Handling Personalities
Posted by jellie7r on May 15, 2007
Managers should learn also how to handle different types of individual. Each individual has their own personality and beliefs. Below, we are going to discuss how to handle and cater to different types of people.
Handling different types of personalities
Working in an organization, we will have to work with various types of people. People behave differently and many a time conflict arises due to lack of understanding in dealing with the different types of personalities. When a person differs in opinion or methods of handling a situation, who is right and who is wrong? When we do not understand how the other party works, we put ourselves in a lot of pain and unnecessary stress. This will affect the overall performance of the team and causes strive.
One way to cater this problem is to understand that every person has a unique personality and have a different approach to matters. There are several personality test out there; the most basic being the DISC (dominance, influence, stability, compliance) and the ‘traditional’ CSPM (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic) and the ‘modern’ type like the Carl Jung test or the Myers-Briggs personality test. These tests are developed to determine what are the people common characteristics and behavioral patterns; how they react to different situations/ scenarios. The main test described in this thesis is the CSPM test and the Myers-Briggs Type indicator.
CPSM
The traditional method CSPM are based on four “humors,” or body fluids, were outlined by Hippocrates, the father of medicine in fifth century B.C. Greece and are still popularly accepted as explanations of personality building blocks. A test with simple to elaborate questions is given to the target and by answering the questions; referring to statistical data, his/ her personality can be determined. (This is also the classification used in determining the thesis students’ behavior.)
Personality Types:
Choleric people are powerful, decisive, type-A, go-getters, goal setters, risk-takers and self-starters, who will let you down by being self-righteous, verbally abusive, egotistical and way too intense.
Sanguine people are popular, hopeful, forgiving, upbeat, colorful, motivated and they love people, but they will get under your skin for being late, shallow, uncommitted, procrastinating and for making light of crises, said Gallagher.
Phlegmatic people are peaceful, serene, flexible, quiet, unassuming and they tend to think the best of people. On the down side, they’re unemotional, hard to motivate, aren’t honest with their feelings and don’t give feedback well.
Melancholic types are perfectionists, delegators, warm, loyal and care giving, but they can bug you with their inflexibility, hypersensitivity, inner chaos and by caring too much what others think.
Approach methods to the 4 different types of personalities:
With cholerics, to bring out their best, ask their advice, understand their ethics, allow them to take responsibilities, be honest and stick with the subject. Avoid being overly emotional, procrastinating or forcing them to verbalize their feelings.
With melancholics, keep your word, listen to their feelings and finish projects you said you’d finish. Avoid bringing up their failures, squashing their creativity, changing their routine or breaking their confidence.
With phlegmatics, be informal, reduce conflicts, accept what’s unique about them and give them time to process through their frustrations. Avoid forcing them to resolve conflicts, expecting them to be quick on their feet, putting them in the spotlight or expecting them to be decision makers.
With sanguines, make projects playful and positive, give them variety, trust them to come through eventually and give them lots of praise and affection. Avoid criticizing their character, making them work alone, expecting detailed future plans or staying distant and unforgiving.
This CSPM classification is equivalent to the DISC test. Although similar to the other modern tests, the modern test divides these personalities into 16 subgroups; each giving a more accurate evaluation of a person.
One person does not necessarily possess only one personality trait. He/ she may possess more than one trait; usually one of it is higher than the other although other possibilities occur. The combination of personalities is what makes the pool of people we work with dynamic and always evolving. Many debates exist about whether one is born with a particular type of temperament or is being picked up from the environment. Whatever is the case, I believe that when a person identifies his/her personality, he should observe his strength and weakness. From that, he can improve himself and avoid doing certain habits/ approach that may cause loss/conflict. People have the power to change the way they behave. Excel at what they are good at while constantly improve their weaknesses.
Knowing how a particular temperament behaves helps us understand what we are dealing with. Referring to the above approaches, we can avoid unnecessary conflicts. For example when dealing with a choleric, one must show respect and be direct when communicating a message. They do not like people who ‘beat around the bush’.
Knowing your teammates personality traits also allows you to have more efficient communication with them. You would know what to avoid or what to say that would gain their interest and motivates them. This allows for better instruction /order flow to the team members to complete a given task/ objective.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The other personality classification we are going to look here is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). You will find it has similarities in context with CSPM. The MTBI system of personality assessment is based on four basic aspects of human personality:
• Extrovert vs. Introvert: This category is about how we use our energy to interact with people. Extroverts focus their energy and attention on the world outside themselves, enjoying going out and mixing with people. Introverts focus their energy within themselves, frequently choose time to be alone and involved with heavy thinking.
• Sensing vs. Intuitive: Describes the type of information we usually notice. Sensors gather information by using their senses like sight or hearing. They trust whatever can be measured or documented. They prefer concrete facts than guess works. Intuitives focus on causes and effects. They value imagination and trust.
• Thinking vs. Feeling: Determine how someone makes decisions. Thinkers like logical decisions. They tend to be objective and analytical in the decision-making process. Feelers make decisions based on how much they care or what they feel is right, concerning more about compassion and sympathy.
• Perceiving vs. Judging: Describes whether we prefer to live in a more structured or spontaneous way. Judgers do things systematically and are happiest when their lives are structured. Perceivers like to be spontaneous and like flexibility and room. They are more open to new concepts.
Here we classify the four groups in relative to management and how they can be related in work environment.
We can relate on how to manage different people based on their classifications according to MBTI. We also can see the connection between CSPM and MBTI. Cholerics for example are extrovert, sensing thinking judging (ESTJ). However MBIT allows in general 16 different types of combination. Whichever tests we use, the key is to handle the individual according to his/her strengths and weaknesses.
