Human Assets

When creating a team is it better that the team members are similar to one another or different?  A team of psychologists in the US led by Stephen Humphrey suggest that for some personality traits it is preferable that team members are similar, whereas for other traits it is better that team members bring complementary qualities.  Humphrey and his colleagues focus specifically on the personality traits of extroversion and conscientiousness. 

Extroversion: the case for complementary fit

People who are extroverted tend to be assertive and confident.  New teams must agree roles and extroverted members tend to be both dominant and sociable which are qualities associated with leadership.  The authors suggest that if all the team members are similarly extroverted (whether high or low) then it will be more difficult for the team to find a natural leader and this could cause conflict.  They also suggest that a dominant leader will facilitate placing people in different roles with clearly established responsibilities.  Therefore the authors propose that maximizing extroversion variation will result in positive team performance. 

Conscientiousness: the case for supplementary fit

People who are conscientious tend to be organised, self-disciplined and achievement-oriented.  If a team includes a mix of members with high and low conscientiousness then they will have different views on how hard to work and how much they want to accomplish.  Previous research has shown that when some team members make more effort others can be tempted to 'free ride'.  This can cause the harder workers to see themselves as 'suckers' and reduce their own effort leading to a downward spiral in the team’s performance.  However if all the team members are similarly conscientious they should share similar goals (even if these goals are low) and enjoy higher levels of team cohesion.  Therefore the authors propose that minimising conscientiousness variation will result in greater team performance. 

Humphrey and his colleagues go further and suggest how these different effects might work together.  They suggest that the benefits of each individual having a clear role (achieved with extroversion variation) will only be realised when team members have shared goals (achieved with conscientiousness similarity).  

How can Human Assets help?

Organisations should not only recruit the best people but, where possible, should also consider the best placement of an individual into a team.  At Human Assets we know that in the real world most organisations do not have the luxury of creating teams according to the personality fit of the team members.  However, because we keep up to date with theory such as this, we can help you make the optimum selection decisions based on the needs of your business.  We can also use team profiling and development to help managers and team members best understand their own and others' preferences to help everyone work together more productively.