Understanding that people have different personalities, and managing to balance conflicting traits is crucial for leading a high-performing team. By identifying strengths and weaknesses, embracing differences and both learning and teaching to compromise, management can reduce conflict and improve performance.
We've all been there as leaders: You've hired a talented team of bold go-getters, each with individual strengths and personalities. When these individuals clash they turn to you for help.
When separating team members isn't an option, a solution must be found. The following strategies can be implemented with new teams, recent hires or longer term departments in need of better communication.
Be Aware of Biases
Interpersonal challenges in the workplace may be the result of culture, age, gender, economic status or other personal differences. To ensure all team members feel psychological safety and support, consider implementing diversity and inclusion training to rule out conflict based on discrimination or exclusion.
Assess and Identify
Labels aren't always a bad thing. One great way to start working better together as a team full of different personalities is to find common language to share. There are many personality type tests and quizzes out there, but tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI) and Emotional Quotient inventory(EQi) assessments are often used in the workplace for their versatility.
MBTI helps to define how an individual handles personal interactions, processes information and makes decisions. EQi focuses on the many factors involved in emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication.
Both of these assessments and many others, can also reveal where individuals may be lacking. These tools allow your team to self-reflect and offer simple and summaries based on the results. Use these personality tests as an opportunity to uncover hidden strengths and explanations, but also as a bonding experience.
Once these assessments are completed, discussing and understanding each other's strengths and differences can improve empathy and even provide insight into optimal project partnerships.
Open Communication
Whether posted on your Slack "About me" section or on your office door, consider implementing a work-with-me cheat sheet policy to help inform team members about others' preferred work styles.
Details on this cheat sheet could include: How you feel comfortable sharing and receiving feedback, your preferred communication tools in different scenarios (call, email, message, knocking on office door) and even your personality test assessment results.
The simple beauty of this strategy is that it eliminates the guesswork of communication and social interactions. You may think you're working hard to keep employees on track for a project deadline by checking in daily, but these efforts may serve as a distraction.
You may be trying to improve employee morale and engagement through conversation prompts, but your team is made up of unassuming introverts.
Embrace and Enhance Differences
Work on accepting and embracing your team's individual personalities and differences, rather than trying to "fix" or compensate. Different people may have different ways of completing the same task, so bring attention to this during the team formation process or project start.
This may be the hardest area when it comes to challenging personality differences, but aim to recognize that differences create diversity and positive friction can lead to innovation. Lead by example in working on accepting rather than correcting those differences around us.
As a manager or leader, aim to lean into your team's strengths rather than overcome their weaknesses. Ask the loud and blunt individual to host the next event and reach out to the soft and sensitive type for their opinion on corporate donations.
Encouraging Collectivism
A highly effective way to overcome individual differences is to bring people together for a common goal. Rather than promoting and rewarding solely on individual performance, express gratitude for team results and cooperation.
This not only reduces underlying competitiveness that may come from personality differences, but by working together as a single entity, team members can bond and persevere. Remember to acknowledge that individuals may have different motivations and desired outcomes, so seek to find common ground that everyone can work towards.
Once you understand your team's personalities on a deeper level, you can better assign them to projects and collaborations that better suit their preferences and abilities.
Inc
