2 pages paper

3 Major Topics I’ll Learn and Questions I Should Be Able to Answer

3.1 The Differences Matter MAJOR QUESTION: How does understanding the relative stability of individual differences benefit me?

3.2 Intelligences: There Is More to the Story Than IQ MAJOR QUESTION: How do multiple intelligences affect my performance?

3.3 Personality, OB, and My Effectiveness MAJOR QUESTION: How does my personality affect my performance at school and work?

3.4 Core Self-Evaluations: How My Efficacy, Esteem, Locus, and Stability Affect My Performance MAJOR QUESTION: How do self-evaluations affect my performance at work?

3.5 The Value of Being Emotionally Intelligent MAJOR QUESTION: What is emotional intelligence and how does it help me?

3.6 Understand Emotions to Influence Performance MAJOR QUESTION: How can understanding emotions make me more effective at work?

How Does Who I Am Affect My Performance?

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND EMOTIONS

The Organizing Framework for Understanding and Applying OB shown in Figure 3.1 summarizes the key concepts in Chapter 3. This chapter builds on Chapters 1 and 2 and explores a number of additional person factors, such as intelligence, personality, proactive personality, self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional intelli- gence. We add to this an important individual-level process—emotions. Personality and the other person factors are related not only to emotions, but also to a host of other processes and outcomes across levels in the Organizing Framework. While reading this chapter, pay attention to the way these person-factor inputs influence in- dividual-level outcomes, such as task performance, workplace attitudes ( job satisfac- tion), well-being/flourishing, citizenship behaviors/counterproductive behaviors, turnover, and career outcomes. These inputs also might contribute to explaining group/team conflict and performance, as well as organizational-level outcomes such as poor firm performance and low customer satisfaction.

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FIGURE 3.1 ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING OB

© 2014 Angelo Kinicki and Mel Fugate. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without permission of the authors.

INPUTS PROCESSES OUTCOMES

Person Factors ΄� Intelligences ΄� Personality ΄� Proactive personality ΄� Core self-evaluations ΄� Self-efficacy ΄� Locus of control ΄� Self-esteem ΄� Emotional intelligence Situation Factors

Individual Level ΄� Emotions Group/Team Level ΄� Group/team dynamics Organizational Level

Individual Level ΄� Task performance ΄� Work attitudes ΄� Well-being/flourishing ΄� Turnover ΄� Career outcomes Group/Team Level ΄� Group/team performance ΄� Group satisfaction Organizational Level ΄� Financial performance ΄� Survival ΄� Reputation

A seemingly infinite number of characteristics make us who we are as individuals. It therefore is helpful to organize these individual differences so we can better understand and use them to manage people at work. One method is to categorize characteristics in terms of their malleability. These photos illustrate this method. For instance, just by looking we can determine the gender of these two people. We also can approximate their ages. Your gender and age are fixed traits, characteristics we cannot change. These photos also show very different emotions. The woman appears to be surprised and the man angry. Unlike gender and age, our emotions can and do change easily and often. Organizations and managers can use such knowledge, such as selecting and hiring people on relatively fixed traits (intelligence), but training them on the appropriate or most effective emotions to display with customers. (left): © Ingram Publishing RF; (right): © gulfimages/Alamy Stock Photo RF

80

Winning at Work Does Your Potential Boss Get the Job?

What’s Ahead in This Chapter In this chapter you’ll explore individual differences (IDs), which are the many attributes that distinguish all of us from one another. Recognizing and understanding IDs is critical to effectively applying OB knowledge and tools. For managers, it is fundamental to attracting, motivating, retaining, and improving the performance of others. Your exploration of IDs begins with an explanation of the relative stability of these differences. Next, you’ll delve into a subset of individual differences researchers have found to be particularly important in the work con- text: (1) intelligence, (2) cognitive abilities, (3) personality, (4) core self-evaluations, (5) attitudes (also covered in  Chapter 2), and (6) emotions (including emotional intelligence).

4. Know what is expected of you. Learning what the job entails seems obvious enough but is often overlooked. Ask, “What are your key expectations of me?” And, “If I’m a top performer, which I expect to be, what should my track record look like in 30, 60, or 90 days?” Ask, “How do people get ahead here? How do they fall behind?”

5. Ask where others have gone. Assuming your man- ager has been in the position for a while, he or she has likely managed a number of other employees in the position for which you are interviewing. Ask: “Where have others you’ve managed gone?” You want to know whether they have been promoted or quit the organi- zation. The first is encouraging, the second a potential red flag. It may be a sign of a miserable boss, or at least one who is not especially developmental.

6. Meet people like you. Do what you can to meet and learn from other employees—those doing the same job today or in the past. Sometimes you can find infor- mation online, and other times the company’s inter- view process may bring you into interactions with these employees. Learn what was good, bad, ugly. Ask, “If you were me, what would you want to know?” And, “If I’m going to be successful, then what do I need to do and not do with this person as my manager?” You may not get much detail, but it is worth trying to learn this information. Your own future may depend on it.

You may have heard that “People quit managers, not their jobs or companies.”1 This saying highlights the impact your direct supervisor can have on your life at work—particularly on Organizing Framework individual-level outcomes such as task performance, work attitudes, well-being/flourishing, turnover, and career outcomes. Your manager can make life either wonderful or awful. Therefore, when you’re searching for a job, it is critically important for you to interview your prospective manager, just as she or he is interviewing you.

We offer the following tips and questions to help you learn whether the interviewer is worthy of being your manager.

1. Know what you want. If you simply want a job, or aren’t sure what you want in a job and where you want it to lead, then you are obviously more likely to accept a po- sition with a bad boss. To gain more clarity about your boss, ask yourself what kind of relationship you want with him or her. Do you want one that is hands-on, nur- turing, and developmental? Or do you want a boss who is hands-off and will let you do your own thing? Do you desire a true mentor and champion, or simply adequate support and a bit of direction? Asking these questions is a critical first step in evaluating your potential new boss.

2. Look for good and bad. While signing on with a bad boss can make you miserable, missing the opportunity to work with a good boss is costly too. Don’t wear rose-colored glasses and overlook red flags, but don’t be overly harsh either. Finding a boss willing to be a real advocate and champion for you and your career is invaluable. Make a list of your prospective boss’s pros and cons and review it honestly.

3. Think of the job and the manager separately. The job and the manager often go hand in hand, but your de- termination to get an offer may blur your views of one or the other. For instance, the job may sound like it has great potential and is a good fit for you. However, you may lose sight of the possibility that your manager could be a nightmare to work for, or vice versa (great manager but boring job). To make your decision, con- sider how comfortable you will be going to this person for guidance. Do you feel he or she will be honest in communicating and dealing with you? Do you think you’ll be treated fairly? You can draw cues from the way you are treated, the tone of communications (both face-to-face and e-mail), and the boss’s degree of can- dor in sharing information.

81Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

3.1 THE DIFFERENCES MATTER

!Individual differences (IDs)! are the many attributes, such as traits and behaviors, that describe each of us as a person. IDs are a big part of what gives each of us our unique identities, and they are fundamental to the understanding and application of OB. So, what is it that makes us different? Is it our genetics or our environment? The answer is both.2 And while the way you are raised, along with your experiences and opportuni- ties, indeed helps shape who you are, a large volume of research on twins suggests that genetics matters more. But what is more important at work is recognizing the many at- tributes that make us unique individuals, regardless of whether they are due to nature or nurture.

To help you understand and apply the knowledge you will gain about IDs, we organize and discuss them according to Figure 3.2.

On the left-hand side of Figure 3.2 we arrange individual differences on a continuum. At the top of the continuum are intelligence and cognitive abilities, which are relatively fixed. This means they are stable over time and across situations and are difficult to change. At the bottom are attitudes (which we discussed in Chapter 2) and emotions, which are relatively flexible. Emotions change over time and from situation to situation, and they can be altered more easily. To elaborate, you aren’t more or less intelligent at school than you are at work or home, although your emotions commonly change within and between all of these places. Of course both your intelligence and emotions, as well as many other individual characteristics in- fluence the many outcomes included in the right side of Figure 3.2.

The distinction between relatively fixed and flexible individual differences has great practical value. Wise managers know they have little or no impact on fixed IDs. You can’t change an employee’s level of intelligence or remake an employee’s personality.3 But you can help employees manage their attitudes and emotions. For instance, many effective managers (and their employers) select employees based on positive, job-relevant, but

M A J O R Q U E S T I O N

How does understanding the relative stability of individual differences benefit me?

T H E B I G G E R P I C T U R E

You undoubtedly notice that your friends behave differently in different situations, such

as in class, watching a sporting event, cramming for an exam, or coping with a new

job. However, what you probably don’t pay much attention to are the characteristics and

behaviors that don’t change. To help you understand and use this knowledge, we’ll

arrange all of the individual attributes on a continuum based on their relative stability.

At  one end are relatively fixed or stable traits (like intelligence), and at the other end

are more flexible states (like emotions), with various trait-like and state-like characteris-

tics in between.

82 PART 1 Individual Behavior

relatively stable IDs. This hiring strategy enables managers to capitalize on the personal strengths that someone brings to a job because these stable strengths affect behavior and performance in most every work situation.4 Intelligence and analytical abilities, for ex- ample, are beneficial in front of customers, in teams with coworkers, and when working alone on a project.

In contrast, managers can have more influence on relatively flexible IDs that influ- ence individual-level work outcomes, like performance and job satisfaction. They can do this by implementing policies that raise employees’ core self-evaluations, attitudes, and emotions. For example, as a manager you’ll likely see better results from assigning work with new products and new markets to employees who are open to experience than to employees with low levels of this attribute. Similarly, you could help build new employ- ees’ confidence about selling to tough customers if you role-model how to do this effec- tively, give them experience presenting to easy customers first, and provide verbal encouragement before and constructive feedback after.

Managers also are wise to pay attention to the effect of employee attitudes and emo- tions on turnover. Low job satisfaction and high negative emotions can predict which employees are likely to quit. Thankfully, however, attitudes and emotions can be changed more easily than other IDs.

Next, let’s discuss an individual difference that has historically received considerable attention at school and less at work—intelligence.

Environment/External Context

Organizational/Internal Context

Important Individual Differences at Work %������������� %��������!����������� %�����������# %������������!�� ������ �������������������# ������������������ ������� �� ������������ �������������������������# %������ ��� %���������

Individual-Level Work Outcomes ����������������� %����������������� %� ���!�� %� �����$������������$������ �������!���� %��� �������� ���!� ���"��������!����

Relatively Fixed

Relatively Flexible

FIGURE 3.2 RELATIVE STABILITY OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

83Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Although experts do not agree on a specific definition, many say !intelligence! repre- sents an individual’s capacity for constructive thinking, reasoning, and problem solving. Most people think of intelligence in terms of intelligence quotient or IQ, the fa- mous score on tests we often take as children. Thus many people typically view intelli- gence and IQ as one big attribute of brainpower. However, intelligence, intelligence testing (for IQ), and related research are more complex.

The concept of intelligence has expanded over the years and today is thought of and discussed in terms of general mental abilities. Of course, people are different in terms of such abilities, but this isn’t what is important at work. What is important is to understand intelligence or mental abilities so you can manage people more effectively. Put another way, the reason we highlight intelligence and mental abilities is that they are related to performance at work.5 This section provides a brief overview of intelligence and mental abilities and then highlights practical implications.

Intelligence Matters . . . and We Have More Than We Think Historically, intelligence was believed to be purely genetic—passed from one generation to another—so you were either born “smart” or not. Do you agree with this belief? What are the implications of believing that intelligence is a gift of birth? Regardless of your personal views, research has shown that intelligence, like personality, can be altered or modified in a number of ways.6 Think about it. No matter who you are or where your starting point in education or experience is, if you engage in more constructive thinking, reasoning, and problem solving, you will get better at these skills. You’ll be more intelli- gent. If you buy this argument, then after reading this book and studying OB you’ll be more intelligent due to the practice in critical thinking and problem solving you’ll gain. Your intellectual development can also be damaged or diminished by environmental fac- tors such as drugs, alcohol, and poor nutrition.7

Am I More Intelligent than My Parents? If you answer yes to this question, re- search might just support your claim. A steady and significant rise in average intelligence among those in developed countries has been observed over the last 70 years. Why? Ex- perts at an American Psychological Association conference concluded, “Some combina- tion of better schooling, improved socioeconomic status, healthier nutrition, and a more technologically complex society might account for the gains in IQ scores.”8 So, if you think you’re smarter than your parents and your teachers, despite their saying you don’t know important facts they do, you’re probably right!

M A J O R Q U E S T I O N

How do multiple intelligences affect my performance?

T H E B I G G E R P I C T U R E

You may be smarter than you think. You may already know your IQ, and your grades may also

reflect intellectual intelligence. But you can be intelligent in other ways too. We explain vari-

ous forms of intelligence because all are inputs to the Organizing Framework and all affect

your performance.

3.2 INTELLIGENCES: THERE IS MORE TO THE STORY THAN IQ

84 PART 1 Individual Behavior

Dr. Evangelo Katsioulis reportedly has an IQ of 198—the highest in the world. He is a Greek psychiatrist and has degrees in philosophy, psychopharmacology, and research technology. Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson’s IQ is 160, the same as that of physicist Stephen Hawking (left) and movie director Quentin Tarantino (right). People who score less than 70 are identified as intellectually disabled; over 130, gifted; and over 165, genius. Two-thirds of people score in the normal range of 85–115. (left) © Jason Bye/Alamy; (right) © London Entertainment/Alamy

Multiple Intelligences (MI) While many people think of intelligence in general terms, such as IQ, it is more common and more practical to think in terms of multiple intelligences, or an intelligence for something specific. Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, investigated the nature of intelligence for years and summarized his findings in his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.9 The eight different intelligences he identified, listed in Table 3.1, include not only mental abilities but social and physical abilities and skills as well.

EXAMPLE Attorney Elizabeth Cabraser has led some of the largest class-action lawsuits of our time, such as against big tobacco, makers of silicon breast implants, BP (for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill), and Toyota, GM, Takata, and VW for safety violations. Cabraser is an introvert and soft-spoken in court and out. Her acclaim and success undoubtedly reflect considerable practical intelligence. And being so successful in class-action suits highlights her linguistic as well as intra- and interper- sonal intelligences. These would help immensely both in and out of court with clients and other attorneys. She also appears to have considerable musical intelligence; in college she played drums and toured with bands. But now she plays and collects drums only in her spare time.10

Class action attorney Elizabeth Cabraser epitomizes the concept of multiple intelligences. © Jeff Chiu/AP Photo

85Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

TABLE 3.1 GARDNER’S EIGHT INTELLIGENCES

Type of Intelligence Example

Linguistic intelligence: potential to learn and use spoken and written languages.

Madeline Johnson, CEO of marketing and PR firm Market Council, speaks Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, along with her native English. She consults for multinational companies, and linguistic intelligence enables her to develop richer and more productive relationships quicker.11

Logical-mathematical intelligence: potential for deductive reasoning, problem analysis, and mathematical calculation.

Did this intelligence help or hurt you on your college entrance exam?

Musical intelligence: potential to appreciate, compose, and perform music.

Do you play the drums? Have you heard Marco Minnemann? He is widely considered a virtuoso drummer, one of the best on the planet. If you were to measure this form of intelligence, Minneman’s musical intelligence score would likely be very high.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: potential to use mind and body to coordinate physical movement.

Serena Williams, tennis player extraordinaire, says her mind helps her realize her tremendous physical talent.

Spatial intelligence: potential to recognize and use patterns.

Fighter pilots are excellent examples of people gifted with spatial intelligence.

Interpersonal intelligence: potential to understand, connect with, and effectively work with others.

Compare Warren Buffett (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway) to Larry Ellison (former CEO of Oracle). Critics see the first as approachable and friendly, the second as arrogant.

Intrapersonal intelligence: potential to understand and regulate yourself.

Any secretary of state for the United States, such as John Kerry and Condoleezza Rice, must have enormous self-awareness and control to endure the constant criticism and conflict in the job.

Naturalist intelligence: potential to live in harmony with your environment.

Rose Marcario, the CEO of clothing and outdoor sports retailer Patagonia, supports the company’s famous ad— “don’t buy this jacket.” The company has a long tradition of environmental responsibility in which it encourages customers not to buy more than they need to limit the strain on Earth’s resources.12

Many believe the concept of multiple intelligences has important implications for employee selection, training, and performance. For example, one-size-fits-all training programs often fall short when diversity of intelligences is taken into consideration. When clinical training for undergraduate nursing students was designed to draw on and apply their eight intelligences, for example, they acquired greater proficiency in clinical skills. This type of training also enabled them to utilize and develop their interpersonal intelligence, extremely important for effective patient care.13

Near the end of this chapter, you will encounter the concept of emotional intelli- gence, which managers can apply for employee selection and other purposes. Future breakthroughs in the area of multiple intelligences will attract more OB researchers and practicing managers.

86 PART 1 Individual Behavior

TAKE-AWAY APPLICATION Learning about My Intelligences Using the list of intelligences in Table 3.1 and discussed above, consider the following:

1. Which do you think are your strongest intelligences? Your weakest? 2. Which do you think are most important for this course? For your current and/or

most desired jobs? 3. Which do you think are least important? 4. Describe how you could use this knowledge to improve your performance in this

class (and your job if you’re working).

Practical Implications Many educators and parents have embraced the idea of multiple intelligences because it helps explain how a child could score poorly on a standard IQ test yet be obviously gifted in other ways such as music, sports, or relationship building. It then follows that we need to help each child develop in his or her own unique way and at his or her own pace. Many people make the same arguments about college students and employees. Of course, everybody has strengths and weaknesses. But what is important as a matter of practice is to identify intelligences relevant to the job, and then to select, place, and de- velop individuals accordingly. What is your view? Do you see any value in testing for various forms of intelligence at work? Why or why not?

Not Just Kid Stuff The interest in improving intelligence now goes far beyond children and school. A number of companies, including Lumosity, Cogmed, and even Nintendo, have recently entered the business of brain training, claiming that adult intel- ligence can be increased. Through games or training, subjects and customers have been shown to improve scores on IQ and other related tests.

One piece of evidence to support this case is a study that showed a six-point boost on an IQ test. Researchers, however, recommend caution. They note that intelligence is still largely a fixed trait, and that improvements are modest and typically the result of intensive, long-term interventions. The Federal Trade Commission recently fined Lumosity $2 million for falsely claiming that its training could prevent memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.15 And more recent reviews and research call into question the suggested links between IQ and performance in school and on the job. Part of the criticism is based on the fact that IQ tests measure things taught in school, such as linguistics (language) and analytics (math). This means that if you do well in school you’re likely to do well on the test and vice versa (we’re testing what is taught and teach- ing what is tested).16

Practical Intelligence We can draw practical benefits from Gardner’s notion of mul- tiple intelligences. For instance, Yale’s Robert J. Sternberg applied Gardner’s “naturalist intelligence” to the domain of leadership under the heading practical intelligence. He explains: “!Practical intelligence! is the ability to solve everyday problems by utilizing knowledge gained from experience in order to purposefully adapt to, shape, and select environments. It thus involves changing oneself to suit the environment (adaptation), changing the environment to suit oneself (shaping), or finding a new environment within which to work (selection). One uses these skills to (a) manage oneself, (b) manage others, and (c) manage tasks.”14

87Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Intelligence in its various forms is important because of its link to performance. For example, a study of stock traders in Finland revealed that those with high IQs were more likely to: (1) sell losing stocks, (2) engage in tax-loss selling, and (3) hold stocks at 30-day highs—all profitable strategies. Their performance was also bet- ter than that of their lower-IQ counterparts, by as much as 2.2 percent per year.19

NFL—Intelligence Testing? Yes. Not only does the National Football League have an intelligence test for players, but also it has been using it since the 1970s! The Dallas Cowboys began the practice with the popular Wonderlic test (50 ques- tions with a 12-minute time limit). Only one player has had a perfect score so far (wide receiver Pat McInally of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1976 to 1985). Pro quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick seemingly has smarts no matter how you measure it. He scored 48 on the Wonderlic (the third-best score of all time), completed the test in the shortest time ever, and also scored 1580 out of 1600 on his SAT.20

Today, many NFL teams have developed their own tests. The theory is that the scores can help identify players who will get along with teammates and make it to meetings on time and also indicate how best to teach them the playbook (in writ- ten form, with visual aids, or on the field).21

Be Smart and Protect Your Investments Both financial advisers and profes- sional football teams make multimillion-dollar investments—the former in stocks and the latter in their players. It seems that influential people in both industries believe intelligence matters.

YOUR THOUGHTS?

1. When interviewing financial advisers, would you compare their IQs? Why or why not?

2. If you were the coach, general manager, or owner of a professional sports team, would you use intelligence testing? Why or why not?

3. If you were a hiring manager for your company, how much weight would you give intellectual intelligence?

4. Would you require an IQ test? Explain your answer.

Smarts and Money OB in Action

Some Proof? Several leading researchers in the area argue that there is no convincing evidence that intelligence training works, while others are more measured. One put it this way: “Demonstrating that subjects are better on one reasoning test after cognitive training doesn’t establish that they are smarter. It merely establishes that they’re better on one reasoning test.”17 This seems to suggest that someone with “pure intellectual heft is like someone who can bench-press a thousand pounds. But so what, if you don’t know what to do with it?”18

Regardless of your personal view on the practical value of intelligence at school or work, the following OB in Action box offers compelling endorsements of the value of mental abilities and IQ.

88 PART 1 Individual Behavior

M A J O R Q U E S T I O N

How does my personality affect my performance at school and work?

T H E B I G G E R P I C T U R E

You probably feel you know yourself better than anyone else, but you’re about to learn some

tools that will help you see how others see you. One such tool is the Big Five personality

profile, which summarizes hundreds of personality traits into five categories. Another useful

approach centers on proactivity. These tools will help you understand the managerial implica-

tions of other people’s views of you. We explore these topics because personality is a funda-

mental driver of your behavior and performance at work, and an important input in the

Organizing Framework for Understanding and Applying OB.

3.3 PERSONALITY, OB, AND MY EFFECTIVENESS

!Personality! is the combination of stable physical, behavioral, and mental charac- teristics that gives individuals their unique identities. These characteristics or traits— including the way we look, think, act, and feel—are the product of interacting genetic and environmental influences and are stable over time and across situations and cultures.22 Personality is a person input in the Organizing Framework.

There Is More to Personality Than Liking and Fit Like most people, you may often think of personality in terms of whether you like or dis- like someone. For instance, if you’re asked to describe your professor for this class you might say: “She’s great. I love her personality.” Or if asked to describe your boss you might say: “He’s a difficult individual, he’s unethical, many of his colleagues won’t as- sociate with him, and he is widely disrespected and should be fired.” If you are recruiting somebody for a job (or your fraternity or sorority) you might say: “I really like his/her personality . . . I think he/she will fit in great with the rest of us.”

What Can I Do with “Like”? While “liking” and “fit” matter (recall our discussion of fit from Chapter 2), these general and evaluative types of descriptions aren’t very use- ful from a management standpoint. If you think of personality only in these terms, then what type of guidance would you give your recruiters for hiring new employees? “Go find people you like and be sure they fit” won’t take you very far. And just because you like somebody doesn’t mean that you should hire that person, that he or she will perform well, or that he or she will be a good addition to your organization.

Be Precise to Be Effective To be effective at managing people you need to be more precise (and scientific) about personality. This challenge has motivated a tremen- dous amount of research about personality in psychology and in OB. What we need are more specific definitions of what personality is, tools to measure it, and data about the effect it has on important processes and outcomes across all levels of the Organizing Framework.

89Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Lars Sorensen (left), CEO of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, was recently ranked the world’s No. 1 CEO by Harvard Business Review. Sorensen earned his ranking in part because of his belief that “In the long term, social and environmental issues become financial issues.” He leads by consensus, and if one isn’t reached, he sends the issue to the company’s board.23 Steve Jobs (right), the late Apple Inc. CEO, couldn’t have been more different. It was “his way or the highway,” and consensus was achieved when everybody agreed with him. Yet Apple enjoyed unparalleled success under his leadership. The lesson: Don’t look too hard for “likable” personalities. If you started a company you’d be delighted to have either Sorensen or Jobs work for you! (left) © John Mcconnico/Bloomberg/Getty Images; (right) © ZUMA Press, Inc/Alamy

The Big Five Personality Dimensions Defining something as complex as personality is quite a challenge. Fortunately, psychol- ogists and researchers have distilled long lists of qualities and characteristics into the !Big Five Personality Dimensions! that simplify more complex models of personality. The dimensions are extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience.24 Table 3.2 details the five personality dimen- sions. For example, someone scoring high on extroversion will be an extrovert—outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive. Someone scoring low on emotional stability will likely be nervous, tense, angry, and worried.

A person’s scores on the Big Five reveal a personality profile as unique as his or her fingerprints. To discover your own Big Five profile, complete Self-Assessment 3.1. In the process you’ll learn there is more to personality than just being likable or fitting in. This Self-Assessment will increase your self-awareness and illustrate some of the concepts just described. Many companies use personality profiles for hiring and promotions, so your profile should provide practical insights.

TABLE 3.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONS SCORING HIGH ON THE FIVE DIMENSIONS

The Big Five Personality Dimensions

Personality Characteristic

1. Extroversion Outgoing, talkative, sociable, assertive

2. Agreeableness Trusting, good-natured, cooperative, softhearted

3. Conscientiousness Dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, persistent

4. Emotional stability Relaxed, secure, unworried

5. Openness to experience Intellectual, imaginative, curious, broad-minded

SOURCE: Adapted from M. R. Barrick and M. K. Mount, “Autonomy as a Moderator of the Relationships between the Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance,” Journal of Applied Psychology, February 1993, 111–118.

90 PART 1 Individual Behavior

But one important question lingers: Are personality models unique to the culture in which they were developed? Cross-cultural research on the Big Five suggests the answer is no. Specifically, the Big Five personality structure held up very well in a study of women and men from Russia, Canada, Hong Kong, Poland, Germany, and Finland.25 As a comprehensive analysis of Big Five studies revealed, “To date, there is no compelling evidence that culture affects personality structure.”26

Hail the Introverts Personality is not monolithic. Every person is a combination of the various dimensions— not 100 percent of one dimension with zero of the others. This means, for instance, that you and everybody else has some amount of introversion. That said, introverts often are stereotyped and seen as less effective than extroverts or those who are conscientious. (You’ll learn much more about stereotyping and perceptions more generally in Chapter 4.) If this is your own view, then you have more to learn. Bill Gates, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg are all perceived as introverts, and their accomplishments are legendary. Regardless of your own level of introversion, the following OB in Action box provides guidance on how to thrive as an introvert.

Proactive Personality A !proactive personality! is an attribute of someone “relatively unconstrained by situational forces and who effects environmental change. Proactive people identify opportunities and act on them, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs.”27 In short, people with proactive personalities are hard- wired to change the status quo. It therefore is no surprise that this particular individual difference has received growing attention from both researchers and managers. Think about it. Companies, and their managers, routinely say they want employees who take initiative and are adaptable. Many argue that today’s hypercompetitive and fast-changing workplace requires such characteristics.

In support of these desired traits, research shows that those with proactive personali- ties positively influence many of the work outcomes shown in Figure 3.2 (and later in Figure 3.5). For example, proactivity is related to increased performance, satisfaction, affective organizational commitment (genuine desire to remain a member of an organiza- tion), and social networking.28 Particularly interesting is the finding that those with proac- tive personalities tend to increase the supportiveness of their supervisors (a true benefit), and they also modify their work situations so they have more control.

What Is My Big Five Personality Profile? Please be prepared to answer these questions if your instructor has assigned Self- Assessment 3.1 in Connect.

1. What are your reactions? Do you agree with the scores on your Big Five profile?

2. Which dimension(s) is (are) your highest? In which situations would they be most beneficial?

3. Which one or two dimensions do you think are likely the best predictors of managerial success? Which is the least? Explain.

4. What are the implications of your Big Five profile for working in teams at school or work?

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.1

91Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Having an introverted personality is an individual difference that you, Larry Page, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and many successful people you know personally may share. But regardless of your own level of success, you can benefit from the advice of Russ Fujioka, president of the Americas for cloud accounting company Xero. Fujioka is a self-proclaimed and successful introvert. 1. Be self-aware. Be aware that introverts can be perceived as disinterested or

aloof when they seem less engaged in conversations and social interactions. They may or may not be disinterested, of course, but they are more likely to show it if they are. And in business situations, they must make the effort nec- essary to appear interested and force themselves to be engaged.

2. Calibrate your intensity. When engaging others, especially groups of people or teams at work, try to push your personal intensity level to 10 on a 10-point scale. If you feel your volume, body language, and interactions are maxed out, realize that if you were an extrovert you’d probably be playing at only 7 in- stead of 10. Your perception of intense and loud is lower than what others will perceive. (Soliciting feedback, which is discussed in Chapter 6, is a good way of calibrating your intensity.)

3. Play to your strengths. Because engaging others is typically quite draining for introverts, it is a good idea to talk about and stick to topics you person- ally know and care about. This will make you naturally more energized and comfortable.

4. Get team practice. Join a team. Whether you join a recreational sports team or a club of some sort, being a member will help you practice and get comfort- able with interacting with others. If it is a non-work team, the pressure and stress of work won’t be part of the experience, making it easier to engage. This will help build your skills for when it really counts, at work!29

YOUR THOUGHTS?

1. Overall, do you think you are more of an introvert or extrovert? 2. Describe a situation at work (or school if you’re currently not working) in which

the attributes of introversion can benefit you. 3. Describe in detail how you can apply any two of the four recommendations

outlined above. Be sure to include the situation, what specifically you can do, and how or why this would be a benefit.

How to Thrive as an Introvert OB in Action

Proactive Managers What about your manager? Interesting recent work showed that the ideal scenario is for both you and your manager to be proactive. This results in a better fit and better relationship between the two of you, and it also increases your level of job performance, job satisfaction, and affective commitment.30 The same study also showed that the worst scenario in terms of performance was low proactivity for both you and your manager, followed by a highly proactive manager and a low proactivity follower. Thus proactivity is a highly valued characteristic in the eyes of employers. And being proactive has direct and indirect benefits for your performance. Given these facts, how proactive do you believe you are? How might you increase your proactivity? To help answer these questions, learn about your own proactivity, and explore the potential benefits for you, complete Self-Assessment 3.2.

92 PART 1 Individual Behavior

Proactivity and Entrepreneurs Besides leading to increases in job performance, job satisfaction, and affective commitment (as discussed in Chapter 2), proactive person- ality is also linked to intentions to be entrepreneurial. This really should not be surpris- ing, but it is helpful to know that scientific OB research substantiates this belief. Building on this, we can say that employees with proactive personalities are more likely to be en- gaged (again, see Chapter 2) and creative at work.31

Successful entrepreneurs often exemplify the proactive personality. Consider Dan Goldie, former professional tennis player and successful financial adviser. Goldie’s youthful passion was tennis, and his talent led him to junior championship titles, a scholarship at Stanford, and a ranking of 27th on the pro tour. Now he considers himself more successful at managing money than he ever was at tennis. Impressive to be sure.

But perhaps more interesting about Goldie’s story is that proactivity has been a hall- mark of his entire journey. He knew he wanted to go to college, and the only way to pay for it was with a scholarship. He trained, competed, and earned it. He dreamed of play- ing professionally, so he aimed for colleges with top tennis programs (like Stanford). He valued money, so he turned professional as soon as possible. And, realizing he would not be a top player and that tennis would not last forever, he completed an MBA while on tour. He also utilized his standing to associate with and learn about finance from top professionals in that industry. Later, and finally, he leveraged his tennis relationships to land some of his first and most significant clients as a money manager.32

Another entrepreneurial example is Sal Khan’s Khan Academy. Now world famous, this organization provides Internet-based learn- ing for nearly every scholastic subject under the sun. Here’s how it started. Khan, who has three graduate degrees, offered to help his cousin with one of her classes via the Internet. She learned, the word spread, and a company was born. Khan Academy has now delivered over 580 million lessons, and users have completed more than 3.8 billion educational exercises.33

Fascinating statistics, shown in Table 3.3, highlight other notable individual differences of entrepreneurs. How do you match up?

Table 3.3 contains only averages. Even if you don’t possess these qualities, you still can succeed as an entrepreneur. To help make this point, let’s explore the link between personality and performance.

How Proactive Am I? Please be prepared to answer these questions if your instructor has assigned Self- Assessment 3.2 in Connect.

1. Do you see a pattern among the questions on which you scored the highest? The lowest?

2. What are the implications of your highest-scoring answers for your success in school? In other words, how can these aspects of your proactivity help you?

3. How can knowledge of your proactive personality score help you when you look for a job? Be specific.

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.2

Sal Khan’s influence in online learning is epic. It is likely that a number of his individual differences (e.g., intelligence and proactivity) contribute to his entrepreneurial success. © Larry Busacca/Getty Images

93Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Personality and Performance Instead of simply assuming personality affects performance, let’s see what research has to say and how this knowledge can make you more effective. First, and most generally, your personality characteristics are likely to have the greatest influence and effect on perfor- mance when you are working in situations that are unstructured and with few rules.34 This makes sense. You’re more likely to show your true colors (your personality) when the situation is open and lacks constraints.

As for the Big Five, knowledge of these stable personality dimensions can assist in selecting the right people and assigning them responsibilities that will set them up to win.

̭�Conscientiousness has the strongest (most positive) effects on job performance and training performance. Individuals who exhibit traits associated with a strong sense of purpose, obligation, and persistence generally perform better than those who do not. They also tend to have higher job satisfaction.35 This trait has consistently been shown to be the most influential when it comes to performance at work.

̭�Extroversion is associated with success for managers and salespeople, and more generally for jobs that require social skills. It is also a stronger predictor of job performance than agreeableness, across all professions.

̭�Introverts have been shown to score their extroverted and disagreeable coworkers more harshly than their similarly introverted coworkers. The implication is that intro- verts focus on interpersonal skills more than extroverts when evaluating coworkers’ performance.36 How might this affect you in peer evaluations at school and/or work?

̭�Agreeable employees are more likely to stay with their jobs (not quit). They tend to be kind and get along with others, and thus they often have positive relationships and experiences at work.37

̭�Openness seems to lead to higher turnover. Open employees are curious and likely to seek out new opportunities, even when they are satisfied with their current jobs.38 This characteristic seems like a double-edged sword for employers. On the one hand they want open and flexible employees, but these are also the same em- ployees who are likely to quit. How might you deal with this as a manager or the owner of a business?

TABLE 3.3 TAKING THE MEASURE OF ENTREPRENEURS

40 Average and median age

95.1% Have bachelor’s degrees

47% Have advanced degrees

71.5% Come from middle-class backgrounds

< 1% Come from extremely rich or extremely poor backgrounds

70% Used own savings as major source of funding

42.5% Were firstborn

3.1 Average number of siblings

51.9% First in family to start a business

69.9% Married when they launched first business

59.7% Had at least one child

73% Think luck is an important factor in the success of their venture

SOURCE: “By the Numbers: Taking the Measure of Entrepreneurs,” The Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2012.

94 PART 1 Individual Behavior

̭�Emotional stability, along with conscientiousness and agreeableness, is associated with a greater focus on and practice of workplace safety. Imagine you are a man- ager in a chemical plant. How might you use this knowledge in selecting new em- ployees? In assigning and training existing employees?

Personality Testing at Work Personality testing is a commonly used tool for making decisions about hiring, training, and promotion. Current estimates are that approximately 76 percent of organizations with more than 100 employees now use some sort of pre- or post-hiring assessment, including personality tests,39 spending more than $500 million annually on such services.40 A few of the major reasons organizations use such tests are that they: 1. Reduce time and cost of recruiting and hiring. 2. Reduce biases in the interview process. 3. Increase the pool of candidates (because such tests can be administered electronically

and remotely). 4. Complement candidate information found in résumés and interviews.41

Personality tests, in particular, are more widely used at the management level than at the entry level (80 percent and 59 percent of the time, respectively).42 However, despite this widespread use, many experts argue that the typical personality test is not a valid predictor of job performance.43 One reason might be that many test takers don’t describe themselves accurately but instead try to guess what answers the employer is looking for.44

Applying OB As in every other test situation, on an employment test you want to perform well. Get- ting hired or promoted may depend on it, tempting you to provide the answers you think the employer wants to hear. Faking is ill-advised, though. Many tests are in- tended to assess fit, and if you don’t answer honestly, you might get a job you hate! Instead consider the following tips:

1. Practice. Yes, like other tests (GMAT, SAT, MCAT, LSAT) you can practice for em- ployment tests. In fact, practice can help increase scores by 20 percent, according to research. Practicing works because you become more comfortable taking such tests, you develop effective test-taking strategies, and you actually learn what you’re being tested on. Taking GRE practice exams is a good way to sharpen rea- soning, numerical, and verbal skills.

2. Play to your own rhythms. If you are sharpest in the afternoon, try to avoid taking employment tests in the morning. Also beware of what you eat and drink. Don’t overdo the caffeine, unless that is what you’ve done for every test you’ve ever taken.

3. Be yourself . . . sort of. Don’t lie. Well-designed tests can often detect inaccuracies, and most skilled interviewers unveil inconsistencies with ease. But also beware of being too extreme. Ambition is generally good, but extreme ambition can be dysfunctional. A strong work ethic is preferred, but too high a level is a red flag. In a word—moderation. Don’t be too much of even good things. And when interviewing, take the lead from what others have said about you. If somebody has recommended or endorsed you, learn what they said and then emphasize these same attributes. Sell yourself the way your endorsers are selling you. You want the interviewer’s data points to align.

D. Meinert, “Heads Up: Personality Assessments Are Being Used More Often in the Hiring Process. But What Do They Really Tell You?,” HR Magazine, June 2015, 88–98.

Acing Employment Tests

95Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

TABLE 3.4 ADVICE AND WORDS OF CAUTION ABOUT PERSONALITY TESTING IN THE WORKPLACE

Researchers, test developers, and organizations that administer personality assessments offer the following suggestions for getting started with testing or for evaluating whether tests already in use are appropriate for forecasting job performance:

̭� �Determine what you hope to accomplish. If you are looking to find the best fit between job and applicant, analyze the aspects of the position that are most critical for it.

̭� �Look for outside help to determine if a test exists or can be developed to screen applicants for the traits that best fit the position. Industrial psychologists, professional organizations, and a number of Internet sites provide resources.

̭� �Insist that any test recommended by a consultant or vendor be validated scientifically for the specific purpose that you have defined. Vendors should be able to cite some independent, credible research supporting a test’s correlation with job performance.

̭� �Ask the test provider to document the legal basis for any assessment: Is it fair? Is it job-related? Is it biased against any racial or ethnic group? Does it violate an applicant’s right to privacy under state or federal laws? Get legal advice to assure that a test does not adversely affect any protected class.

̭� �Make sure that every staff member who will be administering tests or analyzing results is educated about how to do so properly and keeps results confidential. Use the scores on personality tests with other factors you believe are important to the job—such as skills and experience—to create a comprehensive evaluation of the merits of each candidate, and apply those criteria identically to each applicant.

SOURCE: S. Bates, “Personality Counts,” HR Magazine, February 2002, 34. Reprinted with permission of the Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org), Alexandria, VA, publisher of HR Magazine.

Another reason for inaccurate results is that personality tests are typically bought off the shelf and often given indiscriminately by people who aren’t trained or qualified. And while rigorous research shows that personality actually is related to performance, the effects are small. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, personality tests are designed to measure personality, not to identify the individual differences needed to perform at a high level in a particular job. This means that managers need different and better ways to measure personal- ity if they want to select employees based on performance-conducive personality traits.

To help overcome these shortcomings, researchers have used technology and ad- vances in brain science to create a new breed of tests. Companies such as Pymetrics and Knack use games that help assess cognitive abilities, thought processes, and other charac- teristics. The intended advantage is that prospective employees will be assessed on how they play or what they actually do, rather than on their answers to multiple-choice ques- tions or a self-report instrument.

Genetic testing is also on the rise. It hasn’t been used for hiring yet, but scientists, em- ployers, and regulators are considering the potential pros and cons of such applications.45

Wise managers learn about personality and the tools used to measure it before invest- ing in and/or utilizing the data they yield. Table 3.4 provides some insights.

There Is No “Ideal Employee” Personality Given the complexity of today’s work environments, the diversity of today’s workforce, and recent research evidence, the quest for an ideal employee personality profile is sheer folly. Just as one shoe does not fit all people, one personality profile does not fit all job situations. Good managers take the time to get to know each employee’s unique combina- tion of personality traits, abilities, and potential and then create a productive and satisfy- ing person–job fit. In other words, a contingency approach to managing people is best (recall the discussion of contingency in Chapter 1).

96 PART 1 Individual Behavior

M A J O R Q U E S T I O N

How do self-evaluations affect my performance at work?

T H E B I G G E R P I C T U R E

You can significantly improve your self-awareness by understanding your core self-evaluations

(CSEs). Such self-evaluations provide broad and useful ways to describe personality in terms

of our individual differences in self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional sta-

bility. CSEs and their component dimensions are more flexible than IQ but more stable than

emotions. Your knowledge of CSEs can improve your performance at work, in your career,

and in your life.

3.4 CORE SELF-EVALUATIONS: HOW MY EFFICACY, ESTEEM, LOCUS, AND STABILITY AFFECT MY PERFORMANCE

So far we’ve discussed both general and spe- cific, or narrow, individual differences. A nar- row perspective on personality enables us to describe individuals more precisely than gen- eral personality traits do. For example, it is more insightful to say that Steve Vai, a phenom- enal progressive rock guitarist and a favorite of one of your authors, has incredible musical in- telligence than to say that he is intelligent.

A broader perspective, in contrast, allows us to more effectively predict behavior. The rea- son is that broader concepts provide a more comprehensive and practical account of an indi- vidual’s behavior.46 This view suggests that part of Vai’s guitar-playing prowess likely is due to other factors beyond his musical intelligence.

There is no clear answer as to which of these approaches is more accurate. However, research- ers have identified a broad or general personality trait with significant relationships to a host of in- dividual-level work outcomes included in Figure 3.2 and the Organizing Framework. This trait is called core self- evaluations (CSEs). Core self- evaluations (CSEs)! represent a broad per- sonality trait made up of four narrow and positive individual traits: (1) generalized self- efficacy, (2) self-esteem, (3) locus of control, and (4) emotional stability. (See Figure 3.3.) People with high core self-evaluations see them- selves as capable and effective. This section dis- cusses the component traits and highlights research and managerial implications for each.

Steve Vai studied with rock guitarist and teacher Joe Satriani and attended the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. Early in his career Vai transcribed music and played for the legendary musician Frank Zappa. He is widely considered a virtuoso and would be expected to score very highly on musical intelligence. What other intelligences might influence his guitar playing, composing, and song writing? © epa european pressphoto agency bv/Alamy

97Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Why should you care about CSEs? CSEs have desirable effects on many outcomes in the Organizing Framework, such as increased job performance, job and life satisfaction, motivation, organizational citizenship behaviors, and better adjustment to international assignments. Better still, CSEs can be developed and improved.47 They also have been studied in the executive suite. A study showed that CEOs with high core self-evaluations had a positive influence on their organization’s drive to take risks, innovate, and seek new opportunities. This effect was especially strong in dynamic business environments.48

Now let’s explore the component dimensions.

Self-Efficacy—“I Can Do That” Have you noticed that those who are confident about their ability tend to succeed, while those who are pre- occupied with failing tend to fail? At the heart of such performance differences is self-efficacy. !Self-efficacy! is a person’s belief about his or her chances of suc- cessfully accomplishing a specific task.

Self-efficacy can be developed. Helpful nudges in the right direction from parents, role models, and men- tors are central to the development of high self-efficacy. For example, a study of medical residents showed that guidance and social support from their mentors im- proved the residents’ clinical self-efficacy.49

Mechanisms of Self-Efficacy A detailed model of self-efficacy is shown in Figure 3.4. To apply this model, imagine you have been told to prepare and deliver a 10-minute talk to an OB class of 50 stu- dents on how to build self-efficacy. How confident are you that you can complete this task? Part of your self-efficacy calculation is to evaluate the interaction between person and situation factors described in the Organizing Framework.

On the left-hand side of Figure 3.4, among the sources of self-efficacy beliefs, prior experience takes first position as the most potent of the four sources. This is why it connects to self-efficacy beliefs with a solid line. Past success in public speaking would boost your self-efficacy, and poor experiences would diminish it. Other sources of your beliefs about your- self—behavior models, persuasion from others, and physical and emotional factors—might also affect your self-confidence. As weaker sources, they con- nect to beliefs with dashed lines in the figure.

FIGURE 3.3 THE CORE SELF-EVALUATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

1. Generalized Self-Efficacy

2. Self-Esteem

Core Self-Evaluation

3. Locus of Control

4. Emotional Stability

Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, epitomizes self-efficacy. Not only is she the youngest self-made female billionaire, but also her path to the top contained more failures than successes. She failed to get into law school, worked at Disney World, did stand-up comedy, and sold fax machines all before designing and making her modern and fashionable girdles and selling them from her apartment and car. Think of some of your own “failures” and the way you responded. How did these experiences affect your self-efficacy? © ZUMA Press, Inc/Alamy

98 PART 1 Individual Behavior

Your evaluation of the situation yields your self-efficacy level—ranging from high to low expectations for success. High expectations are not mere bravado; they are deep convictions supported by experience. Your self-efficacy beliefs in turn affect your be- havioral patterns (right-hand portion of Figure 3.4). If you have high self-efficacy about giving your 10-minute speech, you will work harder, longer, and more creatively when preparing for your talk than would a low-self-efficacy classmate. Better perfor- mance will follow.

People program themselves for success or failure by enacting their self-efficacy be- liefs. Positive or negative results subsequently act as feedback and become the basis of personal experience and future levels of self-efficacy.

Managerial Implications Self-efficacy has been extensively studied in the work- place. The data support a number of recommendations. As a general rule, managers are encouraged to nurture self-efficacy in themselves and others because it is related to im- proved job performance and job satisfaction (both are important individual-level out- comes). Table 3.5 provides a number of specific means for building self-efficacy. Nearly all are explained in detail in other chapters of this book.

SOURCE: Adapted from discussion in A. Bandura, “Regulation of Cognitive Processes through Perceived Self-Efficacy,” Developmental Psychology, September 1989, 729–735, and R. Wood and A. Bandura, “Social Cognitive Theory of Organizational Management,” Academy of Management Review, July 1989, 361–84

FIGURE 3.4 SELF-EFFICACY PAVES THE WAY FOR SUCCESS OR FAILURE

Prior Experience

Sources of self-efficacy beliefs

Feedback

Behavioral patterns Results

Behavior Models

Persuasion from Others

Assessment of Physical/ Emotional

State

High “I know I can do this job.”

Success

Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Low “I don’t think I can get the job done.”

Failure

• Be active—select best opportunities. • Manage the situation— avoid or neutralize obstacles. • Set goals—establish standards. • Plan, prepare, practice. • Try hard; persevere. • Creatively solve problems. • Learn from setbacks. • Visualize success. • Limit stress.

• Be passive. • Avoid difficult tasks. • Develop weak aspirations and low commitment. • Focus on personal deficiencies. • Don’t even try—make a weak effort. • Quit or become discouraged because of setbacks. • Blame setbacks on lack of ability or bad luck. • Worry, experience stress, become depressed. • Think of excuses for failing.

99Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Self-Esteem—“Look in the Mirror” !Self-esteem! is your general belief about your own self-worth. Personal achievements and praise tend to bolster self-esteem, while prolonged unemployment and destructive feedback tend to erode it. Researchers measure self-esteem by having people indicate their agreement with positive and negative statements about themselves. An example of a positive statement is, “I feel I am a person of worth, the equal of other people.” An ex- ample of a negative statement is, “I feel I do not have much to be proud of.” Those who agree with the positive statements and disagree with the negative statements have high self-esteem. They see themselves as worthwhile, capable, and accepted. People with low self-esteem view themselves in negative terms. They do not feel good about themselves and are hampered by self-doubts.53

Nationality, Life Span, and Gender Some have argued that self-esteem is largely a Western or even an American concept. To address this allegation, researchers surveyed more than 13,000 students from 31 countries. They found that self-esteem and life satis- faction were moderately related on a global basis. However, the relationship was stronger in individualistic cultures (United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the Netherlands) than in collectivist cultures (Korea, Kenya, and Japan). The likely reason is that individu- alistic cultures socialize people to focus more on themselves and value their own attri- butes and contributions, compared to people in collectivist cultures who “are socialized to fit into the community and to do their duty” (value the group more than oneself).54

Some notable practical recommendations: ̭�Nationality—Global managers should de-emphasize self-esteem when doing busi-

ness in collectivist (“we”) cultures, as opposed to emphasizing it in individualistic (“me”) cultures.

TABLE 3.5 WAYS TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE OF SELF-EFFICACY AT WORK

Application Explanation

1. Job Design Complex, challenging, and autonomous jobs tend to enhance perceived high self-efficacy. Boring, tedious jobs generally do the opposite.

2. Training and Development

Managers can improve employees’ self-efficacy expectations for key tasks through guided experiences, mentoring, and role modeling.

3. Self-Management Training related to goal setting, action planning, and self-motivation all enhance self-efficacy expectations.

4. Goal Setting and Quality Improvement

Goal difficulty needs to match the individual’s perceived self-efficacy.50 As self-efficacy and performance improve, goals and quality standards can be made more challenging.

5. Creativity Supportive managerial actions—encouraging risk taking and providing “blue sky time”—can enhance the strong link between self-efficacy beliefs and workplace creativity.51

6. Coaching Those with low self-efficacy and employees hampered by learned helplessness need lots of constructive pointers and positive feedback.52

7. Leadership Leadership talent surfaces when top management gives high self-efficacy managers a chance to prove themselves under pressure.

100 PART 1 Individual Behavior

̭�Life span—You can expect your self-esteem to remain fairly stable over the course of your life, especially after age 30.

̭�Gender—Self-esteem differences between men and women are small at best. While research suggests that self-esteem is relatively consistent within cultures, over

time, and among men and women, we can still ask: Can it be improved?

Can Self-Esteem Be Improved? The short answer is yes. So if your self-esteem is lower than you’d like now, don’t despair. It has been shown, for example, that supportive clinical mentors improved medical residents’ self-esteem.55 But not everyone is convinced.

Case for: Researchers have found one method especially effective for improving self-esteem. Low self- esteem can be raised more by having the person think of desirable characteristics possessed rather than of undesirable characteristics from which he or she is free.56

Case against: Some researchers believe performing at a high level boosts your self- esteem, not the other way round. Therefore, they reason it’s a mistake to focus on self-esteem. We all know people who “talk big” but “deliver small” and thus seem to suffer from delusions of competency.

Our recommendation: Apply yourself to things that are important to you. If getting an A in your OB course affects your sense of self-worth, then you will be moti- vated to work harder and presumably perform better.

Locus of Control: Who’s Responsible— Me or External Factors? !Locus of control! is a relatively stable personality characteristic that describes how much personal responsibility we take for our behavior and its consequences. We tend to attribute the causes of our behavior primarily to either ourselves or environmental

Many individual differences influence performance. Of those discussed so far in this chapter, which do you think are most important for surgeons? Would you rather have a surgeon with high self-efficacy or high self-esteem? © Pixtal/agefotostock RF

101Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

factors. (Recall our discussion of the person– situation distinction in Chapter 1.) Locus of control thus has two fundamental forms—internal and external.57

Internal Locus of Control People who believe they control the events and con- sequences that affect their lives are said to possess an !internal locus of control.! Such people, called internals, tend to attribute positive outcomes to their own abilities and negative outcomes to their personal shortcomings. Many entrepreneurs eventually succeed because their internal locus of control helps them overcome setbacks and disap- pointments.58 They see themselves as masters of their own fate and not as simply lucky. Those who willingly take high-stakes jobs in the face of adversity (such as pulling a company back from scandal or bankruptcy) likely also have a high internal locus of con- trol. Although Yahoo! continued to struggle in 2016 and will likely be sold, CEO Marissa Mayer undoubtedly has a high internal locus. This partly explains her willingness to take on the challenge of turning the company around in the face of great difficulties and criticism.59

External Locus of Control In contrast, those who believe their performance is the product of circumstances beyond their immediate control possess an !external locus of control! and tend to attribute outcomes to environmental causes, such as luck or fate. An “external” would attribute a passing grade on an exam to something external like an easy test and attribute a failing grade to an unfair test or distractions at work.

Locus in the Workplace The outcomes of internals and externals differ widely at work. Internals

̭�Display greater work motivation. ̭�Have stronger expectations that effort leads to performance. ̭�Exhibit higher performance on tasks that require learning or problem solving,

when performance leads to valued rewards. ̭�Derive more job satisfaction from performance. Externals

̭�Demonstrate less motivation for performance when offered valued rewards. ̭�Earn lower salaries and smaller salary increases. ̭�Tend to be more anxious.60

Don’t mistakenly assume, however, that internal locus is always good and external is always bad. High internals can implode, burn out, or otherwise underperform in situ- ations that offer them little or no control, such as during organizational changes in which they have no input or influence. An external locus would be more helpful here. Encour- agingly, research shows managers can increase the degree of one’s internal locus of control over time by providing more job autonomy (something you’ll learn about in Chapter 5).61

Emotional Stability As described in our discussion of the Big Five and in Table 3.2, individuals with high levels of !emotional stability! tend to be relaxed, secure, unworried, and less likely to experience negative emotions under pressure. In contrast, if you have low levels of emotional stability, you are prone to anxiety and tend to view the world negatively. How is this knowledge useful at work? Employees with high levels of emotional stability have been found to have higher job performance and to perform more organizational citizen- ship behaviors. Recall that organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are actions that go above and beyond your job responsibilities to benefit the organization. Emotionally

102 PART 1 Individual Behavior

stable employees also exhibit fewer counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), actions that undermine their own or others’ work. Both OCBs and CWBs were discussed in Chapter 2 and are individual-level outcomes illustrated in Figure 3.2 and the Organizing Framework. For an illustration of the way emotional stability affects an individual’s pro- fessional and personal life, see the OB in Action box about Alphabet (Google) Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat.

Ruth Porat is the chief financial officer of Alphabet (now the parent company of Google). Before taking the job in 2015 she was the CFO of Morgan Stanley and considered one of the most powerful women on Wall Street. Despite her impres- sive résumé and reputation, she is not an accountant and had never worked in a finance department. She has, however, effectively leveraged her Stanford eco- nomics degree and Wharton MBA. More impressive, she has overcome many ad- versities during her rise to the corporate suite.

Not a Crash Porat started in finance in 1987 at Morgan Stanley, just before the stock market crashed. She survived the resulting business downturn, and a few years later she moved to Smith Barney. In 1996 she made her way back to Morgan Stanley and eventually became a technology banker during the tech boom, and bust, of the late 1990s.

Not a Bubble Porat then transformed herself into a financial services banker and rode out the financial crisis of 2008–2010, becoming CFO of Morgan Stanley. Many of her colleagues on the Street cautioned her about her new role. They noted that the last two female CFOs for Wall Street firms—Erin Callan of Lehman Brothers and Sally Krawcheck of Citigroup—had become casualties of the crisis, as did Zoe Cruz, formerly a co-president at Morgan Stanley.

Not Even Cancer and Childbirth But once again Porat was undaunted. Despite also weathering two bouts of breast cancer in the 2000s, she stayed the career course. Her colleagues recognize her as one of the smartest, hardest-working, and most unshakable people with whom they have worked. She even made client calls in the delivery room during the birth of her first child. She also insisted on finishing a business presentation while lying on a conference room table after throwing her back out!

While these are not necessarily admirable stories, they do suggest that Porat has a positive self-view and is relaxed, secure, and unworried in the face of adver- sity (emotionally stable).

YOUR THOUGHTS?

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of displaying such high levels of emotional stability at school and work?

2. Do you think such high emotional stability is necessary to be a successful ex- ecutive on Wall Street? How do your answers change (if they do) for a female executive?

3. How would you evaluate Porat on the other three CSE traits of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control?

Alphabet’s Financial Chief Avoided Pitfalls that Stymied Others62

OB in Action

103Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Three Practical Considerations for Core Self-Evaluations Before we leave core self-evaluations, we’ll briefly touch on three areas of interest:

̭�Is having more of a CSE component always better? ̭�Is the whole of the CSE components greater than its parts? ̭�How can managers use CSEs?

Is More Always Better? Like having more self-esteem, having greater emotional stabil- ity is not always better. Researchers found curvilinear, or inverted-U, relationships between emotional stability and outcomes. This suggests that as your emotional stability increases, so too will your job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors, but only to a point.

Effect on organizational citizenship behaviors. As emotional stability continues to increase, OCBs decline, likely because you focus your attention on the task at hand and not on your coworkers. Typically, that’s a good thing. However, at a certain level emo- tional stability becomes problematic if you begin obsessing over details and lose sight of the larger objectives and those with whom you work.

Effect on counterproductive work behaviors. Research found that emotional sta- bility buffered or protected participants against stressors at work (trouble with their su- pervisors, unfair policies, and too much work). Thus they were less bothered and less likely to act out by committing CWBs. But there was a tipping point when the stress be- came too much and emotional stability could not prevent counterproductive behaviors.63

What is the lesson for you? Emotional stability is an asset for many types of jobs, but it will take you only so far.

Is the Whole of CSE Greater than Its Parts? As shown in Figure 3.3, core self- evaluations are composed of self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional

The Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Championship. Although many consider LeBron James, the team’s marquee player, as the best player in all of basketball, he certainly could not have won the game or series alone. Can you think of non-sports examples where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? © Beck Diefenback/AFP/Getty Images

104 PART 1 Individual Behavior

stability. To clarify the value of a CSE as a whole versus that of its component traits, think of basketball as a metaphor.

Clearly a team outperforms any individual playing alone. Even the greatest player ever would have no chance against an entire team. The five greatest players ever, playing individually, still have no chance against an entire team. Individually they would never score! Thus the sum of their solo efforts would be zero.

However, if you assembled a team of the five greatest players, they would likely perform very well. We don’t want to overemphasize the team concept (addressed in detail in Chap- ter 8), but the combination of (talented) players in a team does enable individual players to do things they couldn’t otherwise do on their own. Moreover, history tells us that teams with the best individual players (“all-star teams”) don’t win every game. The fact that they can lose shows that indeed the whole is greater than the sum of the parts—sometimes for their com- petitors! CSEs and its component traits are much the same. Core self-evaluation is the team and the traits are the individual players—the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

How Can I Use CSEs? Especially in a managerial role, you can use your knowledge of CSEs in many practical ways, such as:

̭�Employee selection. It is more efficient to select employees using CSEs as one broad personality characteristic rather than using its four component traits. Em- ployers can determine the link between one characteristic (CSE) and performance in a particular job, rather than having to determine the relationships between each of the four components parts and performance. This is one relationship versus four. Doing so also enables managers and employers to take advantage of the many ben- eficial outcomes described above.

̭�Training. The training potential of CSEs is limited because most of its components are trait-like or relatively fixed (self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional stabil- ity). That said, self-efficacy is more flexible than the other three components and can be enhanced as explained above. (Figure 3.4 is an excellent “how to” guide.)

Before moving on, we encourage you to assess your own core self-evaluations in Self-Assessment 3.3. Knowledge of your CSEs helps you understand other components of your personality beyond the Big Five discussed and assessed earlier. Awareness of your self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus, and emotional stability can help guide many as- pects of your work life, such as what types of jobs to look for and what types of develop- ment opportunities may be most useful for you.

How Positively Do I See Myself? Please be prepared to answer these questions if your instructor has assigned Self- Assessment 3.3 in Connect.

1. What is your CSE score? A score greater than 48 is high, between 36 and 48 moderate, and less than 36 low.

2. What are the implications for your performance in school? Work? 3. Now consider a scenario: You’re on a three-member team for a project in this

class that requires research, a paper, and a presentation. Your CSE score is high, one team member’s is moderate, and the other’s is low. Describe the potential implications for the three of you working together and your ultimate perfor- mance on the paper and presentation.

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.3

Let’s continue our discussion of individual differences and learn about emotional intelligence (EI) next. EI is an increasingly popular OB concept, one that is relatively more flexible than CSEs and the others discussed thus far.

105Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

3.5 THE VALUE OF BEING EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT

As we know, people deal with their emotions in many different ways, which is one rea- son we are discussing emotions in the chapter on individual differences. For a long time many people considered skill in managing emotions as simply a matter of maturity. However, since the mid-1990s researchers, consultants, and managers have increas- ingly described emotional maturity by using the phrase emotional intelligence (EI). Today, EI is big business. Hundreds of consulting companies provide EI products and services, and estimates suggest that approximately 75 percent of Fortune 500 compa- nies use them.64

What Is Emotional Intelligence? !Emotional intelligence! is the ability to monitor your own emotions and those of others, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions. Referred to by some as EI (used in this book) and by others as EQ, emotional intelligence is a mixture of personality and emotions and has four key compo- nents (see also Table 3.6):

1. Self-awareness 2. Self-management 3. Social awareness 4. Relationship management65

The first two dimensions constitute personal competence and the second two feed into social competence. Recall the discussion earlier in the chapter of inter- and intra-personal intelligences described by Gardner. EI builds on this work.

Before learning more about emotional intelligence, complete Self-Assessment 3.4. Self-awareness is fundamental to EI, and having this knowledge in hand is helpful in exploring the benefits of EI and learning how to develop it.

M A J O R Q U E S T I O N

What is emotional intelligence and how does it help me?

T H E B I G G E R P I C T U R E

You likely already know that intelligence doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about

performance. The smartest student doesn’t always get the best grades, and the smartest can-

didate for a job is not necessarily the best choice. While you almost certainly agree with both

these statements, what is even more certain is that people perform better if they have emo-

tional intelligence—smart or not. When you understand the concept of emotional intelligence

from an OB perspective, you’ll understand why it is an important person-factor input in the

Organizing Framework.

106 PART 1 Individual Behavior

TABLE 3.6 DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Personal Competence

HOW WE MANAGE OURSELVES

Capability Description

Self-Awareness Emotional self-awareness

Reading one’s own emotions and recognizing their impact; using “gut sense” to guide decisions

Accurate self-assessment Knowing one’s strengths and limits

Self-confidence A sound sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities

Self-Management Emotional self-control Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses under control

Transparency Displaying honesty and integrity; trustworthiness

Adaptability Flexibility in adapting to changing situations or overcoming obstacles

Achievement The drive to improve performance to meet inner standards of excellence

Initiative Readiness to act and seize opportunities

Optimism Seeing the upside in events

Social Competence

HOW WE MANAGE RELATIONSHIPS

Capability Description

Social Awareness Empathy Sensing others’ emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking active interest in their concerns

Organizational awareness Reading the currents, decision networks, and politics at the organizational level

Service Recognizing and meeting follower, client, or customer needs

Relationship Management

Inspirational leadership Guiding and motivating with a compelling vision

Influence Wielding a range of tactics for persuasion

Developing others Bolstering others’ abilities through feedback and guidance

Change catalyst Initiating, managing, and leading in a new direction

Conflict management Resolving disagreements

Building bonds Cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships

Teamwork and collaboration Cooperation and team building

SOURCE: D. Goleman, R. Bovatzis, and A. McKee, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2002), p. 39.

What Is Your Level of Emotional Intelligence? Please be prepared to answer these questions if your instructor has assigned Self- Assessment 3.4 in Connect.

1. Which of the four dimensions is highest for you? What are the implications for you at school and/or work?

2. Which dimension is the lowest? What are the implications for you at school and/ or work?

3. Do you have greater personal or social competence? What are the implications for you at school and/or work?

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.4

107Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

“Some days you’re the fire hydrant and some days you’re the dog.”

This quote is by Parker Conrad, from an interview he gave after he was forced to resign as CEO of Zenefits, a company he founded. Zenefits’ software serves as both insurance broker and benefits ad- ministrator for companies, essentially eliminating the need for intermediaries like conventional insur- ance brokers. While the idea and its growth are impressive, the company has many problems, and these have been attributed to Conrad’s personality and behavior.66

It seems that Conrad was especially determined to pursue hyper-growth at any cost. As the founder and chief, he ran the company his way and according to the mantra, “Ready, fire, aim!”67 His aggressive, confrontational, and emotional nature pervaded his adult life. When asked in an interview about the fu- ture for insurance brokers, he answered, “They are (expletive).” In response to a lawsuit from ADP (a competitor and major player in the payroll processing, tax, and HR business), Conrad launched a Twitter hashtag—#ADPeeved.68

Conrad also resisted adding members to the company’s board to provide more oversight and guid- ance, as well as attempts to slow its growth and hiring.69 Employees described him as “demanding, undisciplined, and unable to build a sustainable company . . . there were celebrations and tears of relief” when he resigned.

His experiences at Zenefits seem to fit a pattern. He was forced to leave his previous start-up (SigFig) because of a falling out with the cofounder. He also had to take a leave of absence from Harvard (although he eventually graduated), when he neglected his classes while working at the school newspaper.70

Although Parker Conrad has already stepped down as CEO, assume he hasn’t, and apply the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach below.

Problem-Solving Application

Now that you have some knowledge of your EI you might wonder, Why another type of intelligence, and how is EI different from IQ? Those who developed the concept of EI argue that traditional models of IQ are too narrow, failing to consider interpersonal com- petence. They also argue from a practical perspective that EI is more flexible than IQ and can be developed throughout your working life. This is consistent with Figure 3.2 and the practical benefits of relatively flexible IDs. Let’s explore the benefits of EI and how to develop yours.

Apply the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach Step 1: Define the problem in the example.

Step 2: Identify the OB concepts and theories that may point to the cause of the problem. For example, what role has Parker Conrad’s emotional intelligence played in the problem you defined? Which personality attributes are evident, and how might they have contributed?

Step 3: Assuming Conrad were still CEO, make a recommendation to correct the situation. Think both short-term and long-term.

108 PART 1 Individual Behavior

Benefits of EI What Research Tells Us EI has been linked to better social relationships, well- being, and satisfaction across all ages and contexts, including work.71 For instance, store managers’ EI was shown to foster greater team cohesiveness (covered in Chap- ter 8) among sales associates, and this in turn boosted sales.72 EI has also been linked with creativity, helping employees manage their emotions amid the challenges of the creative process in order to stay on task and remain in the creative space. EI further enables individuals to apply positive emotions to their work, improving their creative outcomes.73

Meg Whitman, No. 7 on Fortune’s Most Influential Women list, holds the three top executive titles at Hewlett-Packard—CEO, chairperson, and president. She also is orchestrating the splitting of the company into two divisions. HP has been losing market share, competitive position, and market capitalization for years, and Whitman is determined to fix it. She has implemented more than 80,000 job cuts and endured a 30 percent decline in stock price in 2015 alone. To deal with stakeholders, including employees, shareholders, customers, and board members, many of them angry, she must possess and utilize a tremendous amount of emotional intelligence.74

© Visual China Group/Getty Images

Figure 3.5 summarizes the relationships between EI and a number of individual differences we’ve covered as well as several outcomes. EI does not contain any strong relationships with other inputs or outcomes contained in the Organizing Framework. In fact, there are an equal number of weak and moderate relationships. Most importantly, EI was not found to be the big driver of performance as suggested by some consultants and academics.

Practical Take-Aways EI certainly makes common sense and is appealing on the surface. However, despite its popularity and the millions of dollars spent on EI programs every year, the research results are mixed. Proceed with caution.75 Beware of individuals and companies claiming EI is the silver bullet of performance. It is but another individual difference, and no single such attribute explains all behavior. Nevertheless you should identify and develop your own EI to realize the clear interpersonal benefits. Table 3.6 can serve as a guide.

109Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

TAKE-AWAY APPLICATION Understanding My Own Emotional Intelligence

1. Using Table 3.6, evaluate and develop a plan to enhance your EI. What are your personal strengths and weaknesses in terms of both personal and social compe- tence? Be honest.

2. Think of an example where your EI has helped you and an example where you would have benefited from having greater EI.

3. Identify one aspect of personal competence from Table 3.6 and describe how you can improve it. Be specific.

4. Identify one aspect of social competence from Table 3.6 and describe how you can improve it. Be specific.

Now that you’ve learned about emotional intelligence, let’s explore emotions themselves.

FIGURE 3.5 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND OUTCOMES

V ar

ia bl

es Extroversion

Conscientiousness

Emotional Stability

Cognitive Ability

Self-efficacy Supervisor-rated Job

Performance Self-rated Job

Performance Subjective Well-being

Mental Health

Physical Health

Strength of Relationship Not significant Weak Moderate Strong

SOURCE: N. Sánchez-Álvarez, N. Extremera, and P. Fernández-Berrocal, “The Relation between Emotional Intelligence and Subjective Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Investigation,” Journal of Positive Psychology, May 2016, 276–285; D. Joseph, J. Jin, D. A. Newman, and E. H. O’Boyle, “Why Does Self-Reported Emotional Intelligence Predict Job Performance? A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Mixed EI,” Journal of Applied Psychology, March 2015, 298–342; A. Martins, N. Ramalho, and E. Morin, “A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Health,” Personality and Individual Differences, October 2010, 554–564.

110 PART 1 Individual Behavior

3.6 UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS TO INFLUENCE PERFORMANCE

Many people believe employees should check their emotions at the door when they come to work. The reality is that this is impossible. Like personality and the other IDs discussed thus far, emotions are an integral part of who we are as people, a fun- damental part of the human experience, and they greatly influence our performance. Given this reality, you will want to understand emotions so you can manage them as a process to benefit you, your team, and your employer. This will help make emotions a practical tool for you to use, rather than something to avoid, ignore, or suppress.

Emotions—We All Have Them, but What Are They? !Emotions! are complex, relatively brief responses aimed at a particular target, such as a person, information, experience, or event. They also change psycho- logical and/or physiological states.76 Researchers distinguish between felt and dis- played emotions.77 For example, if your boss informs you that you’ve been passed over for a promotion, you might feel disappointed and/or angry (felt emotion). You might keep your feelings to yourself or you might begin to cry. Both reactions are instances of displayed emotions. It’s just that in the first case you are choosing not to show emotion, which means your display is “no emotion.” Your display can affect the outcomes, in this case your manager’s reactions. Taxi drivers, waiters, and hairdressers all received higher tips when they were trained to manage what they felt and the way they displayed these feelings.78

Emotions also motivate your behavior and are an important means for commu- nicating with others.79 A smile on your face signals that you’re happy or pleased, while a scowl and a loud, forceful tone of voice may reflect anger. We also know that our emotions can and often do change moment to moment and thus are more flexible than the other IDs discussed thus far. For these reasons, emotions have im- portant implications for you at school, at work, and in every other social arena of your life.

M A J O R Q U E S T I O N

How can understanding emotions make me more effective at work?

T H E B I G G E R P I C T U R E

The human experience is awash in emotions. You won’t be surprised then to learn that emo-

tions are important both at work and as an individual-level process in the Organizing Frame-

work. You’re about to learn the difference between felt versus displayed emotions and how

emotions serve as an important means of communication with both ourselves and others.

Most of your experiences elicit a mix of positive and negative emotions, and these emotions

also are tightly related to your goals.

111Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Emotions as Positive or Negative Reactions to Goal Achievement You’ll notice from the definition that you can think of emotions, whether positive, nega- tive, or mixed, in terms of your goals.80

̭�Positive. If your goal is to do well in school and you graduate on time and with honors, you are likely to experience positive emotions such as joy, gratitude, pride, satisfaction, contentment, and relief. These emotions are positive because they are congruent (or consistent) with your goal.

̭�Negative. Negative emotions are triggered by frustration and failure to meet goals. They are said to be goal incongruent. Common negative emotions are anger, fright, anxiety, guilt, shame, sadness, envy, jealousy, and disgust. Which of these are you

Applying OB Most people procrastinate at least occasionally. Some seem to procrastinate all the time. We often attribute this to poor time management or even laziness. But it seems that research has revealed a true cause—emotions. Researchers say procrastination is way to deal with stress. That’s right. Putting off studying for your next exam, for ex- ample, is a way of dealing with the stress of actually preparing for it. The rationale is that many things you do while procrastinating are often things that make you feel good or that you enjoy, such as shopping, going out with friends, watching TV, or playing video games. They help ease the anxiety associated with the task you need to do (study for an exam). Compounding this further, it seems that people who are more impulsive tend to be more anxious, and the more anxiety they experience, the more likely they are to procrastinate to make themselves feel better. With this in mind, what can occasional and chronic procrastinators do to help themselves?

1. Set subgoals. Whatever the needed or dreaded task is, break it into smaller parts or subgoals and specify a particular start and end time for each. Doing this will help the task seem less daunting, which will reduce your associated anxiety and the temptation to do something else more enjoyable (procrastinate).

2. Just do it. We’re not talking about going for a run or playing sports, which while healthy may be another form of procrastination. Instead, we’re saying just get started and do part of the task. Once you’ve begun, completing it will seem less difficult.

3. Envision the benefits and feelings. How will you feel when you’re finished? What will you be able to do? This seems obvious enough, but research has shown that people rarely think of such benefits when they are procrastinating.

4. Reward yourself. Building on No. 3, reward yourself for achieving the subgoals, as well as the overall goal or task.

Blaming your emotions won’t get your term paper done or help you prepare suffi- ciently for the upcoming client presentation. Understanding the role emotions play, however, may indeed help you recognize and overcome your tendencies. With this advice in mind, get to work! Adapted from S. Wang, “To Stop Procrastinating, Start by Understanding the Emotions Involved,” The Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/to-stop-procrastinating-start-by-understanding-whats-really-going-on-1441043167.

Do You Procrastinate? Blame Your Emotions!

112 PART 1 Individual Behavior

likely to experience if you fail the final exam in a required course? Failing would be incongruent with your goal of graduating on time with a good GPA. Typically, the more important the goal, the more intense the emotion.

̭�Mixed. Meeting or failing to meet our goals can also generate mixed emotions. Say you receive a well-earned promotion that brings positives like more responsi- bility and higher pay—but only if you relocate to another state, which you don’t want to do.

Besides Positive and Negative, There’s Past vs. Future The negative–positive distinction matters—you’re happy, you’re sad. However, an- other characteristic of emotions can be especially useful for managers. Assume you’re a manager in a company that just downsized 15 percent of its employees. This is stressful for all those who lost their jobs, but let’s focus on two fictitious employees who survived the cuts—Shelby and Jennifer. Both feel negatively about the job cuts, but in different ways.

Shelby: Her dominant emotion is anger. People are typically angry about things that happened (or didn’t happen) in the past. This means that anger is a backward- looking or retrospective emotion.

Jennifer: Her dominant emotion is fear. People are typically fearful of things that might happen in the future. Fear is thus a forward-looking or prospective emotion.

Practical implications for managers. Knowing these emotions tells you that Shelby is likely most concerned with something that happened in the past, such as the way deci- sions were made about whom to terminate. She may think the process was unfair and caused a number of her favorite colleagues to be let go. As for Jennifer, knowing she is dominated by fear tells you that it is uncertainty about the future—perhaps her job might be cut next—that concerns her most. As their manager, you can use this more specific knowledge of Shelby’s and Jennifer’s emotions to guide your own actions. The following Take-Away Application builds on this scenario.

TAKE-AWAY APPLICATION Managing Others’ Emotions Assume you are their manager and you know Shelby’s dominant emotion related to the downsizing is anger and Jennifer’s is fear. 1. What are two specific things you could do to alleviate Shelby’s anger? 2. What are two specific things you could do to reduce Jennifer’s fear? 3. What other things could you do to increase their positive emotions related to the

changes?

How Can I Manage My Negative Emotions at Work? Theoretically, to manage your emotions at work you could simply translate your felt emo- tions into displayed emotions—unfiltered. Besides being unrealistic, however, this would be disastrous. Organizations have !emotion display norms,! or rules that dictate which types of emotions are expected and appropriate for their members to show.81

113Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

Andrew Cornell, CEO of Cornell Iron Works, understands the days of the scream- ing boss are numbered. He deals with anger toward his employees by holding frequent and brief meetings, “rather than ‘waiting until the end, throwing a nuclear bomb and leaving blood all over the wall.’”82

Screaming takes other forms too. At work you might receive a hostile e-mail berating you, and copied to your coworkers, in ALL CAPS. Science supports the many people who believe yelling, whether by e-mail or face to face, is inappro- priate and counterproductive. You may have been in a group meeting when someone was so angry he or she began to scream and bully another person. Both are unprofessional and uncalled for, and they damage the reputation of the perpetrator.

Costs of Negative Emotions Growing research evidence confirms the sus- pected undesirable outcomes of negative emotions. For instance, managers need to be careful about generating feelings of shame and/or anger when giving feedback to employees, because these particular emotions have been linked to counterproductive work behaviors such as abuse of others and theft.83

Unhappy Customers May Suffer Twice Customers’ negative emotional dis- plays, such as verbal aggression, have been shown to negatively affect employee job performance. Specifically, receivers of the aggression made more mistakes recalling and processing the customers’ complaints.84 You may want to think twice before venting on a customer service representative.

What About the Benefits of Anger? Expressing your anger sometimes can actu- ally solve the problem. Your message is communicated, though forcefully, which can lead to better understanding. Displays of anger also are more likely to be beneficial if they are directed at organizational issues and problems instead of at individuals. Being angry at the problem rather than the person is likely to be perceived more constructively and less defensively.85

YOUR THOUGHTS?

1. What advice would you give to managers on how to handle their own anger and other negative emotions at work?

2. What advice would you give to managers on how to handle the anger and negative emotions felt (and expressed) by their direct reports?

3. What has been the most productive way for you to deal with your negative emotions?

The Good and Bad of Anger at Work OB in Action

But  what can you do when, as is inevitable, sometimes you feel negative emotions at work? The OB in Action box describes the costs and benefits of displaying anger at work.

Anger isn’t the only negative emotion. Table 3.7 provides guidance on a variety of negative emotions and how to deal with them. As you study the table, think of your own experiences and reactions and how the recommendations could have helped you handle them.

114 PART 1 Individual Behavior

When executives get angry, they can get rude. In 2001, unhappy with an investor in a conference call who noted Enron seemed unable to produce its balance sheet, CEO Jeff Skilling said, “Well, thank you very much, we appreciate that, A–hole.” Enron later declared bankruptcy in one of the biggest financial scandals at the start of the century. Skilling was convicted on 19 counts of securities and wire fraud in 2006. © Jessica Kourkounis/AP Photo

Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo! from 2009 to 2011, told staff that if anyone leaked company secrets, she would “drop-kick” them “to f—ing Mars.” Like Skilling’s comment, Bartz’s statement was widely reported. Bartz was fired, though most likely for business reasons and not for tough talk. © Manu Fernandez/AP Photo

TABLE 3.7 COMMON NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND HOW TO HANDLE THEM

If You’re Feeling . . .

Then You Might Want To . . .

Fearful Step back and try to see the situation objectively. Ask yourself: “Is my business or career truly at risk?” If not, then you may just be feeling nervous and excited rather than fearful.

Rejected Do you respect the opinion of the person rejecting you? If the comment came from someone you don’t respect, rejection may actually be a backhanded compliment. If you do respect the person, you may want to clarify by asking: “The other day you said ________ and I felt hurt. Can you clarify what happened?”

Angry Get some distance from the situation to avoid blowing your top in the heat of the moment. Once you calm down, pinpoint the reason you are angry. Most often the reason is that somebody violated a rule or standard that is deeply important to you. Find a way to communicate the importance of the rule or standard to the person so it doesn’t happen again.

Frustrated We can all get frustrated at work when results don’t meet our expectations, given the amount of time and energy we’ve applied. The goal often is achievable, but progress is slow. First, reassess your plan and behavior. Do they need modification? If not, then perhaps you simply need to be patient.

Inadequate Even those with the highest self-esteem feel they don’t measure up at times. Our discussion of self-efficacy and how to build it in Table 3.5 can guide your solution to this emotion.

Stressed Time constraints are a major source of stress. Too many commitments, too little time. You need to prioritize! Do what is important rather than what is urgent. For example, most e-mail is urgent but not important.

SOURCE: Adapted from G. James, “Feeling Negative? How to Overcome It,” Inc. November 26, 2012.

115Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

You learned that who you are affects performance because individual differences (IDs) play an im- portant and often fundamental role in the way you perform at school, at work, and in other contexts. Many practical applications of this learning will al- low you to improve your own performance and work more effectively in any organizational set- ting, including one where you manage others. Re- inforce your learning with the Key Points below. Consolidate your learning using the Organizing Framework. Then challenge your mastery of the material by answering the Major Questions in your own words.

Key Points for Understanding Chapter 3 You learned the following key points.

3.1 THE DIFFERENCES MATTER ΄� Individual differences (IDs) is a broad cate-

gory used to describe the vast number of at- tributes (traits and behaviors) that describe a person.

΄� It is helpful to think of IDs in terms of their rel- ative stability. Intelligence is relatively fixed, while attitudes and emotions are more flexi- ble and under a person’s control.

3.2 INTELLIGENCES: THERE IS MORE TO THE STORY THAN IQ

΄� Intelligence represents an individual’s capac- ity for constructive thinking, reasoning, and problem solving. It is more than IQ.

΄� Howard Gardner, in his theory of multiple intelligences, describes eight different intelligences—linguistic, logical, musical, kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intraper- sonal, and naturalist.

΄� Practical intelligence is the ability to solve everyday problems by utilizing knowledge

gained from experience in order to purpose- fully adapt to, shape, and select environments.

΄� Knowledge of various forms of intelligence is useful for identifying intelligences relevant to particular jobs, which we can use to select, place, and develop individuals accordingly.

3.3 PERSONALITY, OB, AND MY EFFECTIVENESS

΄� Personality is the combination of stable physi- cal, behavioral, and mental characteristics that give individuals their unique identities.

΄� A useful way to describe personality is using the Big Five personality profiles. Its dimen- sions are extroversion, agreeableness, con- scientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience.

΄� People with proactive personalities are rela- tively unconstrained by situational forces and often affect environmental change. Proactive people identify opportunities and act on them, show initiative, take action, and perse- vere until meaningful change occurs.

΄� Employers use personality tests to select and place employees. There is no ideal personal- ity, however, and personality testing often has flaws.

3.4 CORE SELF-EVALUATIONS: HOW MY EFFICACY, ESTEEM, LOCUS, AND STABILITY AFFECT MY PERFORMANCE

΄� Core self-evaluations (CSEs) represent a broad personality trait consisting of four nar- row and positive individual traits: (1) self- efficacy, (2) self-esteem, (3) locus of control, and (4) emotional stability.

΄� Self-efficacy is a person’s belief about his or her chances of successfully accomplishing a specific task.

΄� Self-efficacy beliefs can be improved via ex- perience, behavior models, persuasion from others, and emotional state.

What Did I Learn?

116 PART 1 Individual Behavior

΄� Most experiences at and outside work are a mixture of positive and negative emotions, rather than purely one or the other.

΄� Besides positive and negative, we distinguish emotions in terms of whether they have a future orientation (anxiety) or a past orientation (anger).

΄� Organizations have emotion display norms, or rules, that dictate which types of emotions are expected and appropriate for their members to show. It therefore is important to learn how to recognize and manage emotions.

The Organizing Framework for Chapter 3 As shown in Figure 3.6, you learned how individ- ual differences can present themselves through the process of emotions (both felt and expressed) at the individual level, affecting many workplace outcomes at both the individual and group/team levels.

Challenge: Major Questions for Chapter 3 You should now be able to answer the following questions. Unless you can, have you really

΄� Managers can realize the practical value of CSEs by selecting employees based on them and then training them to enhance elements of their CSEs.

3.5 THE VALUE OF BEING EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT

΄� Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor our own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate between them, and to use this information to guide our thinking and actions.

΄� EI is associated with higher sales and im- proved retention, as well as leadership emer- gence, behavior, and effectiveness.

΄� An individual can develop EI by building per- sonal competence (self-awareness and self- management) and social competence (social awareness and relationship management).

3.6 UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS TO INFLUENCE PERFORMANCE

΄� Emotions are complex, relatively brief re- sponses aimed at a particular target, such as a person, information, experience, or event.

FIGURE 3.6 ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING OB

© 2014 Angelo Kinicki and Mel Fugate. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without permission of the authors.

INPUTS PROCESSES OUTCOMES

Person Factors ΄� Intelligences ΄� Personality ΄� Proactive personality ΄� Core self-evaluations ΄� Self-efficacy ΄� Locus of control ΄� Self-esteem ΄� Emotional intelligence Situation Factors

Individual Level ΄� Emotions Group/Team Level ΄� Group/team dynamics Organizational Level

Individual Level ΄� Task performance ΄� Work attitudes ΄� Well-being/flourishing ΄� Turnover ΄� Career outcomes Group/Team Level ΄� Group/team performance ΄� Group satisfaction Organizational Level ΄� Financial performance ΄� Survival ΄� Reputation

117Individual Differences and Emotions CHAPTER 3

3. How does my personality affect my perfor- mance at school and work?

4. How do self-evaluations affect my perfor- mance at work?

5. What is emotional intelligence and how does it help me?

6. How can understanding emotions make me more effective at work?

processed and internalized the lessons in the chapter? Refer to the Key Points, Figure 3.6, the chapter itself, and your notes to revisit and an- swer the following major questions:

1. How does understanding the relative stability of individual differences benefit me?

2. How do multiple intelligences affect my performance?

IMPLICATIONS FOR ME From a practical standpoint, increasing your knowledge of the many individual differences, such as personality, intelligences, CSEs, and EI—what they are, how they operate, and why they matter—will increase your own performance. Use your new knowledge, along with the self-assessments and concepts learned in Chapter 2, to enhance your self-awareness. Then use this knowledge to identify the pros and cons of particular IDs for you at school and work. We also recommend applying your knowledge of the many IDs to create profiles of the managers and leaders where you work (or where you want to work if you’re not cur- rently employed). Profiling the “important people” in this way will not only illustrate the concepts you’ve learned, but it also will serve as a template or prototype of what is valued at a particular employer. In other words, create a profile of what successful people look like. Use this knowledge to highlight those same qualities you possess during job interviews and also to guide your own development. Be sure to include emotional intelligence, be- cause despite mixed research results, we have shown that it can make or break individuals.

IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS IDs have great practical significance for managers. First, it is useful to explicitly include the individual differences that matter most in job descriptions. This means you are well served to list job responsibilities and the employee characteristics you think are most important to be successful in a particular job. Second, use your knowledge of the continuum when se- lecting and training employees. Realize that you often will want to hire and test for rela- tively fixed traits (intelligence and personality), because these are not easy to change, and consider training or coaching the others. You should also assess your own emotional intel- ligence, paying explicit attention to both personal and social competence. Don’t simply make a summary judgment—“I have high EI,” or “My EI is pretty good.” Given the potential consequences of low EI, you are wise to put in the effort to learn about and improve both aspects of yours (if needed). After doing this, you will be better prepared to assess the emotional intelligence of those you manage and those you consider hiring. These actions will benefit you, them, other coworkers, and the larger organization.