To be or not to be…

We might hear some of you wanting to finish the rest of this famous quote…

But is that really the question?

We want to debunk the myth of the human behavior being what makes someone’s personality or in other words, that a person is defined by their behaviour. But be careful, it’s not that simple! There are other factors to consider.

How many times have you labeled someone after that person has exhibited a certain behavior?

” She’s so much like this (ex: pretentious); She said this or that (e.g. that she knows she will easily exceed her sales results, as if she were better than all of us). »

Because a person says or does something (behavior), we create an opinion or judgment about who that person IS. Let’s not kid ourselves here, that’s how human nature is made. We all judge!

What if we presumed that a person’s behavior is NOT what defines that person…

Consider the following equation:

Certainly, we can deduce that the personality of individuals plays a big role in the behavior they will adopt, because it is indeed part of the equation. Considering the fact that between “personality” and “behavior” are the elements “perception” and “context”, we could come to the conclusion that behavior depends equally on these two factors.

Scenario

Imagine that one of your colleagues, who reminds you of the “uncle” who got on your nerves as a child because he always told bad jokes, offered to go for lunch at the end of a meeting. Would you go?

Maybe so, since it’s in the context of work and you tell yourself that you owe it to yourself to remain professional, even if you don’t feel like going at all.

What if you encounter a similar situation in a personal context? Your answer would most likely be very different! You would surely refuse because he irritates you.

What if you took away that perception you have of him that he makes you think of your “uncle”? Perhaps your answer would change?

Perception and context influence your own behavior, the way you react.

In that same example, if you went to lunch with him, would that make you a conciliatory person? And if you declined the invitation, would that make you less kind?

It has nothing to do with who you ARE. Your response (behavior) COMES from your personality, it IS not your personality per se.

This is therefore as valid when it concerns you as when it concerns others… 😉

The good news is that we have control over our perception and context. Including them in the equation BEFORE passing judgment on someone’s behavior allows us to better understand the other person and to be more forgiving and tolerant towards them.

As a manager, HR professional, CEO, how does this help us?

Well, first, we have control over our perception, and it is by being aware of it that we can change it. Second, we have a good knowledge of the context, i.e. the organizational culture of the company, the people who work there, the challenges of the different teams, etc. Therefore, it becomes possible for us to sit our employees in the right chairs, provided we know their personality!

But how can we detect their personality, without being biased or influenced by our perceptions?

Psychometrics is a fabulous tool!  This is the mathematical branch of psychology. To learn more and see how it can contribute to achieving your business goals, contact us!

Let’s review the equation of behavior:

PERSONALITY (psychometrics)

 x PERCEPTION (opinions and judgments)

+ CONTEXT (team, organizational culture, etc.)

= BEHAVIOR (what the person says or does)

= RESULTS

Predicting a person’s behavior and influencing the desired outcome is therefore truly within our reach; Let’s use it to achieve the team goals we have set for ourselves!

The psychometric tool we favor: the MPO Solution.