339. Is a personality test just your horoscope? With Nikita Mikhailov, co-author of Personality: A User's Guide

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. Are personality tests like MBTI actually helping your organisation, or are they just workplace horoscopes with better branding?

In this Thursday episode, chartered occupational psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott sit down with personality psychologist Nikita Mikhailov, co-author of Personality: A User's Guide, to uncover the truth about psychometrics at work.

From the dark history of early personality testing to why popular tools like MBTI refuse to die, Nikita shares why most off-the-shelf assessments only measure your own self-narrative, and how to actually use behavioural insights to build better teams.

Topics covered:

The "Self-Awareness Cake" Why personality consists of multiple layers: what you like, what you do, how you react under stress, and who you aspire to be.

The Dark History & Origins of Psychometrics How early testing was tied to eugenics, and how Myers-Briggs (MBTI) percolated through corporate America despite being 80+ years old.

Utilitarian Validity Why "feral constructs" like MBTI and DISC remain popular even when academic evidence is thin—and the real value they bring to team dynamic conversations.

Psychopathy & Context at Work Why a "psychopath" in your office might just be a nice person in a cutthroat, highly incentivized environment.

Rethinking Personality in Hiring Why using off-the-shelf personality tests to hire salespeople can backfire, and why you should hire for the specific business problem instead.

Three Rules for Personality at Work Embracing complementary strengths, leading with curiosity over assumptions, and understanding that real change takes time.

Guest Links Nikita Mikhailov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitamikhailov Goodness of Psychology Ltd: https://goodnessofpsychology.com/ Psychometrics Market (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@PsychometricsMarket

Juliette Alban-Metcalfe Episode: https://truthliesandwork.com/guests/juliette-alban-metcalfe/

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com