Personalities - The various colours of your co-workers

Working with Different personalities.

This will be my final Blog entry for 2011 and I will be returning with a new entry on January 16th of 2012.  At that point the blog will continue to be posted on a weekly basis.

To be able to effectively deliver work objectives today requires much more interaction with other departments than in past years.  It is essential to be able to understand how other stakeholders think and act in order to drive mandates and to do it in a timely manner.  It can often be a challenge when trying to stress urgency levels with co-workers or have a colleague perceive your mandate as more personally driven rather than corporate driven.  The best way to perform under these circumstances is to tailor the message to the various stakeholders and to put it in their terms in order to optimize effectiveness.   It used to be that only sales people that had to worry about understanding various personalities but this is no longer the case.  Companies are much leaner than they used to be which means that successful people now tend to be more entrepreneurial in nature and solution focused rather than people that can tend to stumble with road blocks or people who do not have a high sense of urgency.

When determining individual personalities, people are generally divided into one of four categories.  Some of you may already be familiar with D.I.S.C profiling but it is probably a good review.

The Four types of Personalities and some of their characteristics are as follows.

D - Dominance - Competitive, Decisive, Direct, Persistent, Problem Solver, Self-starter

I - Influence - Charming, Confident, Convincing, Optimistic, Popular, Trusting

S - Steadiness - Friendly, Patient, Sincere, Stable, Team Player, Understanding

C - Compliance - Accurate, Analytical, Fact Finder, Precise, Conscientious

This is simply an executive summary for a quick read so I would encourage anyone to do more research on D.I.S.C. profiling for more details.  In a nutshell, here are the ideal environments for each of the personalities and the best way to adapt the approach when working with these personalities.

Dominance - They like freedom from controls and details.  They do not like routines, and are motivated by challenge and opportunity.  When dealing with this personality you should be clear and to the point.  Do not waste time and stick to business.  Provide different options.  Often these personalities have a high ego so let them think the idea is theirs if it is something that you really want completed.

Influence - They are usually high communicators who also prefer to be free of control and detail.  They are enthusiastic team players who are usually negotiate conflict well.  When dealing with these people it is advised to support their dreams and talk about people and their individual goals.  Allow for social interaction but do not drive for facts and figures.  Details should be put in writing. 

Steadiness - They like predictable environments and long term work relationships.  They like a supportive environment that will allow time for change and they do not like conflict between people.  When dealing with this personality you should start with a personal connection and then listen to them.  Points should be presented in a logical and non-threatening manner.  Do not force a quick response and show interest in them as a person.  Do not mistake willingness for agreement.

Compliance - They like technical and specialized work where critical thinking is necessary.  They like a familiar workplace and enjoy close relationships within small groups.  When dealing with this personality you should approach things is a very straight forward fashion.  Do not over-promise.  Prove to them by using facts and do not  be disorganized.  Be fair and consistent.

Good luck using these crib notes when working with all your internal and external stakeholders while accomplishing all your mandates in 2012!

Farewell,

Mike