The most important personality trait to predict job success

Personality testing within the workplace is not a novel idea. In fact, starting with its use by the Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the CIA), personality testing has arguably been used within the workplace for over 70 years! Over the last several decades, there have been widespread advances in personality theory and assessment. Despite the hundreds of personality facets that have been discovered, there is one that continues to predict job success above any other single personality factor—conscientiousness.

But why?

Conscientious people are typically successful for various reasons. As explained by Brent Roberts, University of Illinois psychologist:

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Highly conscientious employees do a series of things better than the rest of us: To start, they’re better at goals: setting them, working toward them, and persisting amid setbacks. If a super ambitious goal can’t be realized, they’ll switch to a more attainable one rather than getting discouraged and giving up. As a result, they tend to achieve goals that are consistent with what employers want.

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Furthermore, Roberts had this to add:

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Conscientious people have a tendency to organize their lives well. A disorganized, un-conscientious person might lose 20 or 30 minutes rooting through their files to find the right document, an inefficient experience conscientious folks tend to avoid. Basically, by being conscientious, people sidestep stress they’d otherwise create for themselves.

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To spot a conscientious person, the best practice is to put them through a battery of validated leadership assessments. However, in a pinch, conscientiousness may manifest itself behaviorally in the form of punctuality, amongst other things.