most

likely to predict team performance (i.e. trait relevance for

predicting team performance; see also Goffin et al., 2009;

Paunonen & Ashton, 2001). These traits were a mix of

Conscientiousness-related and unrelated traits, but only

those with content overlapping with Conscientiousness were

considered in this research for reasons explained earlier.

Second, we examined the literature, including literature

reviews, theoretical articles, and empirical studies (e.g.

English, Griffith, & Steelman, 2004). Third, the character-

istics of the project teams’ tasks, and surrounding context,

were taken into account, and traits were aligned to this

context by theorizing about how they might relate to team

performance. Overall, this approach was consistent with

commonly used methods of identifying potentially job-

related personality traits (see Goffin et al., 2009; Raymark,

Schmit, & Guion, 1997; Tett & Guterman, 2000).

The result of the process outlined above was the selection

of four facets of Conscientiousness, to each of which we

assigned a specific trait operationalization for comparison

with the Big Five at the team level: Organization

(maximum), Cognitive Structure (maximum), Achievement

(mean) and Endurance (mean; see Table 1 for trait

definitions). These traits were identified by Ashton, Jackson,

Table 1. Narrow trait definitions

Personality variable Description

Organization Concerned with keeping personal effects and surroundings neat and organized; dislikes clutter, confusion, lack of organization; interested in developing methods for keeping materials methodically organized.

Cognitive structure Does not like ambiguity or uncertainty in information; wants all questions answered completely; desires to make decisions based upon definite knowledge, rather than upon guesses or probabilities.

Achievement Aspires to accomplish difficult tasks; maintains high standards and is willing towork towards distant goals; responds positively to competition; willing to put forth effort to attain excellence.

Endurance Willing to work long hours; doesn’t give up quickly on a problem; persevering, even in face of great difficulty; patient and unrelenting in work habits.

Note: Definitions modified from Jackson (1989, 1994).

Personality and team performance 33

Helmes, and Paunonen (1998) as scales that chiefly define

the Conscientiousness factor. Important theoretical ration-

ales for each trait and team-level operationalization

accompanied these decisions, which are described next.

Organization was expected to be important for team

performance as individuals high on this trait should use their

time wisely and avoid procrastination. However, we

predicted that only one team member needed to be high

on Organization in order to manage the team and keep the

work structured and on schedule; thus, we operationalized

Organization using the maximum score within the team. We

also predicted that Cognitive Structure would be important

because individuals high on this trait want to carefully plan

out and research all aspects of a task before getting started.

Again, we expected that only one team member needed to

engage in this systematic planning and forethought to ensure

that the team effectively structured its work and adapted it as

needed over time. Accordingly, we selected the maximum

operationalization for Cognitive Structure.

Those who are high on Achievement tend to set difficult

goals by choosing challenging tasks that they find engaging

(Gellatly, 1996). We surmised that these attributes are

valuable qualities for any team members to possess, and that

the more team members are Achievement-oriented, the more

likely the team is to perform at a superior level. This additive

rationale supports the mean operationalization. We also

predicted that Endurance would be a valuable trait for all

team members to have. The more Endurance team members

have, the higher their team’s performance because members

will be more likely to devote long hours at various milestones

of the project lifecycle (e.g. prototype design, prototype

construction). Thus, the mean approach was used for

operationalizing Endurance.

METHOD

Participants, procedure, and description of teamwork

context

Team personality and performance data were collected from

129 student engineering design teams comprised of three,

four or five team members each. The mean age of the 564

respondents was 18.6 (SD ¼ 2.2), and 81% were male. Data were collected at two points: First, on the day that the project

teams were assembled, personality and demographic data

were collected; second, approximately 6.5 months later,

when the teams completed their work, team performance

data were collected.

Teams participating in this study carried out a complex

design project. Specifically, the project required teams to

develop a functional prototype that either (a) demonstrated

and explained a physical law in an innovative way that would

have pedagogical value in a secondary school setting, or (b)

represented an innovative concept that could help protect the

environment. In addition to building a physical prototype

demonstrating their design concepts, the project required

teams to produce a detailed report of their work and to deliver

a public ‘science fair’ presentation of the prototype.

Outcome interdependence was high given that instructor

ratings of team performance constituted 20% of students’

final course grades.

It should be noted that teammembers spent a great deal of

time interacting with one another over the course of the 6.5

months. In addition to completing the large design project,

teams worked on small course-related projects and tasks

almost every week for the duration of the 6.5 months. They

met for at least 2 hours per week in mandatory laboratory

sessions where they completed required tasks and assign-

ments together. Most of these teams also met extensively

outside of class time, especially during the 3 months prior to

completing the large design project that was our focal

interest in the present research.

Measures

Personality: Narrow traits

The following narrow trait scales from the PRF (Jackson,

1989) and JPI-R (Jackson, 1994) were administered:

Achievement (PRF), Endurance (PRF), Organization (JPI-

R) and Cognitive structure (PRF). Original scales included

20 items (JPI-R) or 16 items (PRF), but, because of time

constraints, we could administer scales that were only eight

items long. To select items, we retained an equal number of

positively- and negatively-keyed items. We also retained

items that were context-relevant, such as those that refer to

work styles and behaviour at work. Ratings were provided on

a typical five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly

disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Personality: Broad traits

Participants completed a version of Goldberg’s (1999)

International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) measure of the Big

Five personality factors, as described in Johnson (2001; see

also Hastings and O’Neill, 2009). The measure includes 24

items for each of the Big Five and uses the usual five-point

Likert scale ranging from 1 (very inaccurate) to 5 (very

accurate). The content measured is intended to reflect the

same content as is found in the NEO-PI-R (Costa &McCrae,

1992), and, supportively, high convergent correlations have

been reported (see Goldberg, 1999; Johnson, 2001).

Team performance

Team performance consisted of a composite of ratings on

several key dimensions associated with the design project.

These included Problem Definition, Design Methodology,

Engineering Validation (i.e. appropriate application of

engineering design principles), Design Documentation,

and Technical Writing. Team performance ratings were

provided by experienced course administrators. Because

administrators did not rate the same teams, interrater

reliability could not be assessed. Thus, we adopted

procedures typically used in similar situations (e.g. Wage-

man & Gordon, 2005). Specifically, to control for the

possibility that raters used different performance distri-

butions (i.e. mean and variance of distributions), we

standardized the composite performance scores within rater.

34 T. A. O’Neill and N. J. Allen

RESULTS

Cronbach’s as were calculated on the full sample of individual participants. Reliabilities for the narrow traits

ranged from .65 to .74, whereas for the Big Five they fell

between .81 and .88. Intercorrelations of team-level

personality operationalizations are displayed in Table 2.

That table shows that, whereas within-trait operationaliza-

tions tend to be correlated and are somewhat interdependent,

these correlations are not sufficiently large to suggest

completely overlapping constructs (see also Barrick et al.,

1998). Table 3 presents the mean and variance for each team-

level personality operationalization, as well as the zero-order

correlations among team-level personality and team per-

formance. Table 3 also identifies the trait operationalizations

that were expected to show the strongest team personality-

performance relations for each trait (see underlined values)

and the strongest observed correlations (see boldfaced

values).

Criterion validity of conscientiousness and selected

conscientiousness facets

The criterion validity of the Conscientiousness scale was

generally supported across operationalizations (see Table 3).

The mean was the strongest predictor of team performance,

r ¼ .27, followed by the maximum, r ¼ .21, and the minimum, r ¼ .19. In contrast to findings in Bell’s (2007) meta-analysis, the variance was not predictive of team

performance in this study.

Table 2. Team-level personality correlation matrix

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Organization 1. Mean 2. Variance �.06 3. Minimum .76 �.57 4. Maximum .71 .56 .30 Cognitive Structure 5. Mean .44 �.03 .27 .27 6. Variance �.11 .19 �.20 .04 �.08 7. Minimum .34 �.14 .32 .14 .67 �.73 8. Maximum .25 .11 .07 .26 .68 .56 .11 Achievement 9. Mean .44 �.12 .35 .24 .30 .05 .14 .24 10. Variance �.14 .26 �.28 .06 .03 .12 �.05 .18 �.13 11. Minimum .43 �.21 .44 .18 .24 �.02 .16 .12 .80 �.61 12. Maximum .27 .10 .08 .28 .26 .12 .07 .33 .72 .51 .34 Endurance 13. Mean .33 .10 .06 .27 .32 .11 .12 .31 .42 .11 .27 .40 14. Variance �.15 .24 �.27 .04 �.01 .08 �.07 .08 .01 .47 �.25 .29 .08 15. Minimum .36 �.07 .32 .20 .27 .03 .17 .19 .37 �.27 .46 .14 .69 16. Maximum .13 .25 �.08 .24 .21 .11 .05 .27 .31 .39 .04 .51 .75 IPIP Conscientiousness 17. Mean .66 .00 .47 .49 .50 �.03 .31 .34 .49 �.10 .47 .37 .43 18. Variance .00 .25 �.13 .17 �.06 .20 �.13 .13 �.04 .21 �.15 .08 .01 19. Minimum .48 �.14 .44 .28 .35 �.16 .31 .12 .40 �.26 .50 .22 .29 20. Maximum .50 .18 .26 .53 .32 .06 .16 .33 .36 .04 .30 .39 .36 IPIP Extraversion 21. Mean �.05 .08 �.07 .03 �.22 .06 �.21 �.12 �.14 .07 �.18 �.07 .23 22. Variance .00 .13 �.12 .06 .06 �.05 .07 .01 .01 .08 .02 .12 �.04 23. Minimum �.04 �.04 .04 �.04 �.18 .08 �.19 �.10 �.12 �.03 �.11 �.16 .15 24. Maximum �.11 .15 �.20 .02 �.14 .03 �.15 �.08 �.15 .14 �.18 .02 .11 IPIP Agreeableness 25. Mean .16 �.05 .15 .09 .11 �.09 .12 .05 .25 �.17 .27 .09 .18 26. Variance .06 .00 .05 .05 .01 �.01 .03 .04 �.01 .19 �.09 .12 .03 27. Minimum .08 �.05 .09 .02 .06 �.09 .09 �.03 .17 �.24 .23 �.04 .08 28. Maximum .14 �.07 .13 .07 .08 �.11 .12 .06 .19 .03 .12 .17 .14 IPIP Neuroticism 29. Mean �.05 �.07 �.02 �.14 .07 �.09 .15 �.03 .05 �.07 .06 �.06 �.22 30. Variance �.10 .05 �.16 �.08 �.07 .07 �.14 �.08 �.02 .15 �.11 .05 �.07 31. Minimum .06 �.12 .15 �.07 .11 �.07 .19 .03 .04 �.20 .15 �.14 �.14 32. Maximum �.08 .01 �.13 �.11 .01 .02 �.02 �.05 .01 .07 �.07 .00 �.16 IPIP Openness 33. Mean �.11 �.07 �.04 �.14 �.09 �.03 �.04 �.08 .02 .02 .03 .06 .14 34. Variance �.09 .21 �.20 .06 �.01 .10 �.06 .13 �.03 .17 �.08 .13 .07 35. Minimum �.01 �.21 .14 �.16 �.05 �.07 .00 �.16 .03 �.11 .09 �.05 .05 36. Maximum �.14 .08 �.17 �.06 �.08 .02 �.08 .00 �.02 .13 �.06 .13 .10

Personality and team performance 35

Turning to the narrow traits of Conscientiousness that

were identified a priori, all four were significantly related to

team performance using the predicted operationalization:

maximum Organization, r ¼ .30, maximum Cognitive Structure, r ¼ .20, mean Achievement, r ¼ .27 and mean Endurance, r ¼ .19. Further inspection of Table 3 reveals that the mean on facets of Conscientiousness were

significantly and positively related to team performance

for each facet, thereby supporting an additive trend for all

Conscientiousness-related traits. In addition, the maximum

was significantly related to team performance for all facets of

Conscientiousness other than for Achievement, although

minimum scores on Achievement were significantly related

to team performance.

In order to investigate the criterion validity of Conscien-

tiousness versus its facets, we created a unit-weighted

composite of Conscientiousness by summing our Conscien-

tiousness facet scores within each operationalization (e.g.

mean). This allowed us to make a direct comparison of

predictive validities between broad and narrow Conscien-

tiousness variables. Comparing criterion validities across

scales (i.e. the JPI/PRF facets versus the IPIP Conscien-

tiousness scale) could be confounded due to varying content

domains of the measures.

Some observations regarding the validities of the

Conscientiousness composite versus its facets are warranted

(see Table 3). First, there is some evidence that the broad

Conscientiousness composite is a stronger predictor of team

performance than are any of its narrow trait constituents. The

mean operationalization of the Conscientiousness composite

was its most predictive operationalization, r ¼ .31, which exceeded the prediction of all facet-level mean operation-

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Organization 1. Mean 2. Variance 3. Minimum 4. Maximum Cognitive Structure 5. Mean 6. Variance 7. Minimum 8. Maximum Achievement 9. Mean 10. Variance 11. Minimum 12. Maximum Endurance 13. Mean 14. Variance 15. Minimum �.59 16. Maximum .67 .16 IPIP Conscientiousness 17. Mean �.05 .38 .28 18. Variance .24 �.15 .15 �.05 19. Minimum �.24 .43 .09 .73 �.61 20. Maximum .07 .25 .33 .74 .52 .31 IPIP Extraversion 21. Mean .01 .10 .13 �.06 .14 �.16 .03 22. Variance .08 �.04 .07 .05 .00 .07 .05 �.02 23. Minimum �.04 .09 .02 �.05 .10 �.13 �.01 .67 �.68 24. Maximum .11 �.03 .15 �.03 .10 �.11 .04 .71 .57 IPIP Agreeableness 25. Mean �.09 .20 .05 .35 �.03 .27 .28 .19 .04 26. Variance .20 �.13 .13 .05 .19 �.10 .14 .00 �.05 27. Minimum �.17 .19 �.06 .20 �.10 .21 .10 .13 .05 28. Maximum .14 �.01 .16 .30 .13 .10 .32 .17 .01 IPIP Neuroticism 29. Mean �.06 �.10 �.18 �.25 �.02 �.17 �.24 �.50 .08 30. Variance .19 �.16 .07 �.20 .13 �.26 �.11 �.12 .15 31. Minimum �.21 .06 �.24 �.09 �.07 .00 �.16 �.31 �.09 32. Maximum .09 �.17 �.04 �.28 .12 �.32 �.19 �.36 .10 IPIP Openness 33. Mean �.02 .09 .05 .04 �.10 .04 �.07 .29 .17 34. Variance .12 �.01 .11 �.14 .10 �.14 .00 .12 �.03 35. Minimum �.12 .11 �.05 .14 �.18 .14 �.09 .10 .18 36. Maximum .07 .02 .10 �.07 �.07 �.07 �.10 .25 .11

Table 2. (Continued)

36 T. A. O’Neill and N. J. Allen

alizations (correlations ranged from .19 to .30). Thus, for the

mean operationalization, these results suggest that sub-

optimal prediction may be obtained when considering only

the best-predicting facet of Conscientiousness.

Second, there were some indications that the narrow

Conscientiousness facets provided theoretically interesting

information. For example, the maximum Conscientiousness

composite significantly predicted team performance, but

maximum Organization was a slightly better predictor,

whereas the validity for maximum Achievement was small

and non-significant. We tested the difference in the

magnitudes of the criterion correlations involving maximum

Achievement and maximum Organization using Meng,

Rosenthal, and Rubin’s (1992) Z-test, but the difference was

not significant, Z ¼ 1.45, p > .05. Thus, the observed variability in the magnitude of these correlations could be

due to chance. Another case where lower-level facets

appeared to be potentially informative was for minimum

operationalizations of Conscientiousness-related traits.

Specifically, whereas the minimum operationalization of

the Conscientiousness composite was non-significant, the

minimum score on the facet of Achievement was signifi-

cantly related to team performance, r ¼ .23. Once again, however, the difference in the magnitudes of these criterion

correlations was not significant, Z ¼ 1.29, p > .05.

Criterion validity of other Big Five factors and a priori predictions

Criterion validities for Big Five personality variables other

than Conscientiousness were all non-significant except for

Openness (see Table 3). Note, however, that the findings for

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Organization 1. Mean 2. Variance 3. Minimum 4. Maximum Cognitive Structure 5. Mean 6. Variance 7. Minimum 8. Maximum Achievement 9. Mean 10. Variance 11. Minimum 12. Maximum Endurance 13. Mean 14. Variance 15. Minimum 16. Maximum IPIP Conscientiousness 17. Mean 18. Variance 19. Minimum 20. Maximum IPIP Extraversion 21. Mean 22. Variance 23. Minimum 24. Maximum .16 IPIP Agreeableness 25. Mean .03 .08 26. Variance .07 .06 �.22 27. Minimum �.01 .01 .77 �.74 28. Maximum .06 .13 .69 .46 .23 IPIP Neuroticism 29. Mean �.36 �.32 �.31 .03 �.20 �.26 30. Variance �.23 �.01 �.15 .26 �.26 .04 .21 31. Minimum �.08 �.30 �.19 �.12 �.03 �.28 .70 �.45 32. Maximum �.33 �.20 �.30 .22 �.33 �.12 .73 .77 .18 IPIP Openness 33. Mean .03 .29 .25 .00 .14 .21 �.19 .09 �.26 �.09 34. Variance .09 .10 �.01 .13 �.06 .11 �.09 .09 �.21 �.02 .13 35. Minimum �.06 .14 .18 �.10 .17 .06 �.03 .01 .01 �.03 .68 �.57 36. Maximum .05 .27 .14 .08 .04 .21 �.13 .15 �.31 �.02 .71 .74 .10 Note: n ¼ 129. Correlations above .17 and .22 are significant at p < .05 and p < .01, respectively.

Table 2. (Continued)

Personality and team performance 37

Openness were in the direction opposite to prediction. Taken

together, these results are surprising given the recent meta-

analysis (Bell, 2007) in which it was reported that all Big

Five personality factors were positively correlated with the

performance of field teams (i.e. with Emotional Stability

coded in the socially desirable direction). This may be due

partly to the nature of our criterion, which we examine in

greater depth later.

In addition to examining the criterion validities of the Big

Five and the facets of Conscientiousness, for each team-level

personality variable we hypothesized which operationaliza-

tion would be most strongly predictive of team performance

(see underlined coefficients in Table 3). A consideration of

context guided these predictions. Our predictions were

supported for nearly all factors and facets that were

significantly related to team performance: Conscientiousness

(mean), Organization (maximum), Cognitive Structure

(maximum) and Endurance (mean). That is, for these

important traits, our a priori predictions regarding which

trait operationalization would be most strongly related to

team performance were all supported. This supports previous

findings and theory emphasizing the advantages of linking

traits to criteria by considering the context and the nature of

the variables involved (e.g. Tett & Christiansen, 2007; Tett,

Jackson, & Rothstein, 1991). One of our predictions that was

not supported was the significant and negative relations

between Openness and team performance. We predicted the

maximum operationalization would be positively related to

team performance, but this finding was not supported,

r ¼ �.11, ns. However, other Openness correlations were significant, although in the direction contrary to prediction.

Mean and minimum Openness correlated significantly and

negatively with team performance, r ¼ �.16 and �.18, respectively.

DISCUSSION

Maximizing the validity of personality in the prediction of

workplace criteria is a top research priority (Rothstein &

Goffin, 2006). In this study, we investigated the extent to

which facets of team-level Conscientiousness could surpass

the predictive validity of a composite Conscientiousness

variable composed of those facets. We also reported the

criterion validity of Big Five traits other than Conscien-

tiousness, and the validity of a priori selected personality

trait operationalization at the team level. Perhaps the most

important finding of the present study was that the substrate

measured by Conscientiousness-related variables was, by

and large, the only predictive personality content regardless

of whether one considered facets, their composite, or the

separate IPIP Conscientiousness scale. Openness was the

Table 3. Means, standard deviations, and correlations between team-level personality variables and team performance

PRF/JPI scales IPIP Big Five scales

Variable Mean SD Team performance Variable Mean SD Team performance

Team Performance 8.33 .86 Organization Conscientiousness Mean 3.19 .33 .26�� Mean 3.62 .26 .27��

SD .54 .21 .13 SD .44 .18 S.03 Minimum 2.58 .43 .06 Minimum 3.13 .36 .19�

Maximum 3.81 .41 .30�� Maximum 4.11 .34 .21�

Cognitive Structure extraversion Mean 3.40 .25 .19� Mean 3.51 .26 .02 SD .47 .21 .11 SD .49 .20 .04 Minimum 2.83 .42 .01 Minimum 2.95 .38 S.04 Maximum 3.90 .34 .20� Maximum 4.04 .33 .05 Achievement Agreeableness Mean 3.40 .30 .27�� Mean 3.56 .26 .01 SD .48 .20 S.15 SD .44 .18 .01 Minimum 2.89 .43 .23�� Minimum 3.05 .39 S.05 Maximum 3.96 .40 .15 Maximum 4.03 .32 S.00 Endurance Neuroticism Mean 3.53 .27 .19� Mean 2.63 .32 S.05 SD .49 .22 .05 SD .50 .25 .09 Minimum 2.98 .39 .09 Minimum 2.07 .33 S.08 Maximum 4.07 .42 .17� Maximum 3.19 .53 .10 Conscientiousness Composite Openness Mean 3.42 .25 .31�� Mean 3.21 .23 S.16�

SD .46 .19 .06 SD .43 .21 S.03 Minimum 2.90 .34 .14 Minimum 2.74 .32 S.18��

Maximum 3.93 .36 .29� Maximum 3.71 .37 S.11

Note: n ¼ 129. Underlined values are the trait operationalizations that were expected, a priori, to be the most appropriate approach for aggregating each factor/ trait in the prediction of team performance. Bold values are the empirically strongest operationalizations in the prediction of team performance (i.e. they

demonstrated the strongest within-factor/trait correlation with team performance).� p < .05; ��p < .01.

38 T. A. O’Neill and N. J. Allen

exception, although validities were in the unexpected

direction. We interpret our findings, in turn, beginning with

those related to Conscientiousness, followed by results for

the other Big Five traits and, finally, the accuracy of our

a priori trait operationalizations.

Broad and narrow conceptualizations of

conscientiousness

As this and other research demonstrates, there are cases

where broad factors can exceed the prediction of the narrow

traits they encompass (see also Hastings & O’Neill, 2009).

For instance, the means on the IPIP Conscientiousness scale,

and on the Conscientiousness composite, were more strongly

related to team performance than was any one facet’s mean

operationalization. That the mean Conscientiousness com-

posite was the strongest operationalization, compared to the

narrow traits it comprises, indicates that common variance

among the facets was more important than was their unique

variance for criterion prediction (see Ashton et al., 1995;

Paunonen, 1998).

Notwithstanding the findings described above, we

maintain, as do others (e.g. Ashton et al., 1995; Paunonen

& Ashton, 2001; Rothstein et al., 2009; Schneider, Hough, &

Dunnette, 1996; Tett & Christiansen, 2007), that without

explicit empirical examinations of narrow facets of

personality, such as the one presented here, one can never

truly know whether the predictive variance associated with a

personality factor is primarily due to one or two highly

criterion-relevant facets, in which case misinterpretation of

factor-criterion linkages are likely, or, whether the predictive

variance associated with a personality factor is primarily due

to equally important criterion-relevant contributions from

each facet, in which case appropriate factor-level interpret-

ations are likely. Our view is that until research firmly

establishes that only common variance is relevant for the

prediction of a certain criterion, one should always theorize

in advance regarding the possibility of differential facet-level

predictions. Moreover, we see the continued employment of

measures that allow for empirical examination, and

exploitation, of within-factor variation in criterion validities

as an ongoing priority (see Hough & Oswald, 2008;

Paunonen, Rothstein, & Jackson, 1999; Tett, Steele, &

Beauregard, 2003).

Findings for non-conscientiousness traits

As noted earlier, it was surprising that the other Big Five

traits were mostly unrelated to team performance as this runs

contrary to findings reported by Bell’s (2007) meta-analysis,

where all team-level Big Five factors were valid predictors of

team performance in field settings. One explanation for these

findings is that our criterion emphasized the task perform-

ance of the team, as performance was based entirely on

project report quality. It is likely that different team-related

criteria, such as interpersonal liking and satisfaction with

team members, would be predicted by Big Five factors other

than Conscientiousness (see Barrick et al., 1998). Moreover,

perhaps previous studies using criteria that might have

incorporated the effectiveness of the teams’ interactions,

such as ratings of team performance given by the team

supervisor (e.g. Neuman & Wright, 1999), explain why

Bell’s meta-analysis found criterion validity support for all

Big Five factors of personality, whereas ours did not.

Unexpectedly, minimum andmean operationalizations of

team-level Openness were negatively related to team

performance. We expected that maximum Openness would

relate positively to team performance because of theory on

innovation diffusion (see Valente, 1995). More specifically,

we surmised that open individuals, who tend to be creative,

would present new ideas that other group members could

subsequently develop. Accordingly, only one team member

high on Openness should be needed, because other group

members can further refine that individual’s innovative

proposals. Observed negative relations involving mean and

minimum Openness, however, suggest that the more team

members tend to be characterized by Openness (mean), and

if even one team member is high on Openness (minimum),

team performance may suffer. Perhaps this is because the

Openness scale used in this study measures not only traits

related to creativity, but also traits related to adventurousness

and emotionality. It is possible that the latter traits detracted

from the sustained effort and the task-focus needed to see the

teams’ project through to completion.

On making a priori predictions of personality criterion relations

Previous research has found strong support for the a priori

predictions of those personality traits that are criterion

relevant. In their meta-analysis, Tett et al. (1991) found that

validities were nearly twice as large when traits were linked

to job performance through explicit consideration of the

context and variable content (i.e. job analysis). In the present

study, the four Conscientiousness facets that were identified

as criterion-relevant were in fact empirically related to team

performance. An especially novel finding is that, for both the

Conscientiousness factor and facets, wewere able to identify,

a priori, the most predictive team-level operationalization of

those personality variables. This further supports the

superiority of carefully aligning traits with criteria through

a consideration of their content and the context in which the

study exists (see Bartram, 2005; O’Neill et al., 2009).

The supportive findings for our a priori predictions

regarding Conscientiousness might be tempered against the

unsupported predictions regarding other Big Five factors. We

surmised that certain operationalizations of Agreeabeness,

Extraversion, Neuroticism and Openness would predict team

performance, but these associations were not borne out as

predicted. As argued above, the non-significant findings may

have been a reflection of the task-related nature of our team

performance criterion. The findings for Openness were

contrary to prediction, but again, it is possible that

individuals high on Openness were susceptible to distraction

and avoidance of persistent task-related efforts. Future

research could examine the accuracy in which a priori

predictions of team-level personality operationalizations are

supported for a wider range of criteria.

Personality and team performance 39

Strengths, limitations, and future research

In this study, we examined a large sample of teams doing

comparable and consequential work over a substantial period

of time. We agree with numerous other researchers (e.g.

Behfar, Peterson, Mannix, & Trochim, 2008; Ilies, Wagner,

& Morgeson, 2007; Tasa, Taggar, & Seijts, 2007) who view

student-based project teams of this sort as a valuable way to

conduct, and advance, research on teamwork. Our teams

were embedded in a larger educational and professional

context (engineering) that has a unique culture and set of

expectations around teamwork. Moreover, the competitive

nature of the context was one that strongly encouraged team

members to treat the projects seriously and to interact

frequently, and intensely, in order to complete their work.

Finally, team performance was consequential as the

administrator rating on each project represented a consider-

able proportion of overall course grades. Taken together, the

teams comprised by our sample met the criteria of many

teamwork definitions; team members had shared, conse-

quential outcomes and goals, and had to work interdepend-

ently over a lengthy period of time to reach those goals (see

Sundstrom, De Meuse, & Futrell, 1990).

One potential limitation of the present research was the

use of only four narrow traits. Researchers comparing broad

factors with narrow traits sometimes use a large number of

narrow traits from which the best predictors of the criterion

are selected post-hoc through statistical procedures (e.g.

stepwise regression, canonical or set correlation; Paunonen,

1998; Tett et al., 2003). These predictors are then pitted

against the Big Five. If a similar approach was used here, we

would have measured many narrow traits and selected only

the predictive ones for comparison to the Big Five. Our

reason for avoiding this approach was that narrow traits

selected post-hoc could capitalize on chance (see Paunonen

& Ashton, 2001); therefore, we see a priori tests of narrow

trait validities as most compelling. Nevertheless, it could be

beneficial to examine a larger number of narrow traits to

assess their predictive validity as well.

Another potential limitation is that the Conscientiousness

facets had much lower scale reliabilities, ranging from .65 to

.74, than did the IPIP Conscientiousness scale (a ¼ .88). Note, however, that the facet scales were one third the length

of the IPIP Conscientiousness scale (8 versus 24 items).

Using longer scales might have resulted in greater validities

for the narrow traits through more reliable measurement (see

Paunonen et al., 1999), although in practice this would

require the administration of more items per facet and would

reduce the number of personality variables one could

feasibly measure. That being the case, the fact that the Big

Five were measured with substantially greater reliability

implies that they may have had an ‘ ‘unfair advantage’ in

terms of predictive validity. One way to equate the broad and

narrow traits, in terms of reliability, would have been to

correct each personality-performance correlation for

measurement error (e.g. Hastings & O’Neill, 2009). Such

corrections require team-level reliabilities of personality

scores; unfortunately, however, these could not be estimated

in the present study because there exists only one

measurement value per team-level trait operationalization

(e.g. mean, minimum). How exactly the reliability of

measurement at the individual level (e.g. a) might play out in

the aggregate team-level operationalizations (e.g. the mean

approach) is not entirely clear, and future research is needed

in that area especially for meta-analytic purposes (but see

Bliese, 1998). Nevertheless, the a reliability of lower-level

traits observed in this study likely reduced their predictive

validity relative to the Big Five.

Final remarks

Steiner’s (1972) observation that ‘research on group

composition always requires a simplification of unmanage-

able complexities’ (p. 107) is clearly still applicable today.

As McGrath (1998) noted, the complexities ‘have made it

highly unlikely that we could build up a substantial body of

research information on any one composition factor, much

less a substantial body of information on all of them’ (p.

258). Almost 10 years later, Bell’s (2007) meta-analysis is a

step in the right direction; however, more studies, across a

wider range of situations (e.g. team types and tasks, lab

versus field, different methodologies and statistical

approaches) are still needed. Also needed are procedures

for the implementation of such knowledge in real life

situations (but see Humphrey et al., 2007). Indeed, there is a

great deal of room for advancements in knowledge related to

team composition, and more research of this type is needed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Support for this research was provided from the Social

Sciences & Humanities Research Council in the form of a

Doctoral Fellowship (#767-2007-1439) to the first author and

a research grant (#410-2007-0742) to the second author. For

their efforts, support and insights throughout the data

collection process, the authors thank Drs Paul Kurowski and

Ken McIsaac of Western’s Faculty of Engineering, Dr Joy

Klammer of the Royal Military College and members of The

TeamWork Lab at Western. Also greatly appreciated was the

constructive feedback provided by Drs Michael Ashton,

Sampo Paunonen, Richard Goffin and two anonymous

reviewers.

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42 T. A. O’Neill and N. J. Allen

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