Abstract
Teams have gained prevalence in organisations and are required to be competitive and proactive to be successful and effective. The success of a team is mainly linked to personality traits as they impact individual performance and the effectiveness of the team. However, in organisations, personality instruments are employed to find the best fit between an individual and their job, as well as the extent personality is likely to predict job performance, as opposed to how an individual is likely to behave in a team. Sparse attention has been given to the role of personality in the behaviour individuals are likely to portray in teams. Thus, this study aimed to determine the applicability of the Team Boosting Behaviour (TBB) model in the South African context, as it is a new and Western-developed assessment, and to assess the relationship between the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) and TBB. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was employed for this study, with convenience, stratified and snowball sampling procedures. Data was gathered from South African individuals (n= 476) with at least two years of work experience. The results suggested that the TBB model can be applied to the South African context. In addition, positive relationships were found between the Extraversion, Openness and Positive Social-Relational Disposition factors of the SAPI and TBB. Conversely, negative relationships were found between the Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Negative Social-Relational Disposition factors of the SAPI and TBB. The study’s results aimed to (a) expand the literature on how personality affects team boosting behaviour, (b) assist employers in understanding how unique personality traits can contribute to successful teams, and (c) aid employers in identifying personality traits that will cultivate TBB.
Keywords: Team Boosting Behaviour, South African Personality Inventory, personality, team behaviour.