The 6 most common employee psychotypes: how to manage them correctly

Equal treatment of the team does not always yield optimal results. A more difficult but more effective method is to adapt your management style to the individual characteristics of your employees.

The Entrepreneur website writes: "The philosophy of equal management will hide the potential of employees from you and will not allow you to create a team of like-minded people. Therefore, if you are determined to make your business successful, you should switch to an individual approach." How to do it?

To begin with, familiarize yourself with the most common employee psychotypes and ways to get along with them. This was reported by SSPDaily.

The perfectionist is a detail-oriented person

Although not everyone appreciates maximalism in their work, perfectionists can be very useful and serve as a kind of yin to the yang, adding their micro vision to the macro vision of the organization. The right language for communicating with such a person is clear instructions:

• When you give them a task, provide as much detail as possible.
• When they ask questions, answer them quickly and thoroughly, and then follow up to make sure they have all the information they need to proceed.

Communicate with them over the phone, not via email, where you're bound to miss something, simply because your brain doesn't work the same way as theirs.

Insecure and not good with feedback

You will undoubtedly come across someone who is great at their job, but doesn't take well to being told how to do it. Most often, this "defensive" attitude stems from a lack of self-confidence. While you can't force such a person to take constructive criticism more easily, you can gently guide them toward lowering their defensiveness using certain techniques:

• Whenever possible, communicate with such an employee in person - in a Zoom chat or by phone; texts and emails can be misinterpreted and will only make the problem worse.
• Make this person feel safe. Frequently and openly let them know how safe their place in your team is and how valuable their contribution is.

Always use the "sandwich method": words of praise - necessary feedback - more praise.

The "backup" boss

It can be a blessing if you have someone in your team who wants to be a leader. But the boss's position is already taken. How do you deal with someone who wants to take over when you're in charge?

Recognize this person's need for leadership and give them the opportunity to manage something: a department, a niche in the business, a specific list of clients.

Give them some authority, show trust in their competence, and allow them to prove themselves in what they are good at.

At the same time, meet with him regularly to monitor expectations and performance parameters. "Loosen and tighten the reins" as needed to provide freedom and prevent overreach.

Self-confident type

People who lack self-confidence respond well to lots of encouragement and reassurance to help them gain inner strength. People with an excess of self-confidence often mask doubts about their abilities and perceived shortcomings behind a veil of bravado. What is common to both types? They both need additional support to bring themselves into line with a healthy balance of self-esteem.

In the case of the "know-it-all," their confidence in their abilities may be a little too high:

• Revise their work as needed - no need for long, drawn-out critiques, explanations, or protesting moralizing. Just show them in black and white the changes that will improve their performance so they can see for themselves the areas that need improvement.
• Communicate with such a person via email to make the discussion more objective and focused.
• Don't give an arrogant employee less support because they seem so self-sufficient; give them more to show them where and how they need guidance.

An employee with low motivation

You may ask: "Why hire someone who is not self-motivated?". The answer lies in their impressive skill set or proven track record, and the key word here is "self".

If a person is not self-motivated, it doesn't mean they can't contribute to the work; it means you have to act as a motivating force. Some employees just need their boss to push them-they expect control and respond positively to encouragement.

• Send a lot of reminders: about upcoming projects, deadlines, and expected benchmarks. They may not look at the clock, but your messages encourage them to do so.
• Guide them to find what lights their "fire" and then incorporate those hobbies into their work functions to ignite their "passion".

Make sure they know you support their work-life balance. Often, when an employee has the right leader behind them, allowing them to be who they are, they will discover a source of motivation.

Creative personality

We can't be perfect at everything, and it's likely that you have employees who are creative and resourceful but lack the ability to manage time and prioritize. When it comes to such disorganized employees, here are some ways to bring order to their workflow:

• Require the use of your company's project management software to automate and track the progress of work.
• If necessary, use a "partner system," pairing them with those who are stronger than them in areas where they are weaker, to drive desired results and increase accountability.
• Have a frank conversation with them about the organization's shortcomings that you notice, and then ask them directly what you can do and what tools you can provide to support the process of getting the job done.