The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality - 6 traits for workplace success

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by McGucket

Explores how new psychological research reframes workplace personality through a “high potential” profile built from six traits. Highlights that curiosity, conscientiousness, adjustment, ambiguity acceptance, and risk approach can support learning, satisfaction, and performance, yet may hinder results when taken to extremes. Argues that success depends on matching each trait’s optimal level to the job context and leadership demands, unlike older screening models criticized for weak predictive power.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

The “high-potential” personality concept

Limitations of MBTI in predicting performance

Six workplace success traits

Conscientiousness

Adjustment

Ambiguity acceptance

5/11/2018 BBC-Capital-The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality | | | Home | News | Sport | Weather | Shop | Earth | Travel | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | Menu Psychology of Work The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality Are there six traits that could really mark out your potential to achieve? 􀀋 􀀒 􀀊 􀀗 􀀓 􀀨 By David Robson 9 May 2018 Are you curious, conscientious and competitive? Do you also have the more mysterious qualities of“high adjustment”, “ambiguity acceptance” and “risk approach”? If so, congratulations! According to new psychological research, these six traits constitute a “high potential” personality that will take you far in life. The truth, of course, is a little more nuanced. It turns out the same traits, in excess, may also impede your performance, and the real secret to success may be to know exactly where you fall on each spectrum, and how to make the most of your strengths and account for your weaknesses. But this new approach promises to be an important step forward in our bid to understand the complex ways our personality affects our working life. [http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality) 1/19 5/11/2018 BBC-Capital-The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality Attempts to capture our workplace personality have, after all, suffered a chequered record in the past. One of the most popular tests used today is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, which sorts people according to various thinking styles, such as “introversion/extroversion” and “thinking/feeling”. As many as nine out of 10 US companies now use Myers Briggs to screen employees. Unfortunately, many psychologists feel that the theory behind the different categories is outdated and fails to correlate with actual measures of performance. One study suggested that the MBTI is not great at predicting managerial success. Some critics even claim that it is pseudoscience. " Attempts to capture our workplace personality have, after all, su fered a chequered record in the past “As a conversation starter, it’s a good tool, but if you are using it on a large scale to predict performance or to try and find high performing candidates, it doesn’t work,” says Ian MacRae, a psychologist and co author of the book High Potential. Figuring that recent advances in psychological research could do better, MacRae and Adrian Furnham of University College London have now identified six traits that are consistently linked to workplace success, which they have now combined into the High Potential Trait Inventory ( HPTI) . 􀀣 [http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality) 2/19 5/11/2018 BBC-Capital-The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality Nurturing your curiosity may help you to learn more easily, increase your overall job satisfaction and protect you from burnout (Credit: Getty Images) MacRae points out that each trait may also have drawbacks at extremes, meaning there is an optimal value of each one. He also emphasises that the relative importance of each trait will be determined by the job you are doing, so the particular thresholds would need to be adapted depending on whether you are hoping to succeed in, say, a technical position. But the version of the test that I have seen was focused on leadership roles. With this in mind, the six traits are: Conscientiousness Conscientious people commit themselves to plans and make sure they carry them out to the letter. They are good at overcoming their impulses and thinking about the wisdom of their decisions for the long term. After IQ, conscientiousness is often considered one of the best predictors of life outcomes like educational suc

FAQs

What does “high potential” personality mean in the article?

It refers to a set of six personality traits shown to be consistently linked to workplace success, based on recent psychological research.

Why do some psychologists criticize Myers-Briggs for employee screening?

They argue that the theory behind MBTI categories is outdated and does not correlate well with real performance measures, with some critics even calling it pseudoscience.

How should people use the six traits to improve career outcomes?

The article suggests identifying each trait’s optimal value for the specific job, then leveraging strengths while accounting for weaknesses that emerge at extremes.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by McGucket