Using personality feedback for work-related development and performance improvement: A rapid evidence assessment

The personality-related literature in industrial and organizational (I–O) psychology and management has focused on the validity of personality scales for predicting criteria like job performance, and corresponding applications for personnel selection. In parallel, and subject to much less research attention, personality inventories have been used for developmental purposes in group workshops and individual coaching. Personality-assessment feedback represents modern means through which to follow ancient advice to "know thyself" (Emre, The personality brokers: The strange history of Myers-Briggs and the birth of personality testing. 2019, p. xviii). However, task-based feedback intervention theory (Kluger & DeNisi, Psychological Bulletin, 119, 1996, 254–284) casts doubt on the effectiveness of self-focused feedback cues for performance improvement. The present article synthesized studies on the impact of work-related personality-feedback interventions (PFIs) on performance- or development-related criteria through a Rapid Evidence Assessment (Barends et al., CEBMa guideline for rapid evidence assessments in management and organizations, version 1.0, 2017). Structured queries of five databases plus reference list and forward-citation searches identified a diverse set of 12 empirical studies. Most studies used a type-based rather than a trait-based assessment tool, with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) being the most popular. No study examined PFI impact on observer ratings of job performance. Though there were some indications of beneficial effects, researchers have not yet established the causal impact of PFIs on performance-related criteria, and the possibility exists of negative side-effects. Practitioners are urged to apply PFIs with caution, temper expectations, evaluate intervention effectiveness, and share results—possibly as part of researcher–practitioner partnerships