The Owner's Manual for Personality at Work: How the Big Five Personality Traits Affect Your Performance, Communication, Teamwork, Leadership, and Sale

I picked up this book after reading "The Owner's manual for Brain" by the same author. This book is short and precise to the point. Every paragraph in the book is written very concisely with specific applicability i real-life. Understanding the principles behind what is mentioned in this book is very helpful in working with people at work and elsewhere. Sure enough, I get less frustrated, but am able to apply the thoughts behind this book and use them in right set, to get the best out of those. A must read for every manager. I enrolled in CentACS immediately after reading this book!

Research, analysis, synthesis. Dr. Howard takes abstract theory and delivers practical actions. This new paradigm seamlessly integrates individual personalities into effective management practices. Hiring, training and optimizing employees (using these principles) should all but eliminate firing. Managers will be able to predict, instead of react. Career paths are planned, not discovered by trial and error. Human Resource management becomes more science than art. Functional deployment of staff is now possible, enabling management to capitalize on each and every employee's natural talents.

As a corporate psychologist, I was pleased to find the serious research underlying this book, although it should be just as appealing to new students and the lay public. It is an excellent combination of literature review and applied science. Particularly valuable are the mappings of Big Five personality factors to various leadership styles (Kotter, Bennis, etc.) and 200 managerial competencies. Additional chapters do the same for approaches to learning, team building, interpersonal relationships, sales skills, and more. This book should soon be required reading within this field.

This is a must have book for any consultant or any individual interested in conducting personality research.I have been working in the industry for a number of years and I have finally found the one book that seamlessly integrates science and practice. The research is insightful and the recommendations applicable. The Howard's have done a fabulous job of understanding the needs of today's organizational psychologist/management consultants and created the ultimate resource guide and complimentary materials.Because of this book, I am certain that I am providing my clients with better service, presentation and product! A great read, resource and thought-provoking tool.

Being a doctoral student in organizational leadership, I have read most of the books written about personality research, and especially those that focus on leadership behavior. Examining leadership competencies, learning styles, team development, and the application of personality assessment with the book has "simply" further opened my eyes to the importance of improving interpersonal awareness in the organization. The Howard's book is the first that I feel approached the subject from an understandable and practical basis. I use the book daily as I write my dissertation as a reference for practical applications of personality testing with the NEO-PI-R, and how to apply what I have learned from my data in the topic of leadership. It was a pleasure to find a book that allowed me to peruse the table of contents and move right to a section that applied to my current research without having to struggle. A nice thing that the authors have done is to provide a common language that can be used in the workplace with regard to understanding individual differences. This can set the stage for better communication among team members. In addition, I have found that as people understand themsleves better and can speak a similar language it can improve the flow of overall understanding in the organization. The book has opened my eyes to better acknowledge individual differences within teams, and to believe that there is no perfect solution when choosing leaders and team members. The world must incorporate these important individual differences effectively into their organizational structure; so as opposed to sujectively wandering through the personnel challenges of today's workplace, understanding these differences and blending the right mixtures of personality traits can make a difference in determining success. I applaud their efforts, and look for more.