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Ready to rumble: how team personality composition and task conflict interact to improve performance
Bret H Bradley1, Anthony C Klotz, Bennett E Postlethwaite
1Division of Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA. Bret-bradley@ou.edu
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|September 12, 2012
Summary
Team personality composition matters for task conflict. High openness or emotional stability enhances performance benefits from task conflict, while low levels hinder it.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Team Dynamics
- Conflict Management
Background:
- Prior research explored conditions for task conflict improving team performance.
- Team composition variables, particularly personality traits, remain underexplored in this context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if specific team personality compositions moderate the relationship between task conflict and team performance.
- To understand how personality traits influence the impact of task conflict on team outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Examined team-level averages of personality traits.
- Analyzed the moderating effects of openness to experience and emotional stability on the task conflict-performance link.
Main Results:
- Team average openness to experience moderated the task conflict-performance relationship.
- Team average emotional stability moderated the task conflict-performance relationship.
- Task conflict positively impacted performance in teams high in openness or emotional stability, but negatively in teams low in these traits.
Conclusions:
- Team personality composition significantly influences how task conflict affects performance.
- Teams with high openness or emotional stability are better equipped to leverage task conflict for improved performance.
- Findings have implications for team selection, development, and conflict management strategies.
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