The What & The Why

The best leaders are high in EQ. They are self-aware – and cognizant of those around them. Leaders who lack self-awareness struggle to be effective in three key ways:

1. They don’t realise how they ‘come across’ to other people (and fail to adjust and adapt their behaviour accordingly)
2. They underplay – and fail to optimise – their personal strengths (and those of their team members)
3. They fail to understand, acknowledge and address their weaknesses (and those of their team members)

A better understanding of personality can improve both individual and overall team effectiveness. At Understood, we believe in a proper understanding of personality. And that means using the ‘Big Five Model’ – the most widely accepted personality theory held by pscyhologists today.

Why is the Big Five the best personality model?

1. It’s the gold standard of personality models. The Big Five is the most reliable and scientifically validated framework for personality – widely used in the academic community across the world.
2. It doesn’t pigeon-hole you. Unlike the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), it’s not about ‘types’ of people; the Big Five traits are dimensions along which all people can be placed.
3. It empowers you to shape your future. How people score on the Big Five dimensions of personality has important consequences for happiness, health and achievement.
4. It helps you to understand your mental health. The Big Five dimension of Emotional Negativity (or ‘Neuroticism’) can provide insight into our response to stress. Knowledge of this can be extremely helpful when taking steps to improve our mental wellbeing and resilience.
5. It’s fit for the complexities and challenges of 21st-century leaders. Understanding your unique, complex trait make-up is essential to understanding yourself – and that’s the first step to becoming a successful leader.

The ‘Big Five Leader’ is an intensive one-day training programme designed to give your managers a thorough understanding of themselves – their personality traits, behavioural tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, motivators and communication and leadership styles. They will understand how to apply the Big Five model to build better connections with their teams – creating greater harmony and increased engagement and performance.

A Big Five Leader will:

• Have a clear understanding of the Big Five traits and sub-traits
• Understand and anlayse their own patterns of behaviour and emotional responses
• Appreciate their innate strengths and acknowledge their ‘stretches’ as a leader
• Develop strategies to maximise their strengths and address weaknesses
• Discover the personality traits of their team members
• Appreciate how to communicate more effectively with team members
• Lead with emotional intelligence and super-self-awareness