Personality: Five-Factor Model, Myers-Briggs Indicator

I’ve always been regarded as an interesting character. I graduated from high school early. By the time I was 19, I was complete 3 years of university. By the time I was 22, I drove a $101,900 car and had two properties – though my fortunes reversed sharply in 2020, especially after the COVID-19 crisis and the decline in oil prices. I made a lot of friends, yet a lot of enemies (mostly unconsciously). I was often a target for attacks or otherwise, troubles. I didn’t socialize much when I was little. I was regarded as one who preferred to work individually, anti-social, introverted.

Five-Factor Model of Personality (CANOE)

In an Organizational Behavior course I am currently completing, we study this personality model, based on 5 main factors: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extroversion. It’s not used as much as other more neutral models in practice, especially in couching applications. Nevertheless, I can relate to it and how it’s affected my work behaviors.

Conscientiousness

I’ve been extremely goal-oriented, disciplined, organized, industrious, and dependable. My goals have been calculated to be specific, measurable, attainable (somewhat), realistic (somewhat), and timely. Some say they’re downright crazy, but I take them with the uttermost urgency and seriousness.

By coincidence, I hardly suffer from counterproductive work behaviors. I’ve learned to be extremely efficient and productive; proficient task performance has been sky high – although not always as high as I’d like.

Agreeableness

I hardly score high on agreeableness. Growing up in many negative experiences, I’m hardly trusting, flexible, or tolerant. I’ve developed a reputation for being downright stubborn and having no patience.

Oddly enough, these traits also have it difficult for me to develop counterproductive work behaviors. I’ve spent most my energy focusing on myself and the end goal.

The oilfield and construction industries have always been cyclical in nature, with much of the work being project-based and temporary in nature. I’ve just seen them as springboards to accomplish my long-term investment and self-development goals. I hardly engaged in organizational citizenship behaviors. They hardly care about their workers in this day and age; there’s little incentive to develop relational contracts. Employment has been like a business with short-term economic exchange. I make you money, and you provide a paycheck.

Neuroticism

I’ve grown up struggling with depression and anger, further amplified by my negative experiences working in the oilfield and throughout Alberta. According to the theory, neuroticism is negatively correlated with adaptive task performance. I’m not supposed to be good at adapting to change. Perhaps I am not. Adaptive task performance is supposed to be associated with aligning with, or supporting a new or changing environment. I’ve had a habit of just going to another.

Openness

If I weren’t open to experience, I would be just like almost every other university student, seeking only an office job, and looking to be only a tax-paying employee until I retired. I wouldn’t had seen life much different. I wouldn’t had learned by trying new things. I wouldn’t had been curious. By exhibiting openness, I learned to strengthen my proactive task performance. I learned to anticipate and introduce new solutions or work patterns over the years. I sought to become something better everyday.

Extroversion

I’m far from extroverted. Growing up, I’ve been downright introverted. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to reap the benefits of increased proactive or adaptive task performance that extroversion would otherwise warrant. Fortunately, extroversion is a weaker (but still present) predictor of proficient task performance than conscientiousness.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Due to its neutrality, this theory is more popular, and is based on one’s preferences on perceiving and judging information.

Getting Energy: Introversion vs. Extroversion

Like the former model, this one describes a person as steering towards either introverted or extroverted. Interestingly, it describes introversion to be associated with abstract thinking and imagination, rather than assertiveness. I gain my energy by focusing on my mind more than social interaction. I tend to be less assertive and like to have wild dreams. External interaction tires me out.

Perceiving Information: Sensing vs. Intuitive

Either the subject prefers to be concrete, realistic, and practical, or imaginative and abstract. My behavior I like to describe as definitely more on the sensing side. This theory describes intuition to be associated with imagination and abstract thinking when it comes to taking in information.

This perhaps explains why I like to be different and creative, although I am far more logic-focused and prefer trustworthy, accurate, rational sources of information, rather than relying on imagination. I get my energy from being internally focused and imagining wild ideas. I just happen to not rely on my creative side when processing information.

Making Decisions: Thinking vs. Feeling

I can strongly relate to this one. I like my goals and intentions to be clearly defined and calculated. I like to think my decisions through rather than going by feel. I actively critique emotional investors. This model also does actually predict that I tend to be impersonal and objective-focused rather than more caring and emotion-focused.

Orientating to the Outside World: Judging vs. Perceiving

This one measures whether you’re organized or spontaneous, schedule-focused or adaptable, closure-focused or opportunity-focused. I find I fall in between in each of the latter 2 measures. I don’t like being at places at certain times and I like to be lax in my scheduling, and take it as it goes. I used to be closure-focused, but after setting many goals throughout my life that have never been fulfilled, I now prefer to be more opportunistic.