Personality-focused Coaching for Leadership Development

The science of personality measurement in the workplace has developed a great deal in the past 2 decades, and the five-factor model (FFM) is generally recognized as the most notable taxonomy of “normal” personality. Meanwhile, coaching has become a well-established method of one-on-one leadership development in many organizations. Given the research investigating the relationship between the FFM and work-related behavior and performance, including leadership, the authors’ aim is to advocate the profiling of personality against the FFM to provide a useful framework for behavioral change in executive coaching. Coaching typically deals with skill deficits, performance problems, change challenges, and issues raised by the executive himself or herself, and a research-based understanding of personality–behavior linkages can provide valuable insights for the coach and coachee and a path forward to a wide range of coaching challenges.