Design team effectiveness and architects’ personality types

Purpose The personalities of the design team members constitute one of the factors that influence team effectiveness. In this study, 223 members of the “American Institute of Architects” who are employed by the largest architectural design firms in the United States of America were categorized according to their personality types by using “The Enneagram Personality Type Model.” Also, the respondents’ opinions about eight team effectiveness outcomes were recorded in order to explore the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The information was collected by a questionnaire where the first part included 144 pairs of statements that were used to identify respondents’ personality types. The second part sought designers’ opinions about the importance of eight team effectiveness outcomes rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The results were assessed by performing the Kruskal–Wallis test first and Dunn’s post-hoc test with Bonferroni adjustment subsequently. Findings The findings highlight the significance of personality types in effective design teams. While Type 6 (loyalist and skeptic) and Type 3 (achiever and performer) architects prioritize team effectiveness the most, Type 7 architects (enthusiasts and epicureans) assign the lowest importance. However, the presence of Type 1 (reformist and perfectionist) and Type 8 (challenger and protector) architects within the same design team may involve challenges or conflicts. Originality/value The primary contribution of this study is that it is the first study in the construction management literature that utilizes The Enneagram of Personality Test to understand the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes. This study is of direct relevance to practitioners and could be utilized in design team-building activities.