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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
Textbook Project: Personality Applied to the Organization Assignment
Kelley
School of Business, Liberty University
Author Note
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to .
Email:
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
Abstract
There are so many styles of personalities in an organization, and the textbook assignment is
going to go into detail about my personality assessment. It will bring awareness to where my
strengths and weaknesses are. The project will have three steps and be broke down into three
sections. Step 1 will discuss personality insights, Big 5 with Myers-Briggs, attitude, motivation,
and decision-making. Part 2 will discuss working with others in communication, leadership, and
conflict style. Part 3 will discuss life in organizations in politics, needs, and organizational
climate. Step 2 will cover many aspects of how I will use my gifts with my team and how I will
communicate effectively as a leader or manager. Step 3 will explain how the Holy Spirit has led
me through daily duties in leadership, decisions, and executing those decisions.
Keywords: personality, communication, insights, strengths
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
Textbook Project: Personality Applied to the Organization Assignment
In today’s digital world and working remote, it is imperative more now than ever to learn
what our gifts are so we can add value to our organizations. In the organizing framework,
Kinicki (2017) identifies that communication is a process that effects not only at the individual
level, but also the group and organizational level. A team that is aware of each other’s strengths
and place them in a task or role, will not only maximize their effectiveness, but it will reveal
fulfillment in everyone with no performance gaps (Kinicki, 2017).
Step 1
Part 1: Personality Insights
Big Five with Myers-Briggs. According to Holman & Hughes (2021) the Big-Five
personality traits are a wide portrayal of someone’s distinctive pattern of feeling and behaving. It
has been discovered that personality traits are not fixed, rather they develop over time with
experiences (Holman & Hughes, 2021). The score for my Big Five personality was broken down
into five personalities. The assessment shows I am high in extraversion with a nine, which means
I am outgoing, talkative, and sociable. This is very accurate, I am always talking with people and
wanting to get to know them. Another area I scored a 100% on is agreeableness. This confirms
that I am one who is good-natured, trusting, and cooperative. It also aligns with my ESFJ
personality type.
Attitude and Core Values Insights. My attitude toward this assessment is that some of it
is based on current emotions and the mindset I am currently in. I do not believe that some of the
questions are accurate daily, because life comes in seasons as it states in the Bible. “To
everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (King James Bible,
2005, Ecclesiastes 3:1).
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
Motivation Insights. There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic
motivation engages people when they receive external rewards (Kinicki, 2021). Intrinsic
motivation is when someone does well, they have an internal feeling of positivity (Kinicki,
2021). For this assessment, I scored a 24, which shows that I have a moderate motivation to
manage those around me. Managing people does not come naturally to me, so I always needed
additional training and watching leadership webinars to gain knowledge of how to lead. I would
have to continue being intentional with being a manager and find ways that will provide me
fulfillment in an area that I’m only moderate in. Finally, overall, the assessment shows that I
have a low desire to be in competition at my workplace. It is true that certain characteristics
change overtime, because when I was younger, I used to be highly competitive.
Decision Making/Problem Solving Insights. According to my Myers-Briggs assessment
I am a Feeler. Feelers make decisions and problem solve differently than Thinkers do, Feelers
think (Kroeger et al., 2002). I take my time and think longer when processing information to
make an informed decision. I will think of the 2nd and 3rd order of affects and be aware of how it
will affect others (Kroeger et al., 2002). The Connect assessment shows I’m moderate in
engagement. I am an extrovert according to the assessment, so in problem solving I need to make
sure I pause after someone speaks before I chime in (Kroeger et al., 2021). I also need to make
sure I don’t talk over the person that is speaking. This is something I do and now I’m self-aware
so that I can be intentional with focusing on listening versus thinking of what I want to say.
Part 2: Working with Others
Communication Competency and Listening Styles. Communication is key to success
in any organization or even at home with your family. Most organizations now rank
communication at the top of the list of skills that they look for in new hires (Kinicki, 2021). I
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
scored 68% in being engaged, which is a moderate level (McGraw-Hill, 2017). This score should
have been much higher since communication is my core value. Listening is also an area that I
value. In my workplace, I notice many people do not listen they are too busy thinking about what
they want to say after the other person is done talking. Listening goes together with
communication because without listening there is a breakdown in communication.
Leadership Readiness and Team Insights. I have a strong sense of initiating structure in
this assessment. Maintaining standards to keep performance levels high are my priority
(McGraw-Hill, 2017). I scored a 96% in both initiating structure and exhibiting a high
consideration for leader behavior. My personality type of the letter E-Extrovert shows that it is an
important characteristic that lines up with leadership attributes (McGraw-Hill, 2017).
Conflict Tendencies/Style. According to my assessment, I have a low need for power
scoring an 11, which is very accurate. Because I have a low need for power, I lean toward
avoiding conflict and gravitate toward a compromise style of resolving conflict (McGraw-Hill,
2017). As a Judger and trying to resolve conflicts, I need to make sure I make an optimistic
resolution before I think about winning the conflict (Kroeger et al., 2021). Also, I tend to
overload people with too many specific details because in my head I feel like people want that,
but it’s the opposite of what people want. In fact, I have had bosses in the past tell me I need to
get to the point and that I provide too much information. It has taken me 10 years to develop this
behavior, but I have tenacity and want to be a better version of myself.
Part 3: Life in Organizations
Organizational Politics. The assessment showed that my organization has a moderate
diversity climate and it scored at 71% (McGraw-Hill, 2017). This specific area in my
organization I do not pay much attention to politics because I believe it can be a stumbling block
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
and a distraction. According to Hochwarter et al. (2020) a survey was done with 2,700 people
from various countries, and the perception of organization politics is a key barrier to job
performance. Additionally, putting a lot of focus on work politics stunts the growth of a team and
becomes narcissistic (Hochwarter et al., 2020). An example of me rating myself low on the
assessment is, not wanting to be in a unique position that is highly visible because I don’t favor
politics (McGraw-Hill, 2017).
Organizational Needs-Employee Satisfaction, Job Fit, Core Skills. I have a moderate
need for achievement and a score of 72%, a high need for affiliation with a score of 84%, and a
low need for power with a score of 44%. I was surprised that my result for achievement was only
moderate because I usually strive for excellence and wanting to achieve. I don’t believe this is an
accurate description of my dominant characteristic.
Organizational Change and Climate. According to Kinicki (2021) employee behavior
is adjusted based on how they are people treated if it is fair or unfairly. For the organization
assessment, I scored a 72% (McGraw-Hill, 2017). I am confident that most of the time my
workplace is a fair and impartial workplace, however, there have been times that people are not
appreciated or treated with respect. My organization is getting better to making sure that the
climate is positive, but it doesn’t matter how many policies are in place, there are always going
to be people that do not treat others in fairness.
Step 2
These assessments were beneficial because it is actual proof of how I approach things. I
do know that some of the questions will be different daily, like I mentioned before about having
seasons in life. The assessment shows that my level of engagement is only moderate, but to me I
feel like I should have been rated high. I have a high absorption level, where I am very attached
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
to my work so that I can be successful in completing my tasks for the day (McGraw-Hill, 2017).
This helps with organizational behavior because it sets the tone and the example for others that I
work around. According to Kinicki (2021) employee engagement is important because it
promotes excellence in daily tasks. Engagement has four feelings that promote healthy
engagement and those are: urgency, focus, intensity, and enthusiasm (Kinicki, 2021). My current
team at work suffers from having a lack of these four feelings. Three out of five employees do
not have urgency or focus; therefore, we fall behind on deadlines and meeting our mission goal.
Because I am high in intensity, it sometimes can be taken negatively if others around me are
moving at a glacial pace, it gives me anxiety. ESFJs, like myself, will become stressed out and
worried when others don’t perform at their level (Kroeger et al., 2021). I know that if I’m aware
of these pitfalls of my personality type, I can manage my emotional intelligence and become a
better leader or manager.
I have learned some valuable wisdom from the results of my assessment. It has made me
become aware of how I deal with people and make decisions. I realize that as an ESFJ, I must
understand that conflicts are going to happen, so I handle them with courage. I typically run from
conflict and want everything to be harmonious (Kroeger et al., 2021). I know that my strengths
are being highly fruitful, and I have a sense of faithfulness to my organization. These are he
characteristics that will propel me to be a great leader or manager.
Step 3
Whatever I do, I want to do it well and all to the glory of God. I rely heavily on the
leading of the Holy Spirit. One of my weaknesses that I mentioned in Step 2, was overloading
people with too many details. I was made aware of this weakness by several people, and I
genuinely wanted to get better at it so I could get to my main point as quick as possible. Looking
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
at a biblical perspective on how I stay in line with God’s will, I am intentional with bible study.
“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy
way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (King James Bible, 2005,
Psalm 37:4-5). I have learned that I do have some weaknesses in areas of decision-making and
conflict resolution, so this is where I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me using relying on this
verse: And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body;
and be ye thankful (King James Bible, 2005, Colossians 3:15).
Conclusion
In conclusion, I expanded on my McGraw-Hill Connect assessment by providing well
rounded thoughts and insights on my personality contributes to my organization, and weaknesses
that have evolved overtime. I discussed in Step 1 how the results of each assessment correlated
to my current organization. In Step 2, I got into detail how the results apply to me in my
workplace, and how it makes me a good leader. It also shows how I can be a better leader by
taking my weaknesses and refining them. Step 3 covered how the Holy Spirit has guided me over
the years and being diligent on using discernment when I make decisions and problem solve.
Finally, the Biblical perspective using bible verses allows the reader to gain a better mental
picture of the way I approach not only my personal life, but in the workplace as well.
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TEXTBOOK PROJECT: PERSONALITY APPLIED TO THE ORGANIZATION
References
Hochwarter, W. A., Rosen, C. C., Jordan, S. L., Ferris, G. R., Ejaz, A., & Maher, L. P. (2020).
Perceptions of organizational politics research: Past, present, and future. Journal of
Management, 46(6), 879-907. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206319898506
Holman, D. J., & Hughes, D. J. (2021). Transactions between Big‐5 personality traits and job
characteristics across 20 years. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,
94(3), 762-788. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12332
Kinicki, A. (2021). Organizational behavior. A practical, problem-solving approach. 3rd edition.
https://prod.reader-ui.prod.mheducation.com
King James Bible. (2005). Expositor’s Study Bible.
Kroeger, O., Thuesen J., & Rutledge H. (2002). Type talk at work.
McGraw-Hill. (2017). The McGraw-Hill connect assessment.
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