In the dynamic landscape of soft skills development, understanding and leveraging personality traits has become increasingly crucial. This presentation introduces a pioneering approach to soft skills development, rooted in the scientifically validated Big Five personality traits model. The Big Five, encompassing Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (emotional regulation), have been recognized for their strong predictive power regarding key workplace behaviors and outcomes such as leadership and team effectiveness. Traditional views have long considered these traits as stable and enduring, particularly after early adulthood. However, recent breakthroughs in personality psychology suggest that these traits are more malleable than previously thought, opening new avenues for employee soft skills development.

Traditional soft skills training often adopts a one-size-fits-all methodology, disregarding individual differences and leading to generic, sometimes counterproductive outcomes. This presentation introduces an innovative approach, treating trait-level behaviors as modifiable habits that can evolve through deliberate practice. It delves into cutting-edge behavioral science research, demonstrating significant alterations in soft skills via methods like implementation intentions, setting weekly behavioral objectives, and applying micro-interventions, all backed by extensive longitudinal studies.

About the Speaker:  Samantha Paustian-Underdahl, PhD, Co-Founder Joyntly Human Capital Labs, Senior Research Scientist

Dr. Sam Paustian-Underdahl is a professor, researcher, consultant, and co-founder whose work is dedicated to enhancing employee and organizational well-being and effectiveness. Her studies are published in premier academic journals including the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP), the Journal of Management (JOM), the Journal of Organizational Behavior (JOB), and Personnel Psychology, among others, and have been presented at international and national conferences. Dr. Paustian-Underdahl teaches classes on Organizational Behavior, HR Analytics, and Diversity and Inclusion, for undergraduate and graduate students at FSU. In addition to her academic experiences, Dr. Paustian-Underdahl has gained valuable external and internal human capital consulting experiences working with Strategic Management Decisions, Ingersoll Rand, and Total HR Analytics. She also provides leadership development opportunities to practicing managers as a Faculty Fellow with FIU’s Center for Leadership, and through FSU’s executive education programs. She is a co-founder of Joyntly Human Capital Labs, a human capital science and technology company that builds AI solutions for improving soft skills in the workplace.