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  In terms of suitability for different types of work, the behavioural style of this sort of person needs to be matched to the job requirements. It will depend on the exact nature of the job and the behavioural style of the individual.

  Assess yourself on agreeableness

  Circle your answers to the questions below. Are they mostly in the High or Low column? If it is a mixture of both you are likely to be moderately agreeable.

  HIGH LOW

  Do you go out of your way to help others? Yes No

  Are you trusting of people or are you wary of others? Trusting Wary

  Do you have quite a competitive streak? No Yes

  Are you soft and sympathetic when people have problems or tough-minded and expect them to sort themselves out? Soft and sympathetic Tough-minded

  Emotional stability

  High emotional stability

  People with high emotional stability tend to have a relaxed and laid-back approach to life. They are not easily upset by people and events and tend to be able to take life’s problems in their stride. They are likely to be quite confident and optimistic in their outlook and not anticipate problems before they have happened. They tend to be quite thick-skinned, brushing off criticism and insults from others, and they can be quite insensitive to others. They are difficult to anger and can cope well with pressure without becoming nervous or anxious. They are less likely than others to get worked up before important events. Sometimes their calm approach to things may mean that they do not become sufficiently energized to deal with a crisis or pressurized situation, and this behaviour can seem like a lack of interest or motivation.

  People with this behavioural style are well suited to dealing with stressful jobs. They can keep calm in a crisis and keep functioning without panicking. This is appropriate for jobs requiring crisis management skills or working in a pressurized environment. They can cope with having to make difficult decisions and will also be able to deal with adverse criticism without becoming unduly upset or taking things personally. This is helpful for roles where people deal with complaints and problems for much of the time. However, their approach may be too relaxed for some roles because they may not take problems or issues sufficiently seriously and not invest energy in finding solutions and dealing with matters.

  As job seekers their laid-back approach will mean that they do not suffer too much from nerves when attending interviews or completing tests and exercises. Their calm and together approach is likely to impress an interviewer, but their lack of nerves may mean that they fail to reach their full potential at interviews because a little bit of anxiety can be helpful in spurring performance.

  Low emotional stability

  People who are low on emotional stability tend to be quite anxious and tense. They find it difficult to relax and switch off, and they may find themselves continually worrying about things. They can become quite agitated before important events, and this can lead to poor performance. They can be pessimistic in outlook and anticipate difficulties and problems before they arise, which can lead them to be indecisive or overly cautious in their approach. They are sensitive to criticism and can be easily upset by the remarks of others. This may exacerbate their feelings of tension, and they may be easily irritated or angered. They can sometimes misinterpret innocuously intended remarks as critical and react accordingly.

  Their nervous energy can be helpful in motivating them to get on with things and make them more vigorous in trying to achieve their goals. However, their highly anxious approach can come across as neurotic and difficult. They may be difficult to manage, not least because their oversensitivity to chance remarks makes them touchy and demanding. They may find it difficult to calm down or switch off from outside pressures when they are at work and from work pressures when they are at home.

  The nervous energy of low emotional stability can be a source of motivational force to invest in tasks. Such people may be able to harness this nervous energy positively in a crisis to help increase their effort and surmount difficulties, and they sometimes have a strong need to achieve or to produce high quality results. They may work hard to deal with anticipated problems and to calm their own nerves. However, their oversensitivity makes them unsuitable for jobs where they are likely to face much criticism and do not have a supportive manager. Their general level of anxiety may make them susceptible to stress-related conditions.

  The high anxiety levels of someone low on emotional stability will mean that interviews for new jobs can be very difficult. People like this may not perform at their best because of nerves, and interviewers may pick up on this. A sympathetic interviewer may do their best to calm the candidate down, but someone less sympathetic could become impatient, which could make the situation even worse. A pessimistic outlook will not help because the candidate’s expectations that something will go wrong will only increase their nervousness. There are many techniques that people who do tend to get nervous can use to calm themselves down before important events, and it is worth spending time mastering one or two of these if you do suffer from nerves. Many people, for example, find concentrating on calm, even breathing for a minute or two very effective.

  Moderate emotional stability

  Those who have an intermediate level of emotional stability will tend to be reasonably relaxed for the most part, although they may be susceptible to nerves before important events or when they are approaching deadlines or important milestones in projects. This nervous energy may be helpful in achieving peak performance under pressure, and they may, therefore, be able to channel their anxiety positively for the most part but also be able to relax and calm down after difficult periods. They are likely to be able to balance a realistic view of the potential success of a project with a pragmatic understanding of the possible problems and pitfalls that could arise. Although they will not be indifferent to how they are seen by others, they will not be overly sensitive to criticism and should generally be able to take it in their stride and learn from constructive comments.

  Other people who are moderate in emotional stability may, on the other hand, have some of the traits associated with emotional stability and some that are more related to the more neurotic end of the trait. They may, for example, be highly anxious, find it difficult to relax, be generally irritable and easy to anger, but on the whole they may be quite thick-skinned and not worried by the criticism or comments of others.

  Assess yourself on emotional stability

  Circle your answers to the questions below. Are they mostly in the High or Low column? If it is a mixture of both you are likely to be moderately emotionally stable.

  HIGH LOW

  Do you worry a lot? No Yes

  Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic Pessimistic

  Do you take decisions easily or worry about them a lot? Easily Worry

  Are you confident and relaxed or tense and stressed? Confident and relaxed Tense and stressed

  Competencies

  Competencies are similar to personality traits in some ways but rather than trying to explain how people think, feel and behave in a general way, competencies focus on a person’s ability to do a job or at least some aspect of it. Competencies are often related to one or more personality traits but may also require relevant skills, abilities and knowledge. A person with a competency has those characteristics that result in effective job performance. An example of a competency might be problem solving, which is something you might have to do in many jobs. To be good at this you need to be good at analysing situations, but you also need to be quite creative to see the problem from different perspectives and come up with some ideas for solutions. If you had learned some problem-solving techniques this might also help improve your problem-solving competency.

  Another example of a competency is team working, which requires a different set of characteristics. In this case they would be mostly personality characteristics. A good team worker relates well to others in the team and is willing to help other team membe
rs. They will also work hard to help complete the team’s tasks and activities rather than leaving it to others to do the work. In term of the ‘big five’ personality dimensions discussed above, a good team worker needs to be moderate or above on agreeableness and moderate or above on conscientiousness. It would, therefore, be possible to use personality questionnaire scores to learn about some of a person’s competencies, and many employers do this with personality questionnaires. However, some employers prefer to measure competencies directly through questionnaires. These questionnaires may look like personality questionnaires, but the questions will be more focused on working effectively than on your style of working.

  Unlike personality traits, where there are no good or bad scores, competencies are directly about effectiveness at work, and so it is better to be high on a competency than low. However, it is the nature of competencies that some of them are not compatible with others – that is, if you are high on one you are unlikely to be high on another. For example, someone who is good at planning and organizing is less likely to be good at adapting to change and vice versa. The very traits that make you good at one tend to interfere with the other.

  Also in contrast to personality, there is no consensus on competency models. Typically, each organization develops its own set of competencies, and sometimes each role has its own series of competencies. In addition, competencies with similar titles can be quite different in different competency models. One organization might focus their leadership competency on setting objectives and managing work, for example, whereas another might focus more on the interpersonal aspects of leadership, such as energizing and motivating a team.

  Following are descriptions of some typical competencies and some questions that might be used to measure them. You will see that these questions are quite transparent, and it would be easy to paint a very rosy picture of your competencies. For this reason these questionnaires are not often used for selection but to aid in personal development. In this context a 360-degrees approach is often used. This is where as well as completing a questionnaire yourself, others who know you well and work with you, such as your manager, several colleagues and the people who report to you, could all be asked to complete questionnaires. Customers and clients are also sometimes asked to complete the questionnaire. In this way an all-round perspective on your competence, reflecting different views of your performance, is gained.

  Where a competency approach is used in selection you may find that rather than rating individual items you are asked to choose which statement from a number drawn from different competencies is most true of you – that is, you have to say which your strongest competencies are. Some competency questionnaires ask you to rate your agreement with statements or say how true they are of you. Others might ask you to rate how frequently you do something. The examples below use different formats so that you can practise different response options.

  Don’t worry if you don’t have all these competencies. Most people are competent in a number of areas, but few, if any, people are competent in all areas. Employers know this and focus on the competencies that are most important for the role they are selecting for. For instance, drive and initiative is not a requirement in all roles. Where managers and supervisors set policy and deal with problems, other staff do not need to show much initiative. If the role does not require it, someone with strong drive and initiative might become frustrated and unhappy. However, competencies are a useful way of thinking about your particular strengths – what you can bring to a role. Equally, if there is a competency that you don’t have a great deal of but that is important for the work you would like to do, you could identify this as a development need for yourself. Although your personality is fairly fixed and difficult to change, competencies can be developed.

  Drive and initiative

  People who are high on this competency are good at making things happen. They don’t wait to be told what to do; rather they see what needs to be done and go and do it. They have energy and initiative and are self-motivated. They are willing to take decisions where needed to make things happen and will act on opportunities when they arise.

  Example drive and initiative questions

  Rate how frequently you do each of the following at work using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Rarely Occasionally Sometimes Often Nearly always

  RESPONSE

  I use my own initiative when something needs doing.

  I can make decisions on partial information if necessary.

  I make sure I achieve my objective at work.

  Adapting to change

  People who are high on this competency cope well with change. If their priorities are changed or the organization restructures, they adapt flexibly and quickly to the new circumstances. They don’t get upset but keep on working as effectively as they can. They don’t become stressed under pressure or in a crisis but remain composed and focused on their work.

  Example adapting to change questions

  Rate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

  RESPONSE

  I am calm in a crisis.

  I cope well with change.

  I have a flexible approach to my work.

  Influencing

  People who are good at influencing have the ability to gain people’s agreement to their proposals. This might be in the context of getting a team to accept a new way of working or selling a product to a client. They can present ideas effectively and adapt their message to the needs of others. They are good negotiators.

  Example influencing questions

  Rate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

  RESPONSE

  I can easily persuade others.

  I am good at selling.

  I negotiate effectively.

  Communication

  People who are good at communication can express themselves clearly either in writing or orally. They have a clear, effective style and understand the needs of the listener or reader. They will check that their message is understood and adapt it if necessary to the recipient.

  Example communication questions

  Rate how frequently you do each of the following at work using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Rarely Occasionally Sometimes Often Nearly always

  RESPONSE

  I take account of my audience when presenting.

  I write effective reports.

  I explain complex information straightforwardly.

  Managing tasks

  People who are good at managing tasks can plan and organize well. They set clear goals, establish priorities and monitor progress to make sure that things get done. They make sure that deadlines are met and monitor standards. They work in an organized manner.

  Example managing tasks questions

  Rate how frequently you do each of the following at work using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Rarely Occasionally Sometimes Often Nearly always

  RESPONSE

  I take time to organize my work before I start.

  I get things done on time and within budget.

  I make sure that quality standards are maintained.

  Problem solving

  People who are good at problem solving can collect and analyse information about people or situations. This may include interpreting data as well as verbal and visual information. They can see to the core of a problem and focus on the most important issues. They find practical and rational solutions that are simple and effective.

  Example problem solving questions

  Rate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements using the scale below.

 
1 2 3 4 5

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

  RESPONSE

  I am good at analysing data.

  I can find practical solutions to problems.

  I understand complex information.

  Innovating

  People who are good at innovating can easily generate ideas and options. As well as developing their own ideas and solutions to problems, they can build creatively on the ideas of others. They can see the possibilities in a situation and develop new opportunities. They often come up with ideas others haven’t thought of.

  Example innovating questions

  Rate how frequently you do each of the following at work using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Rarely Occasionally Sometimes Often Nearly always

  RESPONSE

  Others come to me for ideas.

  I can think up several different ways of solving a problem.

  I can adapt my ideas for different situations.

  Strategic thinking

  People who have a good strategic perspective look at issues in a broad context and see the relationships between different parts of a business or organization. They can see the implications of decisions across a wide range of functions and over a longer time scale. They look beyond their own day-to-day responsibilities to take a broader perspective.

  Example strategic thinking questions

  Rate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements using the scale below.

  1 2 3 4 5

  Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

  RESPONSE