Whether you own a business, run it, or are just an employee of it, knowing how to manage a team with different personalities is crucial. When you know how to deal with different personalities in the workplace, you will be able to achieve your goals, maintain peace of mind, and create a company culture that represents your brand.
Tips for working with different personalities
Collaborating with different personalities in the workplace is both an art and a skill. So implement the following tips to develop the "soft skills" you need to interact effectively with others:
1. Respect yourself
Self-respect is a precursor to self-awareness. When you understand and value yourself, your ideas, and your skill set, you will be able to treat others with equal respect. With a solid foundation of mutual respect, you can handle conflicts successfully.
2. Prioritize common goals
When you improve the way you deal with different personalities in the workplace, the common goals of your team are all that bring its elements together; you are all on the same team, and this is the idea of "teamwork." Working as a team doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your opinion to avoid upsetting the steady state or give in to co-workers who are more controlling or assertive than you. Working with different personalities just means prioritizing your end goal.
3. Don't take disagreements seriously
When conflicts arise due to working with different personalities, you can take it on a personal level. When someone disrespects you or rejects your opinions, it is reasonable to feel hurt, but do not take their behavior personally, as they may act the way they do because of their own problems and not because of your personality. So creating a small space between you and the behavior of others plays an important role in mastering how to manage a team with different personalities.
4. Adopt what others offer
When you work with different personalities on the job, it is easy to identify the difficulties your differences lead to, but how can your differences foster collaboration? To promote cohesion at work, you will need to look carefully at the positive side of your colleagues' personalities. If you find a co-worker aggressive, also keep in mind that directing this person allows for a clear exchange of information. If you find a co-worker who is very negative, keep in mind that this person may be trying to show empathy.
5. Face conflicts directly
Part of learning how to manage a team with different personalities is the tendency to conflict between people. If there is a conflict, do not be afraid to confront it directly. Although this may seem uncomfortable at first, it is much better than letting the problem fester. When you learn how to deal with conflicts in the workplace, this skill will set you apart as an empathetic and effective leader.
How to manage a team with different personalities
Understanding how to manage a team with different personalities is an appropriate skill for managers and employees alike. Here are some strategies to use to realize your team's full potential:
1. Get to know everyone on the team
The more you understand the personalities of everyone on your team, the more efficient your team will be. So take enough time to interact with each employee to build high-quality relationships, and take advantage of the personality test, as it is a powerful tool for working with different personalities.
2. Understand the work of each position in your company
Part of knowing how to manage a team with different personalities is knowing the strengths each position entails. If the role of a team member is to deal face-to-face with a customer, this person will need to have extroverted personality traits. If the role is technical, this person will need to be a natural problem-solver. So when you understand what is required of each position in the company, you can recruit strategically, integrate complementary personalities into a team, and reduce friction and squabbles while working with different personalities.
3. Follow the emotional communication model
Great leaders lead by example, especially when they know how to manage a team with different personalities. So show effective teamwork by modifying the communication processes you use with the person you interact with. If you know that they tend to talk softly, be more gentle and sensitive when talking to them. If they tend to be very blunt, approach the conversation with the same level of frankness.
4. Build a corporate culture based on respect
When personal differences generate disrespectful behavior in the workplace, the results are toxic and harmful. A study of nearly 800 employees and managers in 17 industries found that when employees were treated poorly at work, 47% intentionally reduced the amount of time they spent at work, 38% reduced the quality of their work, and 78% reduced their loyalty to their companies. So if an employee has a habit of disrespecting others, then this is a personal problem that you must get rid of at its root to master how to manage a team with different personalities and take proactive measures to shape a culture of respect that reflects the core values of your work.
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