Managers most certainly have a difficult job. Apart from having to oversee the operations at the workplace, a good manager will strive to learn individuals and treat them accordingly. For example, some people work well when the pressure is high. Others cannot event think when this happens. This is what makes understanding personalities important. For productivity to increase, it is up to the manager to handle these people in the way that they respond, otherwise, there will a crisis every now and then.
As far back as 400BC, the physician Hipprocates noted that there are four different types of temperaments that are exhibited in humans. Each of these temperaments possesses unique qualities that need to be handled differently for the success of the business.
Here are the four temperaments, and how to deal with them in business.
- Cholerics
These are people who are extremely practical and straightforward. They are focused, goal-oriented individuals. Most cholerics are proud extroverted alphas. They are the most ambitious temperaments.
In the workplace, they exhibit their traits as supervisors or true goal achievers. Most times they have short tempers and are quick to react. Cholerics are best suited for upper-tier or management jobs where they delegate jobs. But life doesn’t work out that way because we all have to start from somewhere. This makes it harder to manage a choleric.
As a manager, you must establish authority over them. You must also find easy ways of passing messages to them and especially if it is bad news because they don’t always take it too kindly. They sometimes have an explosive temper and easily get angry. This, therefore, means that you have to sort of choose your words carefully. A manager may feel intimidated when dealing with a choleric because of their domineering personality. But once you understand these traits, it will be easier to deal with it rather than taking everything personally.
- Sanguines
Sanguines get along with people. They are extroverted, optimistic and talkative. People generally love sanguines. In the workplace, they’re usually the first to volunteer to do things. Their downside is that they tend to overpromise and underdeliver.
Sanguines have a habit of making everything about them. It’s always about them, and this can be very irritating, particularly because they may not always put the organization above themselves.
This means that as a manager you must harmonize their excessive nature and keep them on their toes. You shouldn’t leave things up to them because this may turn out to be disappointing. This particular personality, more than any other, needs to be monitored because their output may not always be as great as they have declared it to be.
The manager must understand that sanguines love it when the spotlight is on one of them, and you must try to the best of their ability to tame this trait.
- Phlegmatic
This personality is neutral. They can be described as nonchalant, agreeable and peaceful. They are mediators of conflict. However, they can be careless, lazy and unmotivated. For this temperament, there may need to be monitored more to ensure that they do all the work that is required of them.
This is possibly the easiest temperament to work with because they make the best listeners. They are more proactive than they are reactive.
For a phlegmatic, you must not force them to be a “people-person” in the workplace. You may also need to interact with them a little bit more, so as to get ideas and suggestions from them. In other words, you have to be the aggressor in getting information from the. Phlegmatics tend to work well with tasks that they have been handed, but the fact that they aren’t very expressive can sometimes make it difficult to understand them or work with them.
- Melancholic
This personality trait is likely to consist of perfectionists. They are keen on scheduling and making solid plans for just about everything. Melancholics are analytical and intellectual. They often foresee the result of a project long before its completion. They are able to view situations and problems from all sides and predict every possible outcome. This makes them very effective at problem-solving, planning, and organizing.
The problem with this personality temperament is that they may spend too much time working on a project. Perfectionism is sometimes a disadvantage because you end up focusing too much on things that don’t have too much significance. Melancholics may also spend too much time on preparation and planning and end up compensating on the execution of the plan itself.
The manager may, therefore, need to be involved in some of their planning of organizational activities of a melancholic, to ensure that they don’t consume too much time and still produce the best output.
It is nearly impossible to completely avoid conflict in the workplace. At one point or another, there will be a personality clash. The trick is to manage these different personalities by creating a cohesive environment that leads to maximum productivity within the office. That way, you will establish business success.
Do you know your personality temperament? Find out here
