1. The Trust Deficit
These are extraordinary times. Organisations, institutions, and societies are confronting a convergence of crises that share a common thread: the behaviour of people in positions of power and influence. Corporate scandals have become commonplace, political dysfunction paralyses government, and growing inequality has created a pervasive disaffection with ‘the system’. Even the most optimistic find it difficult to argue against the proposition that trust — in institutions, organisations, and each other — is in universal decline.
What does this have to do with personality? Everything. People are at the forefront of all of these circumstances. Our personality traits influence how we think, feel, and behave; how we develop and maintain relationships; and whether we sustain or undermine the social structures and norms that require our voluntary compliance. Personality underpins the behaviours that determine whether organisations thrive or fail, whether relationships endure or break down, and whether trust is built or eroded.
The evidence is sobering. Around 45% of marriages fail [ONS], and 85% of employees routinely deal with workplace conflict. These are not anomalies — they are the predictable outcome of environments in which personality dynamics are neither understood nor actively managed. If we want different outcomes, we need to look more clearly at what drives behaviour. That requires understanding personality — including its darker dimensions.
Despite more than a century of scientific research into personality [24], organisations have largely failed to translate that knowledge into meaningful practice. Each new corporate scandal triggers more regulation, more policy, more bureaucracy — which addresses the symptoms while leaving the causes untouched. This article argues that the path forward begins with a more honest and nuanced understanding of personality, particularly the traits we find most difficult to discuss.
2. Bright and Dark Personality: The Spectrum Problem
A useful starting point is recognising that all personality traits lie on a spectrum and that, at their extremes, they can produce maladaptive behaviour. This applies equally to traits we typically regard as positive. Bright traits — such as conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness — are generally associated with desirable outcomes, but at their extremes they too carry a dark side.
Early work classifying personality in terms of traits was undertaken by Carl Jung, and built upon by Myers-Briggs and others. The most widely researched model today is the Five-Factor Model (Big Five) [24], comprising Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Openness to Experience. This model provides the best available framework for predicting organisationally relevant behaviours, including leadership, performance, team cohesion, and counterproductive work behaviour.
2.1 The Bright Side: What the Big Five Tells Us
Consider the nuance required. A highly conscientious individual sets high standards, strives for goal achievement, and is well organised — but they may also be inflexible, resistant to change, and intolerant of those with lower standards [25, 26]. Teams with inconsistent levels of conscientiousness are particularly prone to moral disengagement — social loafing, shirking, and free-riding — all of which erode cohesion and performance [12–19].