Isn’t it strange how the finest qualities of someone’s personality can become their biggest challenge in life? Consider the ISFJ personality type as an example.
Understanding the various personalities on your team is important for getting people working together in the way you'd like. That is why so many organizations use the personality assessment created by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers when putting together effective teams. Personality assessment tools can help select the right team members - people who are likely to bond, innovate, and follow through on the company's goals such that the output of the team is greater than that of its constituent members.
One of the most challenging work transitions comes when you face the prospect of leading a new team for the first time. Getting people to work together is not easy, and many team leaders rush over the basics in order to start achieving goals. But the first weeks and months are critical for starting a team off on the right foot. What actions should you take to set the team up for success? How will you get the team working well together, manage conflict, and create an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and motivated to contribute?
If you are like most people, you spend most of your waking hours at work. Getting along with your co-workers is not only necessary for your professional success, but also for your sanity. Whateveryour own personality type, it’s likely that you’ll encounter clashing personality types and traits that make existing in your office difficult. This is why knowing these traits and how to deal with them will make work more enjoyable.
当一个团队放在一起时,传统智慧dictates that you strive for a mix of personalities and do whatever it takes to build equality within the group. Inequality of status - where it's pretty clear how everyone ranks compared to their peers - discourages people from sharing ideas and can lead to people feeling undervalued or disrespected. These hot human emotions distract teammates from their tasks and can disrupt even the most focused performers.
Or so the theory goes.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. No, not Dickens, but an apt summary of the radical opposites taking place between my INTJ psyche and the corporate world I found myself working in for almost 16 years. It's a story of contrasts and comparisons between the massive success I achieved and the desperate, inescapable desire to "get out while you can."
There's something rotten in the state of recruiting. When a candidate looks at a job ad, they would be forgiven for thinking that all employers are looking for people with a specific list of skills - 10 years' experience within an S&P 500 company/advanced understanding of technology platforms/specific industry certifications/proven track record of managing large teams.
Time and again, strong levels of trust in teams have been shown to build employee engagement, enhance customer loyalty, and drive profit growth. When team members have a high level of trust in leaders and each other, the group becomes notably better at achieving business goals.
What is the secret of productive teams? For the longest time, Google believed that the best teams consisted of the smartest people who got on with each other. But anobservation of 180 of its internal teamsprovided a surprising result: the "who" didn't actually matter. There was nothing showing that a mix of skills, backgrounds or specific personality types made any difference.
Differing opinions, divergent viewpoints, and conflicting ideas are healthy and central to progress. They broaden our perspectives, stretch our minds, and help us to arrive at the best possible strategy and practices. Research suggests that constructive disagreement is enormously important to the success of a team. It increases participation in decision making, encourages collaboration, reduces anxiety, and results in better choices and more creative thinking. If you want the best to come out of your teams, it pays to establish a conflict culture.
THE FINE PRINT:
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