New study explores how personalities affect communication, teamwork

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The personality-based communication styles of team members can often determine the success or failure of a team, according to a recent study by Penn State researchers. "This new research shows that understanding the communication styles of team members can help us account for differences in personality and the impact those differences have on team performance," said Gretchen Macht, a postdoctoral scholar in architectural engineering. Macht and David Nembhard, associate professor in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, published their findings in a recent issue of the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. Past studies on teamwork have focused exclusively on team members' personalities and the impact those personalities have on team performance. Past literature disagrees on whether personality affects team performance and if it does, if it affects it in a positive or negative way, said Nembhard. This study, however, examines how personality affects communication among team members, and results show that the performance of a team can be determined by the communication, or lack there of, between team members.