Author: Wolf Gugler

Don’t Forget Taking Personality Into Account

In theory in a conventional chain-of-command organization,

• Those at the top set the vision and issue the directives.
• Those in the middle interpret those directives and ensure that they are understood and followed.
• Those at the bottom do the work.

If everyone buys into this, things run great and everyone is happy…right?

What if reality dictates that those at the top have personal motivators…and simply expect those below them to follow their orders blindly, without taking into account that their staff personalities might conflict with theirs? Is it likely that they’ll get the performance and loyalty they expect they deserve? Each person in the organization hears, interprets and acts based on their own unique personality.

A constructive use of personality differences builds high performance teams. Recognizing these will allow you as a Manager to benefit by:

• reduced conflict
• better assignment of roles and responsibilities
• faster response to change
• clearer definition of the team’s strengths
• increased innovation and productivity

There are a number of personality types, based on the research of well-known psychologist Carl Jung, Isabel Myers and others. Identifying the factors involved usually is best determined by using a profiling or assessment tool (blatant plug to call the writer for more information). Make sure you consider factors such as these:

As mentioned, the first factor is the Dominant vs. Accepting person. The dominant is going to go head to head with you over most things, and is in need of a rational explanation to give it their all. The accepting type is going to be happy to do a good job for you; just ensure you clearly convey their assignment and task role. They usually won’t mind if you check up on them, whereas the dominant person may take offense to this; best to have them report to you that a project is completed or give them a check-list to submit.
The second factor, Sociable vs. Logical is very important. The sociable doesn’t work well in isolated work situations and requires team dynamics to get the most out of them. The logical individual is probably less empathetic to others, but gets the job done without group stimulation. Just give them a task to perform and the tools to get it done.

Relaxed vs. Restless; the relaxed individual will get their usual or traditional workload done, but may find difficulty being saddled with many time-sensitive projects. The restless individual likely looks forward to multi-tasking with tight deadlines, and actually thrives under these circumstances. They may have a slightly higher error frequency that the relaxed type who usually double and triple-checks their work.

The fourth, Compliant vs. Independent speaks for itself.  This may give you a better sense of who is a leader versus a follower. An independent is often good at specialization versus the compliant to may do a very good job in the role they were hired to do.  Year after year, the compliant will want to go by the book, avoid mistakes and shortfalls versus the Independent, who is often a risk taker.  Not that either is a bad thing, but as previously mentioned, the right personality in the right role equals success.

A good profiling system may indicate that the individual attempts to stretch the truth on any one or more of these factors. This isn’t easily determined via traditional interview methods and is critical to know, because people do things for their reasons. That’s a basic principle that holds true whether related to work or family life. They will usually do whatever they think will be the most beneficial to them.

In other words, you’ll never motivate others unless you understand their motivation factors. To do so, you need to understand their personality type and how best to accomplish this. If you do and can make the individual feel their motivation comes from within, it will make your job a lot easier.

By merely integrating this understanding alone into your management style, you’ll significantly reduce the amount of friction, tension, dissent, stress, and upset as well as the potential for misunderstandings, miscommunication, and conflict. You’ll also find that people will naturally develop a sense of pride in the work they perform. On the other hand, if you don’t incorporate this basic concept, there’s a very good chance you’ll continue to be caught off guard when dealing with others, and may repeatedly find yourself embroiled in some sort of power struggle.
A good manager knows that people need to feel accepted for who they are, long to be recognized for their contributions, and want to enjoy themselves when interacting with their peers or superiors. Our web site survey results back this up 100%. Recognition outpaces money for 99% of the working population.

A wise supervisor remembers the importance of the individual and knows that when folks feel good about themselves, they’ll naturally reach higher standards in their performance and be motivated for their reasons and not yours. An intelligent person uses this information to help people become more productive and effective in what they do.

Last month we covered job-hunting tips; let’s assume you’ve heard from an interested company that wants to interview you in person. There are a number of steps you can take to increase the probability that a job interview will be successful. Being well prepared will increase your self-confidence and peace of mind, which will in turn improve your performance in the interview.

First, remember that in all likelihood an interviewer wants to find an outstanding candidate for the job as much as you want to find a fulfilling career. Think of the interview as a “win-win” situation where both parties are hoping for a positive outcome.

Throughout your professional life you will be interviewed by some people who are trained interviewers and by others who are not. There is no one “right” way to interview, and no matter what the format, it is your responsibility to do the best you can in each situation. Because interviewing is really an unrehearsed conversation between two strangers, the discussion can take many directions. For that reason, it’s important to be comfortable as the interview unfolds. Comfort comes in large measure from your preparation. The only thing you can know for certain is that each interview is unique.

Beforehand: know the exact place and time of the interview, the interviewer’s full name and the correct pronunciation, and his/her title.

Learn pertinent facts about the company such as annual sales revenue, principal lines of business and locations. Go to www.google.com or www.thomasregister.com to find out what you need to know.

Find out why the hiring manager and/or client representative is interested in your qualifications (just ask them when on the phone; they’re human and won’t take offense).

An interview is a two-way street. Come prepared with your own list of questions to ask during the interview. Your questions allow the hiring manager to evaluate your professional and personal needs (avoid salary until it is raised by the Interviewer). Insightful questions help you both determine how good the fit may be. Lastly, the better you understand the opportunity, the more you will be able to communicate your interest and your qualifications in the position. Re: your interest; it never ceases to amaze me how many candidates neglect to convey their interest level. If, at the end of the interview, you truly feel this is an opportunity you’re suited for and want to pursue further, make sure the Interviewer knows that. It often may be the difference between two equally-qualified candidates.

Put your best foot forward. Always wear proper attire and greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and an enthusiastic smile. Bring a notepad and do take notes during the meeting; they’ll be invaluable when you’re called back for another meeting.

Interview Types

Structured Interviews
Structured interviews consist of interview questions that have been prepared in advance.  The questions are derived from the job requirements and asked in a specified order.  Structured interviews are typical for jobs involving a fairly straightforward list of duties and responsibilities.

Team/Panel Interviews
Team interviews typically involve the members of the vacant position’s work team in the job interview process. These can sometimes be used to try and induce stress, to see how the candidate reacts in this situation. In fairness, it is also used for time effectiveness for all of the Interviewers involved. In this situation, try to answer each question looking at each of the panel interviewers, not just one individual. Relax, remember they’re all human too, and assume there are going to be times in your job where you are making group presentations such as this one.

Unstructured Interviews
In this situation, the conversation free-flows and is probably best described as a getting-to-know-you session. You may cover the job duties but not get into specifics. Some Interviewers are more comfortable in this setting, and will then narrow their candidate list down to one or two finalists and meet with them again to discuss the position in more detail. Once again, there’s no right or wrong way to interview—in this case, do be yourself. Just try to stay focused and don’t let down your guard and say (as many have to me), “well, between you and me, I really didn’t like my last Boss so I decided to quit and move on”, or a similar story that probably ends your chances of being successful in this job competition.

Commonly Asked Questions—Consider your answers carefully

1. Why are you looking to leave your current employer?
2. What do you know about this position and our company? Why are you interested?
3. What are your short-term and long-term goals?
4. What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
5. What are you currently looking for in salary? Why?
6. What do you need to know from us to make a decision about whether this opportunity is right for you?
7. Who have you learned the most from? What was it? Why was it important?
8. What do you like about your current Boss? What could be improved in him/her? Who was your worst Boss and why?
9. When are you available to start?
10. From what I’ve described, what would you change here?

Behavioural Questions

These are interview questions designed to determine if you possess the desired key competencies for the job. An example might be:

“It’s inevitable that conflict may arise on the job. Tell me about a time where this occurred with a fellow employee. What was it over? How did you propose to resolve it? What did they propose? What was the eventual solution? What is your relationship like today with that person?”

“The End”

When the interviewer signals the interview is closing, there’s nothing wrong with asking, “What is the next step?” Tell the employer you are now even more intrigued by the company and the position (if this is the case). Emphasize your background and give a specific example to demonstrate this. Leave them with this positive thought, and hopefully you’ll have raised the bar to the point where they can’t resist calling you back.  Don’t forget the old adage, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Good luck!