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.