When leaders encourage a diversity of personalities in their workplaces, it can lead to the development of vibrant and productive teams. However, effectively engaging with unique personalities can be a complex task and, if managed incorrectly, can have a negative impact on communication and understanding amongst team members.
With the right support, committed leaders who are open to learning improved communication techniques and leadership skills can effectively lead and manage a diverse team to create a productive work environment with strong communication and a positive work culture. Leading diverse teams may have its challenges, but it is achievable and remarkably beneficial.
Making sense of personalities
Effectively leading diverse personality types helps contribute to a strong team and a healthy work environment. By valuing the unique contributions each team member makes, the skilled leader can build a productive work environment. This could look like:
- Increased self-knowledge of leaders and teams
- Improved working relationships with stakeholders
- Greater empathy within teams
- Development of stronger sales skills
- Learning to manage more effectively
- Understanding job applicants to find the perfect fit for your team
Everything DiSC Profiling is a tool used to discuss people’s behavioural differences and is the leading personal assessment tool used by over 1 million people every year to improve work productivity, teamwork, and communication. Everything DiSC provides leaders with the tools to know themselves and others and adapt behaviours to get the most out of workplace interactions.
Equipping leaders with personality models like Everything DiSC helps them understand how unique personalities interact with themselves and others. This allows leaders to tailor their approach to best suit various personality styles.
The benefits of understanding personality types include:
- Improved Communication: Different personalities work best with different communication styles. For teams to only use one style with themselves and other stakeholders can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications. Instead, teams can improve their interactions and outcomes by understanding how different personalities best connect.
- Better conflict resolution: Even when teams improve their communication skills, they will still make mistakes and experience misunderstandings. But when teams are aware of how different personalities handle conflict, navigating the resolution becomes quicker and easier. Seeing the conflict from another perspective gives people the pause needed to seek a resolution. Being mindful of differences in conflict resolution can help prevent interpersonal issues and difficult situations from escalating.
- Improved empathy: Your communication with team members is where building an empathetic culture begins. By purposefully changing your communication to align with your team’s personality mix, you can increase both productivity and comfort in discussions. Asking what the other person hopes to achieve and why, along with how best to engage with them, means discussions become more productive and less conflicted.
- Understand your own career goals: Discovering your personality type allows for a deeper understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and stressors. By having a greater understanding of yourself, you’ll be able to understand and seek more suitable roles and tasks. Understanding this can help you determine the actions required to achieve your professional goals.
- Greater engagement: When employees feel represented and understood in their work environment, they are more likely to be engaged and satisfied with their jobs, leading to increased productivity and staff retention.
The key takeaways
Understanding and adapting to diverse personality styles can reduce team and stakeholder misunderstandings and miscommunication. At Zenith HR, we provide an Everything DiSC Management workshop that helps leaders identify and align with various styles, enhancing team productivity and satisfaction. Our seasoned expert, Judy, with over two decades experience in leadership development, facilitates this transformative one-day workshop on a regular basis. Contact us today for more information, or head to our events page to learn more about upcoming workshops.