Your team completed their personality assessments six months ago. Everyone learned their type. There was a workshop. Perhaps some jokes about stereotypes.
Then… nothing.
The personality insights gathered dust. People forgot their colleagues’ types. Daily work continued exactly as before, with the same communication breakdowns and misunderstandings.
Most organisations struggle to translate personality insights into actual team improvements. The problem isn’t with personality assessments themselves. The problem is treating them as an end rather than a beginning.
Why personality insights often don’t stick
Understanding personality differences can be transformational. When you genuinely grasp that your colleague isn’t being difficult, they just process information differently, it changes everything.
Research shows teams with high psychological diversity outperform homogeneous teams, but only when they learn to leverage those differences rather than letting them create conflict.
So why do most initiatives fail?
- They’re treated as one-off events – one workshop isn’t enough to change ingrained communication patterns
- The personality insights remain abstract – understanding Sarah is “detail-oriented” is less useful than knowing that in tomorrow’s meeting, she’ll need specific data
- There’s no ongoing reinforcement – people forget what they learned within weeks
- There’s no guidance on what to do differently – assessments describe people but often don’t prescribe actions
- You’re not sure of someone’s personality insights – when preparing for a difficult conversation, can you recall their profile?
From static to dynamic
Effective use of personality insights requires viewing assessment as a foundation for ongoing development, not a completion.
In day-to-day communication
Before sending an email to someone who prefers face-to-face conversation, consider if you can discuss in person. Before meetings, think about who needs data, who needs the big picture and who needs processing time. When someone’s response surprises you, pause and consider their communication style.
In conflict resolution
Conflict between a detailed planner and flexible improviser isn’t about who’s right. It’s about different approaches to uncertainty. The solution is processes that give the planner structure whilst leaving the improviser flexibility.
Conflict between external and internal processors looks like one person dominating meetings and another seeming disengaged. Neither is wrong. Create space for both.
In team formation
A team of all big-picture thinkers will generate brilliant ideas and struggle with execution. They need someone who focuses on detail. A team of all introverts will produce thoughtful work but may struggle with rapid decisions. The goal isn’t homogeneity – it’s intentional diversity with awareness.
In leadership development
An introverted manager might naturally give their team space. Understanding that some people need more frequent check-ins helps them adapt. A detail-oriented manager might micromanage big-picture thinkers. Awareness allows them to calibrate their involvement.
Practical applications
Performance reviews
Emma processes feedback best with time to review written notes beforehand. Marcus needs heavy context and reassurance. Aisha wants direct, specific examples. Your delivery should be adapted to each person.
Strategy meetings
Half your team processes internally and won’t speak up spontaneously. Send the document in advance. Structure the meeting to include both open discussion and written reflection time.
Project teams
Don’t assign all big-picture strategists to one project. Deliberately balance strategic thinkers with detail-focused implementers, and consensus builders with decision pushers.
Tips to make the most of your personality insights
- Make personality insights accessible – don’t lock profiles away. Team members should be able to easily reference colleagues’ communication preferences
- Integrate into workflows – reference personality insights in meeting planning, conflict resolution, project formation, and performance conversations
- Create team agreements – “we’ll give 24 hours' notice before expecting responses to complex questions so people who need processing time can think it through”
- Revisit regularly – quarterly or bi-annually, return to personality insights as a team
- Connect to development – use insights to inform career development conversations
- Celebrate differences – make it normal to say “I need more processing time” or “I’m going to ask lots of questions because I’m detail-oriented”
The technology advantage
Traditional assessments face a fundamental limitation: personality insights exist on paper that sits on shelves. When you need them, such as when preparing for a difficult conversation, the information isn’t readily accessible.
AI-powered platforms like MyTeamBuilder create step-change improvement. When personality insights are embedded in a system you consult regularly, they inform decisions in real-time. Preparing for a one-to-one? Your AI coach reminds you of the person’s communication preferences. Team conflict emerging? The coach explains the personality dynamics at play.
This way, personality insights don’t gather dust. They’re applied in ways that truly matter.
AI can identify patterns humans miss. When tension emerges between colleagues, AI analyses their profiles, communication history, and team dynamics to suggest what’s really happening beneath the surface.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating personality as destiny – people can adapt their style when needed
- Creating rigid boxes – real humans are more complex than any assessment captures
- Using insights to exclude – “we can’t hire another introvert” misuses and misunderstands personality insights
- Ignoring context – personality explains some behaviour, but so do circumstances and stress
- Making it complicated – the value is in using a few key insights to communicate better
Measuring impact
You can do this by:
- Tracking communication efficiency – are meetings more productive? Do decisions happen faster?
- Monitoring conflict – are interpersonal conflicts reducing?
- Assessing engagement – are team members more engaged when their preferences are honoured?
- Measuring retention – people stay longer in teams where they feel understood
The bottom line
Personality assessments aren’t the problem. Doing them and then nothing else is.
The teams that benefit most move from static profiles to dynamic application. They don’t just know their colleagues are different. They actively use that knowledge to communicate better, reduce conflict, and create environments where everyone can contribute their best work.
That doesn’t happen through a workshop. It happens through systems, tools, and practices that keep personality insights alive and make them immediately useful.
Your team’s personality profiles contain enormous value. The question is whether you have the infrastructure and ongoing support to actually extract that value.
Ready to turn personality insights into better team performance? Book a demo of MyTeamBuilder and discover how AI-powered coaching helps you apply personality insights in real situations... exactly when you need them.