Notes: Values, Personality, and Organizational Differences

Values: personal values and cultural values; foundation for behavior and decisions.
Values exercise: personal values sort to identify core values.
Importance: aligning the company you join with your personal values helps avoid misalignment and poor fit; may lead to turning down offers.

Chapter covers two big areas: abilities and personality; also introduces personality inventories.
You’ll encounter: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Big Five personality traits.
Assessments mentioned as tools for self-understanding and career planning.

MBTI type indicator: available for free through BYU; another page links to a Big Five access point.
Both tests are free; if you encounter paywalls, contact the instructor team to help.
MBTI is fun but less scientifically robust than Big Five; MBTI results often presented as types.
Big Five (OCEAN) is scientifically robust and more valid/stable over time; results shown as graphs and percentages.
Assignment expectation: include both your MBTI type and your Big Five percentages in your report; percent scores must be included on the assignment for completeness.
Reflection due: Tuesday (end of the week) focusing on individual differences in organizations; use a simple table with descriptions and examples.
Note: prompts will include a STAR-style approach to describe situations and outcomes.

O = Openness
C = Conscientiousness
E = Extraversion
A = Agreeableness
N = Neuroticism
OCEAN is highlighted for having stronger scientific backing and stability across the lifespan.

Core challenge: energy flow within an organization is heavily influenced by people.
Key elements: Roles & Responsibilities, Coordination, Internal Environment, External Environment.
Internal environment forms through daily habits and routines; missteps can create roadblocks.
You can influence internal factors, but external environment is more challenging to control.
Hardest element to control: people.

Task: in pairs, brainstorm 20+ ways people differ (e.g., gender, race, age, upbringing, occupation, religion, personality, talents, leadership style, extroversion/introversion, clothing/style, career, experience, political views).
Then discuss how these differences impact the flow of energy toward a shared goal.
Sample insights:
- Leadership style can set tone and affect responsiveness and energy flow.
- Generational differences (age) can influence technology adoption, risk tolerance, and work styles.
- Perspectives on policies or collaboration can affect cohesion and energy direction.
- Cultural or personal preferences (e.g., dress code) can impact inclusion and belonging.

Purpose: capture concrete examples of how individual differences helped or hindered outcomes.
STAR framework: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Expect three stories across experiences (e.g., work teams, organizations, or projects) illustrating impact of differences on energy and outcomes.

Bodies/Biology: physiology and physical traits.
Minds/Psychology: cognitive styles, thought patterns, interpretations, mental models.
Spirit/Spirituality: beliefs, values, sense of meaning; often overlooked but influential on behavior.
Instruction emphasizes that people are more than their brains; include body and spirit in understanding behavior.

Do not chase a career for its own sake; aim for a contribution—the impact you want to have in the world.
Career is a path designed by others; a contribution aligns with personal values and passions and motivates you to act daily.

AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grok, Claude) can help generate prompts to analyze organizational differences.
Use AI to learn, not to cheat on assignments; practice crafting prompts to explore the impact of differences.
Understand basics like what GPT stands for to better understand its boundaries and capabilities.

Values exercise and alignment matter for career decisions.
MBTI and Big Five are common tools; Big Five is more scientifically robust (OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism).
In organizations, people are the hardest-to-control element; modes of energy flow depend on how differences are managed.
Three core human inputs at work: biology, psychology, and spirituality.
Focus on contributions, not just careers; use prompts and AI tools to explore and learn.