Leadership and Learning Conference, December 3, 2014

1. Hire For Personality
Or Attitude?
Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.
ATDSN, December 3, 2014

2. www.bretlsimmons.com
http://www.slideshare.net/BretLSimmons

4. Why do you care?

6. Job Performance
•Task behaviors
• Extra-role
behaviors
•Withdrawal
behaviors

9. Personality?
Attitude?

10. Personality

11. Attitude
A predisposition or tendency to respond
positively or negatively toward a certain
situation, person, or idea. Influences an
individual’s choice of action, and responses to
the work environment (e.g. challenges,
incentives, supervision, etc.)

12. Hire For Personality
Or Attitude?

13. Personality or
Attitude.
Which is a better
predictor of job
performance?

14. Attitudes!

15. Job Attitudes
• Organizational
commitment
• Job satisfaction
• Trust in the
supervisor
• Justice (fairness)
• Engagement

16. Organizational
Commitment
•Affected by
•Job Satisfaction
•Justice
I want to be
here doing this
work with you

17. •Pay
•Opportunity for
promotion
•Co-workers
•Work itself
•Supervisor

18. Willingness to be
vulnerable to another in
a situation involving
risk

19. Are You Trustworthy?
•Ability
•Integrity
•Intentions

20. •Master, then continuously improve your job
•Care about the people you work with, work
for, and serve
•DWWSWWD
Trustworthy

21. Procedural Justice
•Consistency
•Transparency
•Voice
•Appeal
•Ethics

22. Engagement:
Investing the head,
hands, and heart in
full work
performance

23. • Value Congruence: expect people to behave at
work consistent with the highest values they
espouse in themselves and others
• Psychological safety: trusting interpersonal
relationships in fair and supportive organizational
environments
• Core self-evaluation (personality trait): self-esteem,
self-efficacy, emotional stability, locus of
control

24. Cause
(e.g. value congruence)
Effect
(e.g. engagement)
Outcome
(e.g. performance)

25. Gallup Q-12 Engagement – cause or effect?
 I know what is expected of me at
work.
 I have the materials and
equipment I need to do my work
right.
 At work, I have the opportunity to
do what I do best everyday.
 In the last seven days, I have
received recognition or praise for
doing good work.
 My supervisor, or someone at
work, seems to care about me as
a person.
 There is someone at work who
encourages my development.
 At work, my opinions seem to
count.
 The mission or purpose of my
company makes me feel my job is
important
 My associates or fellow
employees are committed to doing
quality work.
 I have a best friend at work.
 In the last six months, someone at
work has talked to me about my
progress.
 This last year, I have had
opportunities at work to learn and
grow.

27. Hire for Personality
•Conscientiousness
•Internal locus of control
•Healthy self-esteem

28. Summary
• Be clear and specific about the
behaviors you want to see at work
• Hire for personality
• Develop the job attitudes that lead to
performance by partnering with your
employees to continually improve the
work environment

29. Questions?

30. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.
www.bretlsimmons.com
Bret.simmons@gmail.com
(775) 336-9576