The Role of Personality in Organization Development: A Multi-Level Framework for Applying Personality to Individual, Team, and Organizational Change

Abstract

Organization development is focused on implementing a planned process of positive humanistic change in organizations through the use of social science theory, action research, and data-based feedback methods. The role of personality in that change process, however, has historically been ignored or relegated to a limited set of interventions. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a conceptual overview of the linkages between personality and OD, discuss the current state of personality in the field including key trends in talent management, and offer a new multi-level framework for conceptualizing applications of personality for different types of OD efforts. The chapter concludes with implications for research and practice.

Citation

Church, A.H., Rotolo, C.T., Margulies, A., Del Giudice, M.J., Ginther, N.M., Levine, R., Novakoske, J. and Tuller, M.D. (2015), "The Role of Personality in Organization Development: A Multi-Level Framework for Applying Personality to Individual, Team, and Organizational Change", Research in Organizational Change and Development (Research in Organizational Change and Development, Vol. 23), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 91-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0897-301620150000023003