Personality and performance: An examination of orthodontic assistants

Objectives:

Describe the performance domain of orthodontic assistants, and to identify personality traits most relevant for performance.

Methods:

The opinions of seven experienced orthodontic assistants were collected via a focus group discussion. First, participants were asked to recall specific examples of behaviors deemed critical for successful performance of a orthodontic assistant. Second, participants were presented with definitions of 20 personality traits (Personality Research Form) and then asked to identify those traits most relevant for the performance of orthodontic assistants. After the focus group was concluded the specific job behaviors were organized into common themes or dimensions. The result of this compilation formed a preliminary behavioral map of performance domain, which was verified by another round of expert judgments.

Results:

The performance domain of the orthodontic assisting job was mapped into eight performance measures: technical excellence, working with others, dealing with people, organization and planning, flexible and adaptable, demonstrate effort and enthusiasm, commitment, and professionalism. Furthermore, it was found out that of the 20 PRF traits seven were found to be highly relevant to the job of orthodontic assisting: achievement, affiliation, endurance, nurturance, order, play, and understanding. Future empirical work is called for to determine the relations among the critical traits and performance dimensions.

Conclusions:

The performance domain of orthodontic assistants has not received critical review. Not only do the results of this research begin to clarify critical performance areas for this occupational group, but we have a first step towards identifying predictors of performance. Once these relations are validated through empirical research, the management implications are impressive. Selection procedures can be refined to measure personal attributes linked to effective performance. This research also has implications for performance measurement, appraisal, and employee development.