The use of the Big Five personality dimensions puts multiple traits together to form what is often called a personality profile. It is said that all individual traits can be placed in one of the five dimensions. The Big Five is also called the Five-Factor Model and is abbreviated to OCEAN. Extroversion is measured along a continuum between extrovert and introvert. Extroverts tend to be social, talkative, and assertive and willing to take charge. Introverts tend to be less social, nonassertive, and less willing to take charge.

Agreeable people are considered to be nice and good-natured—cooperative, flexible, polite, tolerant, forgiving, and trusting. Disagreeable people are the opposite, making them difficult to work with. Emotionalism is on a continuum between emotional stability and instability. Emotionally stable people are calm and in control of their behavior; they are secure and positive. Unstable people are neurotics who are angry, depressed, anxious, nervous, insecure, and excitable—they can get out of control and display their emotions negatively, such as by yelling.

The conscientiousness continuum goes between responsible or dependable and irresponsible or undependable. Also called “open to experience,” openness lies on a continuum between being willing to try new things and not being willing to do so. Successful leaders are open to change.