# A New Way to Address Troubled Team Dynamics

Personality assessments help teams work more harmoniously.

- **Source:** [Sloan Management Review](https://sloanreview.mit.edu)
- **Published:** 2026-07-22
- **Topic:** [Leadership](https://brifing.si/c/leadership)
- **Original article:** <https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/a-new-way-to-address-troubled-team-dynamics/>
- **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/430d1503-5ae8-4fa0-9135-59c90819701b

## Challenges in Team Dynamics

Leaders at Medita Holdings struggled to focus among unrelated projects. With shrinking resources and increasing competition, the company missed growth opportunities. Although leaders appeared to get along in meetings, unproductive discussions and digressions were noticeable.

## The Impact of Personality Traits

The difficulties in decision-making among leaders stemmed from personality traits. Strong intellectual curiosity led to endless debates within the team. The influence of personality differences in modern teams is often overlooked.

## Ad Hoc Teams and Communication Issues

Companies form temporary teams for new challenges and opportunities. The rise of virtual meetings has reduced opportunities for team members to connect personally, negatively affecting team dynamics.

## Personality Assessment as a Solution

The Big Five personality test was used to reveal psychological differences within teams. This test examines differences in how people think, act, and feel across 30 personality traits.

## Five Core Dimensions

The Big Five test analyzes personality traits across five main dimensions: need for stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. This framework stands out for its high validity and reliability in personality research.

## Personality Test as a Diagnostic Tool

Personality assessments open up rich discussions. Participants can relate their collective personality traits to team tensions and resolve them. For new teams, this process accelerates cohesion.

## The Medita Holdings Example

The indecisiveness of Medita Holdings leaders was thought to stem from deeper issues than weak leadership. Team members received 360-degree feedback and completed personality tests, revealing the team's DNA.

## Visualizing Team DNA

Personality scores were visualized on a single page. This visual showed where team members' personality traits converged and diverged. For example, differences in extraversion affected team dynamics.

## The Impact of Intellectual Curiosity

The Medita team scored high on intellectual curiosity, showing openness to exploring new ideas. However, a member scoring low on agreeableness faced challenges within the team.

## Embracing Team Differences

Team members can work more effectively by accepting and leveraging their personality differences. This process reduces tensions and enhances cohesion.

## Conclusion and Recommendations

Personality assessments are an effective tool for understanding and improving team dynamics. Leaders can use this method to resolve team issues more easily and create a more harmonious work environment.

## Sources covering this story

- https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/a-new-way-to-address-troubled-team-dynamics/ — 

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_Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._