Hi all,
Since Jordan Peterson often mentions the big 5 personality traits, I'd like to share some thoughts about how this concept might be useful in the context of the Work.
Here's a definition from Wikipedia:
Although this doesn't seem to be an exact science, the statistical correlations between the traits ('clusters') seem to be well-established.
I'm not well-versed yet in this concept, but I already found some interesting applications for it in real life. If we assume that we are dominated to an extent by certain traits while lacking others, then in the context of the Work, I think we should become aware of it and try to balance these traits to a degree. Setting the right Aims can help with that because it forces us to go beyond 'what we normally do'.
There is another aspect to this I think: becoming aware of one's own traits and the fact that other people might have other dominant traits can help us understand other people much better. It can reduce anxiety or anger or other negative emotions because we can see other people's behavior in a different light.
For example, I'm fairly sure I'm high in openness, agreeableness and neuroticism, but lower on conscientiousness. So when someone who is high in conscientiousness/lower in agreeableness communicates with me, I might misinterpret him and think he's unfriendly, doesn't like what I did and so on. Knowing about different traits helps me seeing his behavior as an expression of a different temperament - just because I myself usually communicate differently doesn't mean that there's something wrong! In fact, I can adapt to his way of seeing the world, which makes communication much quicker and easier.
Since I learned about the big 5 traits, I noticed quite a few differences in the way people see the world, communicate and set priorities. Especially in my job context this is very apparent. It's also funny how we tend to like people better who share a similar temperament because we can instantly understand each other. But that says nothing about the true qualities of the person! So maybe we can avoid such pitfalls by being aware of fundamental differences in temperament and instead focus on the things that really count and/or help the other person overcome some flaws by reacting in a way that keeps his or her temperament in mind.
On another note, I think my efforts working on myself already helped me balance my traits a little more - if only just a bit. For example, I think I'm a little more conscientious and less agreeable now than I used to be, i.e. my work ethic and 'sense of duty' improved while my submissiveness decreased - or so I hope. It would actually be interesting to take a standard big 5 personality test once in awhile if we are engaged in self-work and see if things change a bit over time.
Anyway, I think there is more to this and I didn't delve very deeply into it - but it seems to me that it's another useful tool to understand oneself and other people and to transcend our 'standard operating mode'. It might help as well to define fruitful goals for oneself to work on.
Since Jordan Peterson often mentions the big 5 personality traits, I'd like to share some thoughts about how this concept might be useful in the context of the Work.
Here's a definition from Wikipedia:
The Big Five personality traits, also known as the five factor model (FFM), is a model based on common language descriptors of personality. When factor analysis (a statistical technique) is applied to personality survey data, some words used to describe aspects of personality are often applied to the same person. For example, someone described as "conscientious" is more likely to be described as "always prepared" than "messy". This widely examined theory suggests five broad dimensions used by some psychologists to describe the human personality and psyche.[1][2] The five factors have been defined as openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, often listed under the acronyms OCEAN or CANOE. Beneath each proposed global factor, a number of correlated and more specific primary factors are claimed. For example, extraversion is said to include such related qualities as gregariousness, assertiveness, excitement seeking, warmth, activity, and positive emotions.[3]
That these factors can be found is consistent with the lexical hypothesis: firstly that those personality characteristics that are most important in peoples' lives will eventually become a part of their language; secondly that more important personality characteristics are more likely to be encoded into language as a single word.
...
The five factors:
Openness to experience: (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious). Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience. Openness reflects the degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity and a preference for novelty and variety a person has. It is also described as the extent to which a person is imaginative or independent, and depicts a personal preference for a variety of activities over a strict routine. High openness can be perceived as unpredictability or lack of focus. Moreover, individuals with high openness are said to pursue self-actualization specifically by seeking out intense, euphoric experiences, such as skydiving, living abroad, gambling, et cetera. Conversely, those with low openness seek to gain fulfillment through perseverance, and are characterized as pragmatic and data-driven—sometimes even perceived to be dogmatic and closed-minded. Some disagreement remains about how to interpret and contextualize the openness factor.
Conscientiousness: (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless). A tendency to be organized and dependable, show self-discipline, act dutifully, aim for achievement, and prefer planned rather than spontaneous behavior. High conscientiousness is often perceived as stubbornness and obsession. Low conscientiousness is associated with flexibility and spontaneity, but can also appear as sloppiness and lack of reliability.[4]
Extraversion: (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved). Energy, positive emotions, surgency, assertiveness, sociability and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others, and talkativeness. High extraversion is often perceived as attention-seeking, and domineering. Low extraversion causes a reserved, reflective personality, which can be perceived as aloof or self-absorbed.[4]
Agreeableness: (friendly/compassionate vs. challenging/detached). A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others. It is also a measure of one's trusting and helpful nature, and whether a person is generally well-tempered or not. High agreeableness is often seen as naive or submissive. Low agreeableness personalities are often competitive or challenging people, which can be seen as argumentative or untrustworthy.[4]
Neuroticism: (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident). The tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, and vulnerability. Neuroticism also refers to the degree of emotional stability and impulse control and is sometimes referred to by its low pole, "emotional stability". A high need for stability manifests as a stable and calm personality, but can be seen as uninspiring and unconcerned. A low need for stability causes a reactive and excitable personality, often very dynamic individuals, but they can be perceived as unstable or insecure.[4]
People who don't exhibit a clear tendency towards specific characteristics chosen from the above-mentioned related pairs in all five dimensions are [considered] adaptable, moderate and reasonable personalities, but can be perceived as unprincipled, inscrutable and calculating.[4]
Although this doesn't seem to be an exact science, the statistical correlations between the traits ('clusters') seem to be well-established.
I'm not well-versed yet in this concept, but I already found some interesting applications for it in real life. If we assume that we are dominated to an extent by certain traits while lacking others, then in the context of the Work, I think we should become aware of it and try to balance these traits to a degree. Setting the right Aims can help with that because it forces us to go beyond 'what we normally do'.
There is another aspect to this I think: becoming aware of one's own traits and the fact that other people might have other dominant traits can help us understand other people much better. It can reduce anxiety or anger or other negative emotions because we can see other people's behavior in a different light.
For example, I'm fairly sure I'm high in openness, agreeableness and neuroticism, but lower on conscientiousness. So when someone who is high in conscientiousness/lower in agreeableness communicates with me, I might misinterpret him and think he's unfriendly, doesn't like what I did and so on. Knowing about different traits helps me seeing his behavior as an expression of a different temperament - just because I myself usually communicate differently doesn't mean that there's something wrong! In fact, I can adapt to his way of seeing the world, which makes communication much quicker and easier.
Since I learned about the big 5 traits, I noticed quite a few differences in the way people see the world, communicate and set priorities. Especially in my job context this is very apparent. It's also funny how we tend to like people better who share a similar temperament because we can instantly understand each other. But that says nothing about the true qualities of the person! So maybe we can avoid such pitfalls by being aware of fundamental differences in temperament and instead focus on the things that really count and/or help the other person overcome some flaws by reacting in a way that keeps his or her temperament in mind.
On another note, I think my efforts working on myself already helped me balance my traits a little more - if only just a bit. For example, I think I'm a little more conscientious and less agreeable now than I used to be, i.e. my work ethic and 'sense of duty' improved while my submissiveness decreased - or so I hope. It would actually be interesting to take a standard big 5 personality test once in awhile if we are engaged in self-work and see if things change a bit over time.
Anyway, I think there is more to this and I didn't delve very deeply into it - but it seems to me that it's another useful tool to understand oneself and other people and to transcend our 'standard operating mode'. It might help as well to define fruitful goals for oneself to work on.