The COVID-19 pandemic has meant constant change for leaders, with many rethinking what it means to be a manager. As the line between professional and personal lives blurred due to work from home requirements, managers worldwide had to look at their workday and staff differently.
Today, whether you’ve returned to the office, have a hybrid work model, or have remained fully remote, every successful manager must know the workplace personality style of each member of their team — and manage accordingly.
Continue reading to learn four ways to manage every workplace personality style.
This first one may sound obvious, but it’s a foundational practice of good management that many leaders don’t take time for.
Do you really know the workplace personality styles under your leadership?
Or are you just assuming you do?
How an employee behaves in front of their boss doesn’t necessarily match their behavior throughout the rest of the workday. Even the most genuine of people may alter their behavior around their boss, not to intentionally mislead, but simply in response to the different levels of authority and power within the relationship.
To learn the workplace personality styles under your leadership, consider the True Colors Online Personality Assessment. It provides unique insights into participants’ personality types and decision-making styles that you can use to customize your management.
We also offer Team and Leader Reports that provide a detailed analysis of an entire group or sub-group of your choice. The reports come with clear and easy-to-read charts that help you develop a deeper understanding of your employees and team composition. This knowledge can lead to greater productivity and employee satisfaction as a result of improved communication, increased engagement and collaboration, fewer misunderstandings, and decreased conflict.
You want to build upon the strengths and talents of each person on your team.
Sometimes these strengths are directly connected to an employee’s position. If you’ve hired a project manager that excels at organization and collaboration, you want to reward and encourage that behavior. Just because they’re good at what they do, don’t assume they’re done learning. There’s always room for growth and, most likely, if the employee excels in an area they are also interested in it and will enjoy learning more.
At other times, an employee’s strengths are not so clear. Maybe they have a strength that could do your team a great deal of good, but you’re unaware of it. For example, this same project manager could also have a good grasp of marketing strategy, but if employees aren’t encouraged to step out of their defined roles, then this strength will go unused. This is a wasted resource and discouragement to your employee.
Get to know your staff. Look for skills where they shine outside of their distinct roles and help build those areas. When you build upon the strengths of your employees everyone wins.
No one is perfect. Everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses.
Should leaders help their employees improve upon their weaknesses and grow as professionals?
Absolutely.
Professional development should help staff grow their strengths and improve their weaknesses.
But an important distinction to remember is the difference between helping an employee improve upon a weakness so they are more successful and forcing an employee to perform the type of tasks where they are (try as they might) likely to fail.
As the saying goes, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
While building upon employee strengths is a win for everyone, not making allowances for employee weaknesses is most definitely a loss for everyone. Employee discouragement is all but guaranteed and the results of their efforts will surely disappoint the entire team.
The last way to manage every workplace personality style is to use what naturally motivates your employees to achieve the best results.
One size does not fit all when it comes to motivation. This is another reason it can be so helpful to utilize personality assessments. When you gain a better understanding of your employees' unique personalities you also gain a better understanding of what will naturally motivate in their job.
While some personalities are highly motivated by recognition, others are embarrassed by these same acts. They may prefer monetary rewards such as prizes or bonuses. Other employees may be highly motivated by the sense of camaraderie and achievement that can come from completing a group project. Still others may feel more motivated by the sense of pride that comes from completing a task on their own.
The more you understand what workplace personality styles are on your team, the more you can foster success by using what naturally motivates each employee.
Always Consider Workplace Personality Styles
Considering the workplace personality styles of your employees will go a long way toward achieving the success you need from your team. Additionally, when you have a good sense of the personalities you’re working with, you can make better decisions for your team amidst change and times of high stress. As the past few years have reinforced, good leadership makes all the difference as challenges arise.