Your biggest investment in the life of your business will likely be in people. It's the only business asset that can appreciate over time - sometimes without any intervention from you! But your human assets can also be the source of disappointment, frustration, and unanticipated crises. Over the next few posts we're going to talk about three elements you can consider when choosing, placing, and managing the people in your business. And we're going to talk about it from the perspective that the success of the work relationship means it works for employees, the business, and you as its leader.
PLG uses Advanced Insights diagnostics with clients, and this is the vocabulary that you will see in these posts. Contact ProActive Leadership Group if you have questions.
Behavioral Styles
Behavioral style is the observable stuff that you see and hear from a particular person. He moves quickly or slowly in speech, thought, and decision making. She is predominantly either task oriented or people oriented. When considering these two dimensions, the DISC index divides behavior into four quadrants.
- Fast pace, task oriented
- Fast pace, people oriented
- Slower pace, task oriented
- Slower pace, people oriented
Individuals fall along a range with each of these dimensions, so for the sake of this post we are going to resist the urge to label a person as one thing or another. We have also found that the non-labeling policy is beneficial in the workplace, even when someone's behavior appears to be a textbook archetype. The purpose in using assessments is to gain insight, not to put someone inside a box of assumptions.
Matching Style with Role
Take this as your "Duh!" recommendation du jour - if you are in a crisis response business, you need people who operate at a fast pace. If it's important to be accurate and speed isn't as much of an issue, choose accordingly. A speedster will feel frustrated when he can't speed, and an analyst will feel anxious when she doesn't have adequate time to consider options and check work.
Adaptation and Performance
As humans we are able to adapt our behavior, and we understand the need to do so. It is possible for a task oriented person to take time to listen to the people around him or her. It is possible for a chatty extrovert to focus on tasks and knock them out quickly. The challenge associated with adapting one's behavior is twofold:
- Adapting one's behavior requires energy and creates stress, because it means that a person has to notice and choose what they assess is appropriate. The bigger the adaptation is, the greater is the potential stress level.
- Adapted behavior is hard to maintain consistently. It requires self-awareness so constantly that eventually something will slip past. A tough day or unexpected moment may cause a person to "revert" to their more natural behavioral style, whether it's effective in the situation or not.
A reminder to leaders about adaptation: although your team member can adapt to expectations, the triple win is most likely when their natural style and role are good matches.
Teamwork and Behavioral Style
Once you understand behavioral style, it's easier to understand John and Jane - even when they are driving you a bit nuts. And vice versa, because you have a behavioral style too. People with similar behavioral styles tend to gravitate toward one another, and they tend to have fewer conflicts because they understand one another. The downside is that similar people also share blind spots. If you pack your team with behavioral clones, you are going to be missing something, and overdoing something else.
Consider implementing one of the diagnostics like the DISC index with your team, to boost their awareness and appreciation for one another's natural capabilities. Also - consider incorporating natural behavioral style as part of your process when hiring to set your new employee up for success.
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