Four ‘Super Traits’ for Workplace Success
Traits are the natural tendencies, abilities, and personality characteristics that guide our behavior. Although they tend to be a relatively stable aspect of who we are, some traits can change as we find ourselves in new challenges. For example, someone who is not particularly reliable or timely may find a job they love that has a lot of firm deadlines and time constraints. If this person wants to keep their job, they will work on becoming more focused, and over time will form habits which will help them develop punctuality.
Our quiz—What’s Your Dominant Trait in the Workplace?—offers a quick measure of four different traits considered applicable to success in the workplace: Presence, Agreeableness, Striving, and Positivity. Each of these “super traits” is a combination of other characteristics, some of which will be explored in the following. Here’s a deeper look at each trait, including its pros, cons, and application in the workplace.
PRESENCE
Pros
Presence, as a defining trait in the workplace, generally means you’re empathetic, assertive, sociable, and influential. You have the gift of being tuned in to others’ emotions, values, and concerns. You come across as interpersonally aware—as someone who gets where other people are coming from—and as nonjudgmental. You pick up on social cues, and in turn others can tell that you care about them and their concerns. In addition, you enjoy leading, since you naturally take charge and direct the activities of others. Making decisions that affect others is your forte. With your take-charge nature and effortless sociability, you naturally initiate conversations, engage with and cooperate with others, and are energized by socializing. Those you work with typically view you as being interpersonally gifted, articulate, and persuasive. You can motivate and persuade others, and you are agile with people. You’re seen as poised, commanding, directive, and authoritative due to your assertiveness—but also friendly, which is what makes all of this work.
Cons
It’s hard to think of Presence having any negatives, but it can. For example, sometimes assertiveness lurches over that fine line and can be interpreted as aggression, rudeness, or arrogance. This can lead to, among other things, overvaluing an idea or pet project, giving inaccurate assessments that cause trouble down the line, or not allowing for differing views that could contribute to a better outcome. These forms of overconfidence can also lead to cutting things too close—such as not allowing enough time for a project, encountering delays caused by unanticipated roadblocks, or falling off the metaphorical cliff at work. In other words, overconfidence can have a detrimental impact on your performance and decision-making. Remember that an overconfident captain can end up sinking a ship.
Why It Works
Your strength of Presence has a beneficial influence on the workplace. This is because you send out the message to those around you that you are capable of handling challenges and can persuade others to accomplish goals. In addition, you contribute to organizational success because the perception of Presence affects decisions and actions all the time. Customers make purchases, or remain customers, because of persuasion. Job applicants who are confident are often the ones who will be hired. Leaders with strong Presence persuade others to buy into a vision and follow their lead. Negotiators with this trait often win, even if their position is not the most logical one. With the combination of influence, sociability, assertiveness, and empathy, you make others feel that they are an important part of initiatives by learning more about them and taking time to ask questions. In this way, you make others feel important and needed, contributing to an engaged and productive work culture.
AGREEABLENESS
Pros
Agreeableness is the tendency to be thoughtful, humble, collaborative, and inclusive, and to generally view others as honest and truthful. With its cluster of subtraits, agreeableness generally leads to positive teamwork results, making it highly valued by employers. With Agreeableness as your defining workplace trait, you likely prefer working toward goals collectively and identify with your work group and its norms. Others view you as appreciative, courteous, and unpretentious. They also see you as kind, caring, and empathetic—someone who cares about their values. You tend to give others the benefit of the doubt and are a straight shooter with your peers and superiors. To the delight of others, you seek out and enjoy learning from their perspectives. It is satisfying for you to be part of a strong culture, and you are someone who, for example, proudly wears a company T-shirt. It is easy for you to put others first, and when it is time to give credit, you easily acknowledge the contributions of others. Trusting others to come through for you comes easily, and you readily share your thoughts and feelings. Lastly, you are open to differences and do not necessarily shy away from conflict; you seek out those who are different from you so you can learn from them.
Cons
Not everyone can be trusted, and those with the defining workplace trait of Agreeableness sometimes learn this the hard way. If you are overly agreeable, you may end up giving a coworker the benefit of the doubt even when they don’t deserve it. This could potentially cause you distress, or even harm. Being humble is part of Agreeableness, but it can sometimes make a person seem indecisive or lacking in confidence, or perhaps even like a pushover. Being too humble also keeps you from enjoying those times when you get recognized for success. You may find it difficult to self-promote when you need to, such as during a job interview or when you are seeking greater visibility at work. Lastly, being too agreeable can mean you value others’ ways, opinions, and ideas more than your own. It may ultimately cause you to give in in an argument when it would be better not to.
Why It Works
Your strength of Agreeableness allows you to see what others in the workplace need and to lend a helping hand. This contributes to collaborative teamwork and lightens the load for everyone, making organizational objectives more easily and quickly attainable. Your kind, sympathetic, and considerate nature adds to a work culture where conflict is minimized, and others feel at ease, supported, and happy to come to work. In fact, research shows that Agreeableness—being cooperative, flexible, and tolerant—is one of the three traits companies value most.
STRIVING
Pros
Striving is a predisposition toward achievement orientation, reliability, and persistence. This defining trait in the workplace is indicative of someone who is known for being hard-working, results-oriented, trustworthy, and reliable. If you scored highest in this trait, you probably have high standards and want to be the best at what you do. You’re persistent and don’t get off track very often. If things go south, it’s not for long, because you change course easily and keep at it until you achieve the results you want. With this predominant trait, you can probably see trends and know how to leverage them for the benefit of the organization you work for. You think through decisions by thinking ahead, so that when you set a goal, you have a good idea of what may be involved in getting there. Others view you as credible, because you appear confident, speak directly, and can be counted on. Both you and your colleagues believe you are capable and know you will take ownership of what you are responsible for. With a high degree of Striving, you mean what you say, protect confidences, and can be counted on to honor your commitments. You believe that you can shape events and your future, enjoy working hard to meet your goals, and will stay focused on the achievement of your desired outcomes, despite any obstacles.
Cons
With Striving as your defining workplace trait, it’s possible that you push others harder than they like to be pushed. Your direct reports or colleagues may wish you would take it a bit easier, since they may not share your driven nature. You may feel frustrated when others fall short of your quality standards, show less effort, or work fewer hours than you think they should in order to get the job done and done well. Sometimes, a burning need for success includes an overemphasis on control, and others might resent this. They may feel as though you do not trust them to carry their weight or to do the job as well as you would. Because of this, you may have trouble delegating or sharing tasks, and you can end up burning the midnight oil too often. Striving, when taken too far, can create a negative type of stress. When overused, it can lead to a lack of enjoyment of work and life and, in the extreme, to burnout.
Why It Works
Your strength of Striving is desired by all employers, required of all those who want to have a successful business, and appreciated by colleagues who know they can count on you. As John D. Rockefeller said, “I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” Because day-in-day-out plodding is required to achieve large objectives, you help your organization win through your high standards and commitment to achievement, despite any difficulties or discouragement encountered along the way.
POSITIVITY
Pros
Positivity measures the degree to which an individual tends to disregard disappointment, is satisfied with who they are, and expects the future to be promising. With Positivity as your defining trait in the workplace, you are optimistically excited about what lies ahead and likely to remain positive and cheery even when situations are difficult. You are enthusiastic about tackling challenges and are generally viewed by others as upbeat and eager to take on what’s next. Your high level of positivity gives you resilience, partly because you rarely take things personally and are not afraid to fail but also because it allows you to access a broad range of emotions. Positivity gives you the ability to think on your feet. And with Positivity as your defining trait in the workplace, you are interpersonally effective. Both coworkers and the projects you’re engaged in benefit from the broad, receptive, nonjudgmental perspective you bring, as well as your ability to adapt. It’s often easy for you to pay attention to a variety of important demands and to improvise in a dynamic environment. Lastly, when things aren’t going well, you bring a sense of composure because you don’t get easily ruffled. This can give others a sense of calm and focus.
Cons
If your Positivity trait is always in full force, it can be a blind spot that ill prepares you—and others—for the severity of issues or for the possibility that things may not go as planned. Another potential downside of überoptimism is that you may not be very emotionally transparent to others. Being vulnerable at times will help others trust you more. It is possible, too, that you may miss opportunities to get support from others, as it is not often obvious when you could use reassurance or help. In addition, being overly positive can lead you to gloss over your mistakes and not take time to self-reflect and fully learn from them. Lastly, life can be messy and miserable sometimes. So even if you have a breezy personality, sometimes others will appreciate you commiserating with them occasionally.
Why It Works
Your strength of Positivity can have big ripple effects on your organization. Research shows that Positivity results in a more engaged and productive workforce, and that people who are strong in Positivity are 40% more likely to achieve promotion. Positivity has been shown to lead to lower turnover, a greater probability of collaboration and teamwork, the ability to overcome adversity, a willingness to share ideas and resources, better morale, and improved customer service. And because Positivity is infectious, it multiplies these impacts.
