The Downside of Too Much Personality

The “Big Five” factors of personality are broad dimensions used to describe human personality. The factors are openness, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. 

In a number of research studies, across a wide variety of job types, conscientiousness has been the best of the Big Five at consistently predicting job performance. A meta-analysis on emotional intelligence (EI) that I described here recently confirmed that conscientiousness has a direct effect on job performance.

Conscientious people are dependable, persistent, organized, and goal directed. As employees, they tend to be more motivated to perform well on the job; however, excessively conscientious folks can be so focused on their goals that they become rigid and inflexible.

How is Too Much Personality Bad?

Is it possible that too much strength in a personality can be a weakness? Yes! Many people view or perceive storing personalities as too much. Here’s how:

• Overpowering. People with too much personality often overpower a situation. They exert their point and make it all about themselves, giving little to no space to others to express their views.
• Not Fit for Professional Settings. People with a lot of personality may be loud, expressive, and casual. This is often not the right fit for a professional setting where things are quieter and more serious.
• Eccentric. Too much personality can make you assertive, and eccentric people often find it hard to relate to or talk to such a person. It makes the person stand out from the crowd, making others feel uncomfortable.
• Arrogance. Although not all people with strong personalities are arrogant, they may be viewed as such. They may be seen as elitist, self-centered, and insensitive to others’ feelings.
• Mentally Draining. Engaging with someone who is loud and has a lot to talk about is often draining. They are all high-energy, and trying to match their energies can be tiring.

A new study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology examined the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance. The study also examined how this relationship might differ between high complexity and low complexity jobs. High complexity jobs (e.g. accountant, financial analyst, scientist, and engineer) require accuracy, creativity, and non-routine tasks, while low complexity jobs (e.g., bank teller, bookkeeper, administrative assistant) involve routine tasks requiring speed and accuracy.

The study found a curvilinear relationship between conscientiousness and performance that was most pronounced for low complexity jobs. This means that higher levels of conscientiousness resulted in higher levels of performance up to a point. Beyond that point, more conscientiousness lead to decreased performance. 

The drop in performance was very slight for high complexity jobs, but for low complexity jobs, the drop in performance occurred sooner and was significant (see below). The study also examined the relationship between emotional stability (calm, steady under pressure) and job performance and found the same curvilinear effects.

The implications are pretty clear. For your jobs that are highly complex, selecting and promoting highly conscientious employees is one of the best things you can do to facilitate performance. For your less complex, more routine jobs, keep in mind that too much strength can be a weakness. The best employee for some jobs is the good one, not the great one.

How to Work on the Positive Aspects of Your Personality?

You can shift the focal areas of your personality. Instead of focusing on yourself or your opinions, bring the conversation to the context. See how your beliefs, opinions, or you can help others in such a situation.

• Keep an Open Mind. Work on making others feel less intimidated with your confidence and openness. Do not impose your opinions on them; keep the conversation open and let everyone have a word.
• Develop Feelings of Empathy. Instead of being assertive, work on empathy and sizing with others. Be considerate about space and let them speak. You’ll still have a strong personality, but you won’t be empowering them this way.
• Work on Quality. Instead of talking a lot, work on the quality of your content. You should know the intent and what you mean to say instead of talking and repeating the same thing to assert your point. Listen to others as much as you talk.
• Adjust the Volume. Be mindful of other people’s comfort level with you. If they are hesitant to talk or bring up an argument with you, you need to reassess your conversations. First, reduce the volume so the other person feels comfortable enough to talk. This will build a balanced interaction in which you all can speak.
• Don’t Shoot Down an Idea. It’s often natural for people with too much personality to dismiss an idea immediately or blurt out a thought that leads to discord in the conversation. Remember, there’s a difference between being assertive and confronting others, especially when you don’t agree with them. Simply agree to disagree.
• Admit When You’re Wrong. When you admit you could be wrong, you open the door to perspective and strengthen your working relationships. It is hard to do, but you’ll see wonderful things happen when you do.

Wrap Up

The key is to fine-tune your strengths to make your personality inspiring and strong instead of intimidating to others. You need to balance assertiveness with empathy and regard for others in your interactions, and you’ll see that your “too much personality” becomes your strength.

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Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Management at The University of Nevada, Reno. He earned his doctorate in Business Administration at Oklahoma State University. Bret blogs about leadership and social business at his website Positive Organizational Behavior. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.